Rostovstat has released a new statistical digest, "The Creative Economy of the Don," with the support of Center-invest Bank. It contains 2021 to 2024 analysis of the creative industries operating in the Don region.
In the Don region, more than 10,000 business entities operate in the creative industries. Marina Samoilova, Rostovstat Head, Vasily Vysokov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Center-invest Bank, and Viktor Netesanov, Rostov Region Employers’ Union Vice President and Executive Director, provided insights on this matter during a press conference at TASS YUG.
The share of creative industries in the GRDP increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, due to the expansion of the official list of activity types1 and the accelerated growth of the music industry (2.0-fold), advertising and PR (+46.3%), gastronomy (+39.3%), software (+33.8%), book publishing (+24.2%), and recreation and entertainment (+24.2%) in the Don region. The new issue presents more detailed data on the development of creative industries in urban districts and municipalities.
"We are convinced and have proven theoretically, statistically, and practically that every resident of the Don region is a creator, our region is a major creative cluster, and any enterprise is a platform for the implementation of creative ideas", asserts Vasily Vysokov, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Center-invest Bank, Professor, Doctor of Economics. "We are fostering a creative environment, promoting innovation, and enhancing the global competitiveness of self-awareness of the country’s residents and businesses."
According to Professor Vasily Vysokov, creative markets currently exhibit inelastic demand and inelastic supply, and in this situation, an equilibrium is possible through the organisation of mass festivals, competitions, hackathons, and excursions. He is convinced that, without this work, there will be a population or talent exodus.
Digitalisation of creative development management, the consolidation of information on talent, venues, and events into a common and accessible database, and the creation of a platform for interaction, accounting, reporting, and idea generation for the development of the creative industries market are becoming particularly relevant.
In 2025, the first competition for the best creative projects, "Creative Don," was held at the initiative of Center-invest Bank, that demonstrated the diversity of outstanding projects implemented by regional enterprises, both in the creative industries and in the real sector.
As part of a tripartite (regional) Agreement between the Government, Trade Unions, and Employers of the Rostov Region, the bank was able to introduce provisions on measures and obligations of the parties to form creative working conditions in the draft document.
1 Order No. 266 "On Approval of the List of Types of Economic Activity in the Area of Creative Industries Based on the All-Russian Classifier of Types of Economic Activity" of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia dated April 23, 2025 (registered with the Ministry of Justice of Russia under No. 82331 on May 26, 2025).