International positioning of the region: the image of the Kaliningrad region in the media space of the Baltic states
- DOI
- 10.5922/2079-8555-2022-2-3
- Pages
- 38-52
Abstract
The issue of international positioning is crucial to all exclaves, and the Kaliningrad region surrounded by the Baltic region countries is no exception. This contribution aims to describe a general strategic path for positioning the Russian territory in question. To produce recommendations on a positioning concept, it looks at the ties between the Kaliningrad region and the neighbouring Baltic States and how the former is perceived by the latter. Publication monitoring and media content analysis were carried out to explore the image created in the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian media in recent years. Avenues for positioning are proposed in line with the principles of place branding, and the interests common to the region and the Baltic States are considered through the lens of international cooperation projects. The emphasis is on the prospects for trade relations development. The main advantages of the region are identified, and the risks to be reckoned with when forming a positioning concept are determined. The findings suggest that strategic positioning is feasible in the case of the Kaliningrad region; its focal points may be investment, logistics, tourism and infrastructure. The authors also stress the possibility of developing international cooperation platforms and indicate regional problems of international concern.
Reference
1. Zamyatin, D. N. 2018, Post-city: space and ontological models of imagination, Polis. Politicheskie issledovaniya [Policy. Political Studies], № 3, p. 147—165 (in Russ.).
2. Voloshenko, K. Y., Gumenyuk, I. S., Arne Roos, N. G. 2020, Transit in regional economic development: The case of the Kaliningrad exclave, European Spatial Research and Policy, vol. 27, № 1, p. 263—280. doi: https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.27.1.12.
3. Loguntsova, I. V. 2011, The Image of Russian Territories as an Object of Management, Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 21: Upravlenie (gosudarstvo i ob-shchestvo) [Bulletin of Moscow University. Episode 21: Governance (state and society)], № 1, p. 29—38 (in Russ.).
4. Tarasov, I. N. 2020, Exclavity as a challenge and resource for the international positioning of the Kaliningrad region, Vestnik Baltiiskogo federal’nogo universiteta im. I. Kanta. Seriya: Guma-nitarnye i obshchestvennye nauki [Bulletin of the Baltic Federal University. I. Kant. Series: Humanities and social sciences], № 2, p. 77—85 (in Russ.).
5. Shchekoturov, A. V., Vinokurov, V. V. 2020, Outpost or region of international cooperation: how did the images of the Kaliningrad region change in the Russian media in 2014−2018, Mediaskop, № 3.
6. Momot, K., Siwicki, R. 2012, The Image of Kaliningrad Region in Polish Printed Media, Slovo.ru: Baltic Accent, vol. 3, № 4, p. 43—51.
7. Vazhenina, I. S. 2011, About the essence of the territory brand, Economy of Region, № 3 (27), p. 18—23.
8. Kumar, N., Panda, R. K. 2019, Place branding and place marketing: a contemporary analysis of the literature and usage of terminology, Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark, № 16, p. 255—292.
9. Berendeev, M. V. 2020, Development of promising research trajectories in the field of PR communications in cross-border and border regions of Russia (Kaliningrad track), Rossiiskaya shkola svyazei s obshchestvennost’yu [Russian School of Public Relations], № 17, p. 134—147.
10. Anholt, S. 2009, Places: Identity, Image and Reputation.
11. Govers, R., Go, F. M. 2009, Place Branding: Glocal, Virtual and Physical Identities, Constructed, Imagined and Experienced, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmilllan; Basingstoke.
12. Ashworth, G., Kavaratzis, M. (eds.) 2010, Towards Effective Place Brand Management, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing.
13. Moilanen, T. Rainisto, S. K. 2009, How to brand nations, cities, and destinations: a planning book for place branding, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
14. Wheeler, A. 2009, Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team, NY, Wiley.
15. Baker, B. 2007, Destination Branding for Small Cities, L., Creative Leap Books.
16. Dinnie, K. 2011, City Branding: Theory and Cases, NY, Palgrave Macmillan.
17. Fedorov, G. M. 2019, Kaliningrad region: peripheral exclave or seaside development corridor? In: Fedorov, G. M., Zhindarev, L. A., Druzhinin, A. G., Pal’movskii, T. (red.), Pro-blemy regional’nogo razvitiya v nachale KhKhI veka [Problems of regional development at the beginning of the 21st century], Kaliningrad, p. 5—16 (in Russ.).
18. Goncharova, Yu. V. 2019, On the development trends of cross-border cooperation in the Kaliningrad region, Vestnik Baltiiskogo federal’nogo universiteta im. I. Kanta. Seriya: Estestvennye i meditsinskie nauki [Bulletin of the Baltic Federal University. I. Kant. Series: Natural and medical sciences], № 2, p. 23—34 (in Russ.).
19. Schielberg, S. 2009, Cross-Border Cooperation between Kaliningrad Region, Lithuania and Poland: Obstacles and Possibilities, Balt. Reg., № 2, p. 111—116. doi: 10.5922/2079-8555-2009-2-13.
20. Kurovska-Pysh, I. 2021, Implementation of the Interreg program in the Kaliningrad region and neighboring countries: a brief overview, Vestnik Baltiiskogo federal’nogo universiteta im. I. Kanta. Seriya: Estestvennye i meditsinskie nauki [Bulletin of the Baltic Federal University. I. Kant. Series: Natural and medical sciences], № 2, p. 48—61 (in Russ.).
21. Kornilova, K. S. 2019, Geo-branding in the context of mediatization problems as a means of developing territories and attracting tourists, Izvestiya of Saratov University. New Series: Philology. Journalism, vol. 19, № 4, p. 469—474 (in Russ.).
22. Tsvetkova, O. V. 2017, Territories of cross-border cooperation: State and development prospects of the Kaliningrad region, Politicheskaya nauka [Political science], № S, p. 278—289 (in Russ.).
23. Gumenyuk, I. S. 2020, Transit potential of the Kaliningrad region and transport connectivity of the region. In: Tarasov, I. N. (ed.), Kaliningradskaya oblast’ v novykh koordinatakh baltiiskoi geopolitiki [Kaliningrad region in the new coordinates of the Baltic geopolitics], Kaliningrad, IKBFU. I. Kant, p. 148—169 (in Russ.).
24. Zhdanov, V. P., Plyukhin, M. Yu. 2017, Additional transaction costs for the economy and population of the Kaliningrad region of Russia, Ekonomicheskaya Politika, vol. 12, № 2, p. 180—207 (in Russ.).
25. Zotova, M. V., Sebentsov, A. B., Golovina, E. D. 2015, Transcarpathian oblast and Kaliningrad oblast: Contrasts and cooperation in the east borderlands of the European Union, Reg. Res. Russ, № 5, p. 212—222. doi: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079970515030119.