Search

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 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 ...

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 ...

... central role in the global economy, prioritizing technological independence from the West. In India and Brazil, the TS course is shaped by structural economic challenges and the risks of growth slowdown. Against this background, we proceed to examine Russia’s TS course, analyzing its rationale, design of TS projects, as well as limitations and risks posed by sanctions. Then we highlight distinctions between Russia’s TS course and its foreign analogues, as well as reveal risks of Russia’s increasing ...

Despite the sweeping economic sanctions imposed by Western countries, Russia has managed to avoid a significant recession, experiencing recovery growth. The situation in the regions earlier involved in cooperation with Europe was more complicated. Yet, these territories have also succeeded in reviving their economies and ...

... waters, its maritime activities and coastalisation potential, including the economic, settlement-­related and psychological elements of the latter. The article describes the key influences of the sea factor on the spatial development of post-­Soviet Russia. The steadily growing impact of maritime activities on the spatial-­economic and settlement dynamics has been given a new impetus by the rising geostrategic, resource and transport-­logistic significance of the World Ocean, as well as its water ...

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 ...

Over the past 25 years, Russia has faced several economic and geopolitical challenges, including the 2008 global financial crisis, sanctions imposed in 2014, and the COVID-19 pandemic. To remain resilient in the face of these challenges, Russia needs to adopt a flexible development ...

... Sea region. Particularly, the paper describes four paradigms of international relations (neorealism, neoliberalism, globalism and postpositivism) and theoretical approaches to the concept of societal security formulated in them. On a practical plane, Russia has managed to develop — together with other regional players — a common regional approach to understanding societal security threats and challenges in the Baltic Sea region. These challenges include uneven regional development, social and ...

The article explores the challenges encountered during the formation of the Baltic macro-region comprising Russia and eight EU countries (Germany, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) in the context of the ongoing geopolitical and geo-economic changes. The article aims to assess the dynamics, level, structure and pace of economic ...

Amid the ongoing confrontation between Russia and the West, the processes of consolidation and divergence among political elites are crucial for understanding the mechanisms that form dividing lines. This is particularly important when examining the elites of the European Uni­on in their ...

For several decades, EU-Russian regional cooperation helped effectively respond to the local challenges. The EU terminated programmes for regional cooperation with Russia and Belarus in 2022. The existing paradiplomatic structure, however, may be of interest to scholars and policymakers as a model to be reproduced by Russia in cooperation with non-EU neighbours. The study aims to identify the main trends in paradiplomacy ...

... lack of international trust will not have catastrophic consequences for these states. Confiscating foreign property has been a recurring event in global practice [2]. However, the confiscation of Russian assets has some peculiarities: firstly, due to Russia’s status as a leading global power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and secondly, due to the amount of funds that could potentially be seized. These circumstances indicate the significant urgency of the problem, which requires ...

... exposure was proposed based on the mentioned indicators. Its value is lower for the regions with a more diversified economy and foreign trade. The greatest risks were observed in the closely connected to the European Union northwestern territories of Russia: Karelia, Komi, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, and Arkhangelsk regions. In 2022, regions with a high index value were more likely to experience a decline in economic activity, but in 2023, this impact was less explicit due to economic adaptation and transformation....

... of the geopolitical and geoeconomic aspects of the marine economy and close attention given to coastal border areas (particularly the prospects and risks of their socio-economic development within the continent-ocean dichotomy). The marine focus of Russia’s geostrategy will generate steady demand for national human geography of the world ocean, including its inevitable humanities component. Another trend is the involvement of human social geography in cross-branch geographical synthesis. The study ...

This article deals with the issues pertinent to the EU — Russia visa dialogue — one of the major areas of cooperation between the two partners. The article aims to identify the main problems of this dialogue, as well as prospects for the introduction of a visa-free regime between the EU and Russia. The authors ...

Today Russia has difficulty doing business-as-usual with EU states. It seems that the countries of the Visegrad Group (V4) and the Baltic Assembly/Baltic Council of Ministers (BA/BСM) have contributed substantially to this state of affairs. Overall, the tensions ...

Any system of terminology serves as a map of the field within which it is employed. The history of terminology, as an integral component of intellectual history, offers valuable in­sights for methodological reflection. It often prompts a reevaluation of specific issues by re­turning to their origins and rekindling potential implications and developments that were set aside in the course of the subsequent evolution of the discipline. This paper focuses on several terms that emerged during the formative...

... increasingly complex external circumstances. Recommendations based on the findings obtained will contribute to the region’s sustainable development, characterized by dynamic growth and proportional development. Introduction Kaliningrad is one of Russia’s more socio-­economically prosperous regions with numerous manufacturing businesses, whose development was supported by the Special Economic Zone regime (SEZ 1996, 2006). Whilst location along the Baltic Sea coast is an advantageous factor,...

In 2013, Russia’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) soared and the OFDI stock exceeded $ 500 billion. However, a year later, Russia’s OFDI dropped by nearly 15 per cent. Rapid upward and downward swings make it necessary to analyze the motivation of ...

... focus of researchers on boundaries of various ranks and statuses. The beginning of the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine and the break with the West have led to a sharp decline in bilateral trade, strengthened the barrier function of much of Russia’s western border, effectively deadlocking many land communications and creating at the same time an urgent need to increase the capacity of border crossing points in the east. The shock effects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the ...

... strategy of France in the Baltic region. This area has not traditionally been among the main priorities of French diplomacy. However, under President Emmanuel Macron, France pays closer attention to the Baltic Sea due to the growing tension between Russia and the West. According to France’s key strategic documents, the government assesses the present-day situation mainly in a negative way, considering Russian actions as the main reason for the militarization of the region and expressing its readiness ...

... executive power. The paper examines the reputation of Russian authorities of different levels and branches using the example of regional executive bodies. The author determines the structure and features of the reputation core of the conceptual category ‘Russia’s authorities’ understood both as federal and municipal authorities of the Russian Federation as a whole. The article also offers a comparison of the reputation core of regional executive authorities with that of ‘Russia’s authorities’ ...

... digital divide between Russian regions narrowed. Overall, the Internet use patterns are consistent with those of the spatial diffusion of innovations. Amongst the leaders, there are regions home to the largest agglomerations and northern territories of Russia, whereas those having a high proportion of rural population lag behind. Coastal and border regions (St. Petersburg, the Kaliningrad region, Karelia, Primorsky Krai, etc.) have better access to the Internet due to their proximity to the centres ...

Although Russia and the Baltics have historically been economic partners, the economic relations between them are tense today. Nearly stagnating bilateral trade contributes little to the development of either side. The Baltics-Russian bilateral trade conducted ...

... and the position of the Council of Europe member states on the European Court for Human Rights (section 3). The author comes to a conclusion that the concept of “common values” is to a great degree fictitious, and its viability depends on whether Russia behaves as a European country. The complete internalisation of democratic values, human rights, and good governance is still unattainable for the Russian Federation, which uses the platform of common values predominantly to achieve strategic goals ...

... Barry Buzan’s re­gional security complex theory, address Steven Mann’s controlled chaos theory and the concept of Intermarium. Their starting assumption is that the situation in the Baltic depends largely on the politics of external powers — Russia and the United States, — being a projection of their global geopolitical confrontation. The US strategy thus becomes a major part of the equation. The authors believe that since the end of the second Iraq war the American elite has been divided ...