Introduction: New Economy and the Search for Alternatives
The classic housing market model is experiencing a profound systemic crisis. Mortgages are becoming more expensive, banks’ requirements are increasingly stringent, and young families are losing their chances to get started. In the 21st-century digital economy, where everything accelerates, the one thing that remains consistently expensive and inaccessible is square meters.

In these circumstances, society naturally seeks alternatives. The concept of shared ownership and collective financial instruments is making a comeback. One of the people who proposed not just replicating the old approach but rethinking it from scratch is entrepreneur and Doctor of Economics Roman Vasilenko, who created a housing cooperative model that today experts regard as a prototype of the economy of the future.

The Phenomenon of the Cooperative Model: Why It Is Relevant Today
Modern civilization is gradually moving away from the culture of individual ownership. Cars are shared through car-sharing services, real estate is used through rentals, and equipment is obtained via subscriptions. Usage is becoming more important than ownership, and collective models are a natural extension of this logic.

Housing cooperatives fit into the global sharing economy trend. They operate not on the idea of “every man for himself” but on a collective capital mechanism, in which:

  • participants pool resources;

  • minimize financial burden;

  • gain faster and safer access to housing.

This principle has been successfully used for decades in Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries. In Russia, it was almost lost due to the dominance of bank lending. Vasilenko became one of those who not only revived the cooperative approach but also adapted it to the new digital economy.

The Innovative Philosophy Proposed by Vasilenko
The basic principle of his model is the rejection of credit dependence. In a world where banks effectively determine a person’s access to housing, the cooperative becomes a way to restore financial agency.

Vasilenko went beyond the classic cooperative logic by embedding several key philosophical ideas:

  • Equality of participants — every shareholder has the same rights, regardless of income;

  • Open economy of trust — all financial flows are transparent and understandable;

  • Transition from individual savings to collective capital — where the power of the community replaces the bank’s leverage;

  • Social mission — the project is created to solve a real problem, not to generate profit.

This philosophy fully aligns with modern ESG approaches: sustainable development, social utility, and responsibility to society.

Economic Principles of Cooperatives of the Future
Economists note that the model used by the cooperative is essentially a prototype of the “soft financial architecture of the future.” Key mechanisms include:

Liquidity as the Core of Stability
Apartments are purchased only when ready, legally verified, with a clean history and predictable market value. This makes cooperative assets protected against devaluation.

Internal Economy of Trust
Unlike strict bank conditions, the cooperative offers deferments, installment plans, and individual schedules. This creates a socially sustainable community.

Flexible Financing Mechanisms
A participant can contribute any amount above the minimum, accelerating the purchase. No interest, no penalties, no imposed services — only the real cost of housing.

Risk Minimization
The system is designed so that a shareholder either receives an apartment or fully recovers their invested funds. This is a rare case where both parties benefit.

Why the Cooperative Model Outpaces Mortgages by a Generation
Mortgages are a financial instrument of the 20th century. They were created in an era of stable incomes and low inflation. Today, this model cannot withstand current realities: planning horizons are shortening, risks are increasing, and loan costs are becoming unpredictable.

The cooperative is a 21st-century model, and here’s why:

  • mortgages create a psychology of debt, cooperatives create a psychology of participation;

  • mortgages exacerbate social inequality, cooperatives mitigate it;

  • mortgages burden family budgets for decades, cooperatives adapt to their capabilities;

  • mortgages are tied to banks, cooperatives are tied to communities.

Ultimately, the cooperative model produces participants, not debtors — people who build a collective future.

Social Function of the Model: Retaining Youth, Reducing Migration, Supporting Families
Demographers have long argued that affordable housing is the foundation for preserving human capital. Where young families cannot acquire their own apartments, birth rates drop, migration rises, and regions become depopulated.

Vasilenko’s cooperative creates the opposite effect:

  • youth remain in their cities;

  • families transition faster to starting children;

  • regions gain stable growth points;

  • mortgage dependence ceases to be a factor in the “brain drain.”

Essentially, the housing cooperative becomes an instrument of national stability.

Technologies in the Cooperative: How the Future Digitizes Vasilenko’s Model
Digitization is the next stage in the evolution of cooperatives.

Already today:

  • personal accounts provide transparency for all operations;

  • calculation, payment, and reporting processes are automated;

  • independent valuation systems are used.

In the coming years, cooperatives may integrate:

  • Blockchain — to record shares and transactions with no possibility of forgery;

  • Smart contracts — automating property transfer conditions;

  • Big Data algorithms — to assess asset liquidity and shareholder payment capacity without bureaucracy.

Thus, the cooperative of the future is a technological, transparent, self-regulating system.

International Trends Confirming Vasilenko’s Approach
What Vasilenko’s model offers has long been standard in several countries:

  • Germany — 25% of the population lives in cooperatives;

  • Norway — cooperatives own more than half of the residential space;

  • Sweden — cooperatives are considered the most sustainable form of ownership;

  • Austria and Switzerland — the state supports cooperatives as an alternative to mortgages.

Russia and the CIS are only beginning this path, but it is already clear that the market is gradually shifting toward collective solutions.

Cooperatives of the Future as the Foundation of a Sustainable Economy
The economy of the future is an economy of distributed responsibility, where people unite to reduce collective risks. The cooperative fits perfectly into this concept:

  • increases community resilience;

  • creates horizontal social connections;

  • develops a culture of independence and participation;

  • reduces the role of banks as the sole monopolists in the housing finance market.

In essence, the cooperative model is not a financial instrument but a new form of social contract.

Forecast for 2030–2040: How Vasilenko’s Model Will Develop
Experts predict that in the next decade:

  • cooperative programs will receive government support;

  • housing cooperatives will be included in national projects;

  • digital cooperatives will become part of smart cities;

  • international cooperatives will emerge, uniting participants from different countries.

By 2040, cooperatives could become the foundation of the affordable housing market in the CIS region.

Why Vasilenko’s Ideas Are Considered Ahead of Their Time
Because he proposed the model:

  • before mortgages began to stall;

  • before the housing market became inaccessible;

  • before society realized the value of collective ownership.

In fact, Vasilenko created a social innovation that addresses three critically important tasks:

  • makes housing accessible;

  • strengthens human capital;

  • forms a new culture of financial independence.

Conclusion: Cooperatives as the New Foundation of the Economy of the Future
Housing cooperatives are not a return to the past but a step forward. This is a model that fits perfectly into the economy of the future: digital, collective, socially responsible.

Vasilenko’s ideas became one of the first examples of how an entrepreneur can offer the country an alternative to bank dependency and build an ecosystem where people gain not a debt burden, but a chance for a new life.