Russia’s energy policy in the Baltic region: a geoeconomic approach
This article analyses certain issues of implementation of Russian energy policy in the Baltic region fr om the geoeconomic perspective. The purpose of the study is to explain Russian energy policy in the region as dependent solely on the import capacity of its partners. Russian energy policy is viewed as one of the most important activities of the state and its business structures. As such it aims to achieve both general economic goals (generation of profit, market domination) and more specific geoeconomic...
Modern understanding of ‘geoeconomic position’ and the Saint Petersburg agglomeration
... Prostranstvo i razvitie Rossii: polimasshtabnyj analiz [Space and Development in Russia: Analysis polimasshtabny], Vestnik Rossijskoj akademii nauk [Bulletin of the Russian Academy
of Sciences], Vol. 79, no. 2, p. 101—112.
2. Smith, A. 2002, Imagining geographies of the ‘new Europe’: geo-economic power and the new European architecture of integration, Political Geography, Vol. 21.
3. Gubanova, T. E. (comp.), 1987, Jekonomicheskaja i social'naja geografija v SSSR: Istorija i sovremennoe razvitie ...
International Migration in the Periods of Transition and Crisis: the Case of Latvia
Migration processes are amongst the most relevant issues in the geography of the Baltic States. The authors analyse the changes in migration patterns from the early 1990s until today. The focus of the study is the recent trends of migratory movements in the case of Latvia. Due to the country’s economic recession, migration has accelerated in the recent years. Empirical results show the response of the migration system to the changing internal factors and external influences in the times of transition...
The Baltics and Russian North-West: the Core and the Periphery in the 2000s
This article analyses population changes in North-West regions of Russia (the former North-Western economic zone and the Kaliningrad region) and the Baltics at the level of urban districts and municipalities. The cohort component method is used to analyze the youth population dynamics in the administrative territorial units of this level, which makes it possible to estimate the international (intraregional) migration of this population group. This method is used quite rarely, yet it is more accurate...
Geography of international clusters in the Baltic region
International cluster is a relatively new form of spatial organisation of economy in the globalisation conditions, which has become a frequent phenomenon in European countries, including those of the Baltic region. It requires a comprehensive study of both regional economics and economic geography. This article aims to identify structured international clusters in the Baltic region and map the corresponding regions. The results obtained will make it possible to get a comprehensive idea of the aggregate...
Spatial planning in the European Union and the Russian Federation
This article analyzes the principles of spatial planning, which form the basis for this type of urban development in the countries of the European Union (EU) and in the Russian Federation. The following principles are considered and compared for both territories: 1) promotion of territorial cohesion through a more balanced social and economic development of regions and improved competitiveness; 2) encouragement of development generated by urban functions and improvement of the relationship between...
Development of Aland Islands: major trends and challenges
This article considers key conditions and factors of the development of Aland Islands, describes main international legal regulations determining current status of the islands, identifies the trends in volume and structure of economic activities, ana lyzes processes of population change by regions and communes, as well as migration flows. The article also characterizes legal framework for socioeconomic development of the Finnish region. It is argued that the key factor behind modern welfare of the...
Measuring social well-being in the rural areas of the Kaliningrad region
This article evaluates the social wellbeing of rural municipalities of the Kaliningrad region. The degree of social wellbeing is assessed on the basis of an analysis of statistical data and expert evaluations. Rural districts were identified in the Kaliningrad region on the basis of the following criteria: the share of population residing in the rural areas (threshold value of 50 %); the share of non-residential areas (threshold value of 75 %), the share of agricultural lands (threshold value of...
Competitive effects of low trade barriers: evaluations for the Kaliningrad region
International trade is an important factor affecting competition in domestic markets. Considering the vastness of Russian territory, one can expect the pro-competitive effect to vary from region to region. This analysis tests the hypothesis that the unique geographical position and economic status of the Kaliningrad region contribute to the rapid development of international trade, which, in turn, exerts competitive pressure on regional prices. The study incorporates two major lines of analysis:...
A spatial study of networking in the Vistula Lagoon region using geoinformation systems
Network cooperation — the most efficient form of unlocking the economic and natural potential of territories — is rapidly developing in Russia under the influence of global processes. Due to its unique geopolitical position, the Kaliningrad region is one of the regions where such networks develop at both the regional and international levels. When studying such forms of cooperation, the traditional methods of social sciences as research tools are not sufficient, which is explained by the dynamic...
The concepts of enclave and exclave and their use in the political and geographical characteristic of the Kaliningrad region
This article focuses on the genesis of and correlation between the related concepts of enclave and exclave and the scope of their use in different sciences, fields of knowledge, and everyday speech. The author examines the circumstances of their emergence in the reference and professional literature in the Russian language. Special attention is paid to the typology of the world’s enclave territories as objects of political geography; at the same time, their new categories and divisions (international...
The role of transit in the economy of Latvia
Transit is an important issue in the history of world economy, including the economy of Latvia. Transit makes a significant contribution to the budget of many transit countries, one of which is the Republic of Latvia. These countries do not have significant natural resources and prefer to focus on logistics and infrastructure in order to facilitate the transit process. This article focuses on the role of transit in the economy of Latvia, whose unique geographical position makes the country an effective...
North-West Russia in the context of European integration
Integration is one of the main consequences of globalization. Elements of microsystems are growing closer, which brings to the foreground problems of interaction and — in a longer perspective — those of close cooperation between different social systems. The article considers the case of North-West Russia, the only territory having a common border with the EU, in order to examine the issue of Russia using the geographical factor, which Otto von Bismarck called the most powerful and intrinsic factor...
Russia’s energy geostrategy in the Baltic Sea region
This article explores Russian energy policy in the Baltic Sea region in the context of the world energy market globalization. The study focuses on the three Baltic States — Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia — which have a similar geographical location and history. The dynamic development of the region as a whole is strongly influenced by the stability of energy supply in each state. The article analyses the role Russia plays in the energy policy of the region from both geopolitical and geostrategic...
A Situational Approach to Strategic Management and Monitoring of Regional and Urban Development
Through a situational approach to strategic management of regional and urban development it is possible to identify the interaction between the managerial process and mechanism; bring together the spatial and activity-related concepts of territorial development; and explain the phenomenon in question from both general and specific perspectives. Territorial development is becoming the principal object of strategic management of a region or city, its key tool being the utilization of its own good practices...
Clusters in the institutional perspective: on the theory and methodology of local socioeconomic development
This article addresses the problem of definition and identification of clusters as localized mesoeconomic systems with fuzzy boundaries that stimulate the development of these systems. The author analyses the influence of the inductive approach to the formation of cluster theory and juxtaposes different typologies of clusters and other types of localized economic systems. The article offers an overview of the existing methodological approaches to the problem of cluster identification and emphasises...
The historical and geographical evolution of the enclavity of the Kaliningrad region
This article considers the origin, development, change in the status, and extinction of enclave and exclave formations in the territory of the modern Kaliningrad region. The author offers information on their socio-economic and political features. The article identifies enclave (exclave) problems peculiar to them, including the land access (passenger and cargo transit) of the metropolis to the isolated territory, as well as the issues relating to the origins of state border, border control, visa...
Rural areas of Eastern Germany: modern challenges
After the German reunification the agricultural development of eastern territories seemed to have picked up its pace. Yet the main problems those territories are facing today hatched already in the mid-1990s. In our study we address the problems and challenges that hinder sustainable development of East German rural areas. We analyse agricultural statistics and describe the structure of agricultural enterprises, land-use, and other critical dimensions of agriculture. We discuss pros and cons of modern...
The territorial structure of productive forces of Russian North-West in the 2000—2010s
A number of researchers are studying regional specifications of Russia from a variety of different perspectives. Economic geography has developed its own methods of approaching the study of territories, and looks, in particular, at geographical distribution of labour. In this article, we use the framework provided by this discipline to describe the changes in the economy of the Russian North-West in the first decade of the 21st century. We combine publicly available data to propose new methods of...
The transnational territorial transport system of the Baltic Region
In this paper we focus on the structure and territorial borders of the Baltic Sea region, and examine the key structural elements of the transnational territorial transport system. In this respect, we clarify some terms used in transport geography. For the first time the transport system gets territorially localized, which allows for a broad range of new studies of transnational transportation in the Baltic Sea area. We also identify the main principles of development and operation of international...
The role of the Kaliningrad region in the development of Russian-German relations
Germany is one of the principal partners of the Russian Federation. The Kaliningrad region plays a significant role in the development of partnership between the two countries, but the existing opportunities for development are not fully exploited. This article analyses the development, current state and prospects of an increasing role of the region in Russian-German cooperation. The authors emphasize the role of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University as one of the leaders in the development...
The Kaliningrad region in Polish scientific research
This article offers an overview of the leading Polish research centres focusing on the political, social, and economic aspects of the Kaliningrad region.
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3. Baryła, T., Hojszyk, W., Wojnowsk,i E. 2004. Obwód Kaliningradzki Federacji Rosyjskiej. Wybór dokumentów 1994—2004. Olsztyn.
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6. Budnikowski...
The North-West of Russia: the potential and areas of Russian-Lithuanian research and innovation cooperation
This article considers the present state and prospects of Russian-Lithuanian cooperation in the field of research and innovation. The author analyses the tendencies of innovation activities of economic entities in the North-West of Russia in terms of relative innovation activity indicators. Special attention is paid to the role of cross-border and trans-border cooperation in the Baltic macroregion as a mechanism of managing the innovative development of regional economy.
1. Instrument Evropejskogo...
The Estonian diaspora in South-West Russia in the 1920—30s: migration results
This article analyses the spatial features of the settling of Russian Estonians in the Northwest region at the “zenith” of diaspora on the basis of 1920, 1926, and 1939 censuses. The author identifies the principal settling areas and points out the geographical preconditions for the rapid decline of the diaspora.
1. Administrativno-territorial'noe ustrojstvo Leningradskoj oblasti. 1933. Leningrad.
2. Bjulleten' Leningradskogo oblastnogo otdela statistiki. 1928. № 20. Aprel'-ijun'.
3. Vsesojuznaja...