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The article explores the concept of exclavity using the Kaliningrad region as an example. The authors analyse the concept of exclavity, identify its key attributes and the degree of their relevance, describe indicators of exclavity as well as factors influencing it. The main attributes of the Kaliningrad region’s exclavity are geographical separation and remoteness. The authors distinguish two types of exclavity, absolute (attributive) and relative (functional), identify strategies for overcoming absolute exclavity and offer functional solutions to the ‘access problem’. Among these solutions are extraterritorial corridors and transit regimes. Exclaves are viewed as unique border territories where the balance between the barrier and contact functions of the border serves as an indicator of relative exclavity. The authors analyse key factors relevant to absolute exclavity and its functional state: the geopolitical context, the exclave policy of the parent state, the condition of the exclave as a territorial unit, and the identity of its population. The study employs a range of methods and approaches, including logical analysis, case studies, and comparative analysis.

Contemporary Russia’s spatial development is markedly affected by profound geoeconomic and geopolitical shifts, progressively more visible in terms of magnitude and repercussions. For Russia, the positive impact of these changes has become increasingly linked to the emergence of the Greater Eurasia macro-structure. This article aims to develop a contemporary conceptual approach to Greater Eurasia as a socio-geographical mega-structure given Russia’s oppo­sition to the collective West. Additionally, it seeks to identify, using this approach, the strate­gic interests, opportunities and limitations of Russia’s spatial dynamics on the path towards Eurasian continentalism, which promotes transboundary cooperation and mutually supportive co-development of Eurasian states. The focus of this contribution is on the most crucial con­temporary trends and principal contradictions in the transformation of the Russian space. The study provides a picture of the framework of ‘greater’ Eurasian integration, emphasising its connection to intensifying interregional and inter-municipal interactions. A rationale is out­lined for shifting the country’s economic activity towards the east and north, with priorities identified given the inertia of spatial processes and the growing significance of Siberia in the Russian space. The potential and efficiency of prolonging the ‘Moscow-centric’ arrangement of the Russian space are assessed from the perspective of ensuring the multidirectional develop­ment of the latter. Special attention is paid to the ‘municipalisation’ of approaches to the strate­gic planning of Russia’s spatial development in the context of Eurasian continental integration.

A modern innovative economy relies on the continual integration of knowledge and tech­nologies into production, monitoring, and management processes. Therefore, territorial proximity and sectoral complementarity of the activities of scientific, technological and industrial organisations are crucial factors in fostering innovation. This article aims to assess the relationship between a region’s economic and scientific specialisation and the level of its innovative development. The object of the study is the industrial and research profile of Russian regions’ economies with a focus on the strength of connections between them. We identified and measured Russian regions’ industry-specific research, technolog­ical and economic specialisations. Additionally, we described the spatial and structural patterns of interregional distribution and concentration of research, technological and in­novative activities. Methodologically, we compared data on the product output by industry, using the OKVED classification subgroups and information on the costs and implemen­tation of R&D. To gather the latter data, we employed our methodology, which involved juxtaposing GRNTI and OKVED codes. Overall, we analysed data from 17.3 thousand re­search, development and technological projects conducted between 2017 and 2021 across 18 fields. Specialisation coefficients for both the supply and demand of R&D outcomes and production were computed for each region. The econometric analysis made it possible to distinguish four clusters of regions based on their research and industrial specialisation: agro-industrial regions, mechanical engineering regions, precision engineering regions and diversified regions. The study demonstrated a correlation between a region’s innova­tive product output and the structure of its innovative economy.

The suburban area of St. Petersburg stands out as Russia’s most complex in terms of spatial structure, encompassing districts ranging from the suburban imperial residences of the 18th century to low-rise residential zones and modern multi-storey developments of the 21st century. This study concluded that extensive stretches of the administrative border between St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region divide homogeneous territories. Therefore, it makes little academic or practical sense to confine scholarly efforts solely to suburbs situated on one side of this border. The principal factor in delineating the St. Petersburg urban area is the transport accessibility of territories surrounding the city. It was empirically determined that the inner boundary of the suburban area is located approximately within the 40—45-minute isochrone from the city centre, while the outer boundary extends to the 2-hour isochrone. In the conditions of today’s St. Petersburg, a two-hour isochrone corresponds to a 60 km distance. Along with isochrones, the actual boundary of the suburban area is determined by several natural and anthropogenic factors.

In terms of the natural environment, a significant part of the St. Petersburg suburban area is anthropogenic forest-steppe, whose landscapes are radically different from those of the area’s natural southern taiga subzone. The features of the ‘forest steppe’ reach their peak to the southwest and south of St. Petersburg. To the north of the city, the suburban zone is defined by both ‘anthropogenic forest-steppe’ and secondary small-leaved forests that have replaced agricultural lands. Another prominent feature is parks found on the premises of former estates where introduced woody species account for a substantial portion of vegetation. The spatial structure of the suburban area north of St. Petersburg is complicated by large extents of unpopulated areas. Since the 19th century, they have divided the area into two virtually disconnected parts.

This article aims to identify the determinants of the development of national innovation systems in the globalised world and to carry out a cluster analysis of innovation systems of the South Caucasus and Baltic States. To this end, an Innovation System Development Index (ISDI) comprising 46 indicators was developed. The authors employed the macro-clustering method, as well as aggregation and combination techniques for parameters and sub-indices. Additionally, complete-linkage and K-means methods were used to group the countries. Kalinsky-Kharabaz and Duda-Hart indices, as well as dendrograms, were found to be the most effective techniques for producing the novel classification proposed in this contribution. It was demonstrated using the former method that national innovation systems exhibit qualitatively different cluster characteristics and follow different development trends. According to the findings, Estonia ranks first on the index among the study countries with (ISDI = 0.77), while the South Caucasus states form two subgroups. Armenia (ISDI = 0.50) and Georgia (ISDI = 0.53) comprise a relatively developed subgroup, whereas Azerbaijan (ISDI = 0.44) constitutes a separate unit, delivering a less remarkable performance. The latter method revealed that the Baltic States form the most developed cluster group, with Estonia once again at the top of the index (ISDI = 0.85). The Baltic States and the South Caucasus states comprised two separate groups. Except for the patent activity sub-index, Estonia outperforms the other study countries on all sub-indices. Armenia and Georgia rank relatively high on the patent activity sub-index, whereas Azerbaijan performs well on the innovation activity and infrastructural development sub-indices. These findings would allow the South Caucasus countries to draw on the experience of the Baltic states in identifying challenges to the development of their national innovation systems. Overall, the study demonstrated the possibility of classifying the countries of the two post-Soviet regions based on the similarity of national innovation systems.

This article analyses fertility rate trends in Latvia over a medium-term period of 53 years, from 1970 to 2022, aiming to predict the immediate prospects for population replacement. The novelty of this interdisciplinary research, which encompasses demography, mathematics, economics and sociology, lies in applying mathematical analysis to the study of socio-demographic processes, which has not been attempted before by Latvian or international researchers. Moreover, this study is the first to draw on the theory of economic cycles to identify demographic cycles and their phases in Latvia and predict the near-term birth rate in Latvia. Furthermore, analysing comparative data from 2004 and 2022 sociological surveys cast light on the principal cause of Latvia’s declining fertility rate. This shift is due to changes in societal values, where the family and children no longer hold a central place, which is particularly true of women in Latvia. Consumerism-driven value changes have ceased to be a sine qua non of achieving their life goals and ambitions. Facilitating an increase in the fertility rate would require considering Latvian society’s values and pursuing socioeconomic policies that comprise both internal measures, such as increasing residents’ financial security, and external initiatives, including neighbourliness promotion. Latvia’s fertility rates will continue to decline for several more years until the trough of the following demographic cycle is reached, which will be lower than that of the previous cycle. There will be an upturn within the linear downward trend in birth rates – but even this anticipated rise will not reach the earlier peak. Thus, as the findings of the study suggest, the projected increase in Latvia’s total fertility rate to 1.77 children per woman, as envisioned by the FAMILY — LATVIA — 2030 (2050) Population Reproduction Strategy, is practically unattainable by 2027.

In Central Europe and the Baltic region, healthcare expenditure has been growing slightly faster than across the euro area and in OECD countries. However, health outcomes as re­gards chronic diseases prove to be modest in the euro area and OECD countries compared to Central Europe and the Baltic region. Panel data analysis and country-specific regres­sions were conducted using World Bank data spanning from 2000 to 2019. Evidence sug­gests a significant correlation between private and current health expenditures and reduced ­mortality from chronic diseases in males, females and the total population across the panel, leading to improved longevity. Yet, public health expenditure does not correlate with a sub­stantial reduc­tion in mortality or a higher lifespan among the population, whether consid­ered collectively or among males and females separately. Similarly, an increase in current health expenditure by one unit leads to significant reductions in mortality from non-com­municable diseases: by 29 percent in the total population, 22 percent in females and 36 per­cent in males. Public health spending in Lithuania and Russia has been shown to decrease mortality from non-com­municable diseases. Furthermore, chronic mortality is associated with a significant decline in labour productivity: by 42 percent in the total population, 40 percent in males and 45 percent in females. Therefore, interventions implemented through public health systems may reduce mortality from chronic conditions in the study countries.

The analysis of changes in the ethnic structure of the population is one of the most cen­tral topics in the study of the development of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This work aims to identify stages in the evolution of ethno-contact zones in the Baltic States, using ethnic statistics from the end of the 19th century to the present. This study employs, for the first time, a methodology for identifying stages of ethnic contact zone development. This metho­dology simultaneously considers the direction of change in the ethnic mosaic index used to determine the phases of growth and dissolution of ethnic contact zones and the positive or negative dynamics of the proportion of titular ethnic groups. The ethnic mosaic index helped identify five prominent ethnic contact zones: the capitals of the Baltic countries, Ida-Viru County in Estonia and the Latgale region in Latvia. Over the past century and a half, these ethnic contact zones have exhibited three different types of dynamics. The first is characteristic of Tallinn, Riga and the Latgale region, where phases of ethnic contact zone growth and dissolution alternate as the proportion of titular ethnic groups changes in response to the vicissitudes of history. The second is peculiar to the Estonian county of Ida-Virumaa, which has experienced phases of ethnic contact zone development and an increase in the non-titular population. The third, exemplified by Vilnius, combines phases of ethnic contact zone growth and dissolution with a rise in the proportion of the titular ethnic group. The proposed methodology can be extended to the analysis of ethnic contact zone development in other territories as well.

With digital communication becoming a quotidian practice, social media has emerged as a common channel for personal and business communication, utilised by authorities among other actors. This article proposes an approach for measuring a territory’s digitalisation by quantifying local governments’ presence on social media. The work aims to identify digital underperformers among municipalities of Russia’s Northwestern Federal District, drawing on data from the Vkontakte social network. The empirical part of the research utilised data gathered from 2011 to 2022 on the socioeconomic performance and municipal heads of 1,083 settlements and 199 districts. Significant factors influencing municipalities’ presence on social media were determined using binary logistic regression, with two clustering results compared to identify the underperforming municipalities. It was concluded that population size, municipal revenues and expenditures, fiscal capacity and average salary are directly proportional to municipal social media presence, and the distance to the regional centre and the status of a district centre are inversely proportional to the study parameter. Age, place of residence and the method of nomination for elections affect the likelihood of a municipal head having a social media account. The findings show that a fourth of the study settlements, most of them located in the Pskov, Novgorod and Vologda regions, need to take measures to develop digital technologies and strengthen their social media presence.