2023 Vol. 15 №4

The article explores the impact of geopolitical processes on the spatial organisation of society, a matter that has gained increasing importance in Russia. It focuses on the utilization of the World Ocean and its coastlines for resource extraction, logistics, military-strategic purposes, and settlement. Methodologically, this study combines modern socio-geographical approaches emphasising the role of the maritime factor in spatial development with classical geopolitical ideologemes drawing a line between the land and the sea. It stresses the fundamental possibility for territories, including states, not only to acquire synthetic continental-maritime attributes but also to transform the balance of these attributes under the influence of geopolitical determinants. The article analyses geopolitically induced changes in the maritime activities pursued by Russia in the post-Soviet period. The primary focus is on the situational territorial and economic shifts of 2014 and 2022, and their implications for Russian territories in the Baltic region. Pronounced inter-basin differences are described with respect to the coastalisation of the population. The study also evaluates the economic condition of key Russian maritime centres and their resilience to external influences, especially geopolitical challenges. The article offers a geopolitical justification for Russia’s ongoing maritime endeavours, emphasizing the need for inter-basin, intermunicipal, and interregional integration. This integration should be accompanied by the establishment of coastal-intracontinental facilities, such as hubs, across Russia. It is imperative for the nation and its prominent corporations to actively engage in shaping the framework of emerging expansive international maritime socio-geographical structures, facilitating the shift toward global maritime polycentrism. The solution to these problems is closely linked to the priority goal of strengthening Russia’s geostrategic standing in the Baltic region, particularly with a focus on its maritime components. These developments are anticipated within the context of the Russian Baltic Area, envisioned as a borderland with trans-basin geopolitical, economic-geographical, and geocultural bi-structural asymmetry.

This study examines the features, limitations and development prospects of three Russian territories bordering the Baltic Sea — St. Petersburg, and the Leningrad, and Kaliningrad region — amid the sharply heightened confrontation between Russia and the West, which has affected the Baltic region. The time frame spanning from 2014 to 2023 was chosen for the study. This period encompasses the sanctions imposed by Western countries and their associations, primarily the EU, in response to the return of Crimea and Sevastopol to Russia, and extends up to the present day, when the relations between Russia and the West, as many experts and politicians have emphasised, have reached a critical point and may require substantial changes in the global order, including at macro-regional levels, for a return to what was once considered ‘bbusiness as usual’. The study examines the development level and dynamics in the three regions, alongside their economic security. Another focus is on foreign policy and a geopolitical typology of the Baltic region states. The article investigates the impact of a changed geopolitical landscape on cross-border cooperation, the restructuring of foreign trade relations in Russia’s three Baltic regions, and the geopolitical and military factors influencing the development and security of these territories. Based on the findings, several suggestions are provided to promote the ongoing growth of Russia’s Baltic regions and enhance their economic and military security.

The article examines Sweden’s and Finland’s motives for ending their long-time non-aligned policies and joining NATO after Russia had launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The two countries’ decision is shown to be in the interest of the United States, which has always sought to fill the geopolitical vacuum reigning after the collapse of the opposing Soviet bloc and the Soviet Union itself. Finland and Sweden were the missing links for Washington and NATO in the Baltic region and Northern Europe as a whole. The study analyses the major consequences of these geopolitical changes for Russia in the Baltic region. These include the increasing disparity in armed forces with NATO, the substantial expansion of the border with the Alliance, the acquisition of new territorial and infrastructural capabilities by NATO to deploy reinforcements and military equipment from member countries to the region, the potential stationing of nuclear weapons on the territories of new member countries, the risk of blockading the Kaliningrad region, as well as the Gulf of Finland, and the Danish straits for Russian vessels. It is stressed that in the current circumstances, Russia needs to consider multiple scenarios in the Baltic region. On the one hand, it must safeguard its interests with minimal damage. On the other hand, it is crucial to steer clear of uncontrolled escalation of tensions with NATO, as it entails the risk of a military clash.