Development of Digital Platforms in the EAEU: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

Introduction. Since its establishment in 2015, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – uniting Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation – has guaranteed the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour; today it has become a key instrument of economic integration, especially for Russia. The joint digitalisation of EAEU economies is viewed as a strategic avenue for deepening integration and mitigating external disintegration pressures. Over the past decades, the rapid spread of digital platforms as a new business model with powerful network effects has radically reshaped traditional industries. The present study offers a comprehensive analysis of digitalplatform phenomena within the context of Eurasian integration, addressing both theoretical aspects (definitions, classifications and core properties) and practical aspects (drivers of formation, current state and prospects for platformeconomy development in EAEU member states).
Materials and methods. The research employs a mixed approach that integrates theoretical and empirical analysis of digitalplatform development in the EAEU. The theoretical section reviews the essence of digital platforms alongside diverse scholarly approaches to their definition and classification. The empirical section examines the preconditions for platform formation, the current state of the platform economy across the Union, the results achieved to date, persisting challenges and prospects for further growth. The study draws upon the author’s dissertation materials as well as peerreviewed Russian and international sources, including statistical reports and analytical reviews, ensuring the reliability and relevance of the findings.
Results of the study. The rapid emergence of the EAEU platform economy has been driven by global digitalisation trends, lower transaction costs in ecommerce compared with traditional trade, rising digital literacy, broad Internet penetration and accessible bigdata analytics tools. Platform development in the region has progressed in stages and, by the mid2020s, has reached a mature growth phase. A pronounced development asymmetry was identified: Russia leads the platform sector, whereas smaller economies (e.g., Armenia and Kyrgyzstan) lag behind in coverage, infrastructure and investment.
Discussion and conclusion. In recent years digital platforms have shown steady positive dynamics in the EAEU, becoming an engine of regional economic integration and sustaining the expansion of mutual trade even under external pressure. Nevertheless, several bottlenecks hamper further progress, including regulatory fragmentation, infrastructure gaps and intercountry disparities. Coordinated measures are required – notably the adoption and implementation of a supranational Agreement on Electronic Commerce to harmonise platform rules, coupled with continued investment in core connectivity and logistics infrastructure. These steps are expected to create, in the near future, a unified EAEU digital space where platforms weave national markets into a single ecosystem, enhancing overall competitiveness and resilience to external shocks.

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