Demographic development processes in the history of the Kaliningrad region: national trends and regional specifics
This article aims to identify the main demographic development trends and features observed in the Kaliningrad region from a historical perspective and assess the extent to which the region’s demographic development corresponds to the national model accepted in contemporary historiography. The empirical sources used in this study include demographic statistics from published and archival materials; theoretically, it draws on the concepts of demographic and epidemiological transitions. Analysis...
Population change and the settlement system transformation in Poland, as revealed by the 2021 census
This article aims to analyse current geodemographic changes in Poland, based on the data of the 2021 National Population and Housing Census. Methods, traditional for socioeconomic geography, such as zoning, were employed. Poland’s population decreased during the inter-census period (2011—2021), with the urban population declining faster than its rural counterpart. The large voivodeships aligned along the Vistula ‘axis’ — Mazowiecka, Lesser Poland and Pomerania — outperform other Polish...
Current Scenarios for the Demographic Future of the World: The Cases of Russia and Germany
In this article, we explore the demographic future of the world with a focus on scenarios for Russia and Germany. We seek an alternative to the Western standards of scenarios for global demographic development. We consider demographic development both in a positive and negative sense. Our analysis rests on such theoretical structures as the general theory of population, the classical theory of demographic transition, the concepts of the ‘second’, ‘third’, and ‘fourth’ demographic transitions...
Demographic Ranking of the Baltic Sea States
The relevance of the study lies in the acute need to modernise the tools for a more accurate and comparable reflection of the demographic reality of spatial objects of different scales. This article aims to test the methods of “demographic rankings” developed by Yermakov and Shmakov. The method is based on the principles of indirect standardisation of the major demographic coefficients relative to the age structure.The article describes the first attempt to apply the method to the analysis of...
Natural Increase in the Baltic South and South-West
This article analyses the natural population increase (decrease) in the postcommunist part of Baltic Europe (the federated state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian, and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Kaliningrad and Leningrad region, and the federal city of Saint Petersburg) in 2002—2011. The study uses standard methods of demographic analysis, the data provided by national statistical services and Eurostat. All regions analysed are characterised...
Demographic Situation and Demographic Security in the Regions of Russia’s Western Borderlands
In this study, I address the vast and complicated problem of population replacement in Russia’s border regions. Although both national and regional demographic indicators have improved in Russia in recent years, many issues relating to sub-replacement fertility, irrational migration, etc. remain unresolved. This lends an urgency to studying regional demographic security, namely, the problems of ensuring replacement fertility, regulating migrations, and overcoming a skewed age and sex structure...
Current Issues in the Geodemographic Studies in Russia
The article takes stock of the “state of affairs” in contemporary research of geographical demography in the USSR and the RF. The issue, concludes the author, has not received sufficient attention, and the use of geodemographic studies in managing regional development remains limited. This article aims to demonstrate three things: the importance of geodemographic approach in comprehensive regional studies to the needs of regional strategic planning; the key features of geodemographic typology...
Spatial differentiation of rural territories in the Kaliningrad region: implications for socio-economic policies
The article analyses the challenges associated with the development of rural areas in the Kaliningrad region. The author analyses trends in the development of agriculture, population dynamics, and settlement patterns, while also exploring their interconnectedness and external impacts. The research draws upon comparative-geographical, economic-statistical, and cartographic analyses utilizing official statistical data. The study reveals that since the early 2000s, agricultural production in the Kaliningrad...
Current Geodemographic Problems in the European Union and Migration Crisis of the 2010s
This article demonstrates the effect of the 2010s migration crisis has had on the demographic development of the European Union. Employing statistics and mapping, the study argues that the demographic development of EU states is not affected by either socioeconomic performance or religious, linguistic, and cultural characteristics. Migration inflow differs significantly by country and EU region. The authors analyse major irregular migration routes and show that their use cannot be always explained...
Population Ageing as a Sociodemographic Problem in the Baltic Region
Population ageing is a major problem of European development in the 21st century. Rapid population ageing in most developed countries will continue to drive the dependency ratio up. This research aims to forecast dependency ratio in the Baltic region until the end of the century. A more detailed population analysis and forecast is provided for the case of the Baltic States — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The authors use Bayesian probabilistic predictions based on data from the Population...
Migration and the Transformation of Multiethnic Population Structure in the Kaliningrad Region of the Post-Soviet Era
This paper analyses the migration processes and their influence on the transformation of multiethnic population structure in the Kaliningrad region. The author uses official statistics (current statistics and census data), as well as interviews with the representatives of ethnic cultural associations as information sources. Special attention is paid to the migration features associated with different ethnic groups. The author identifies major reasons behind the incoming and outgoing movement of population...
Between the Eurasian and European subsystems: migration and migration policy in the CIS and Baltic Countries in the 1990s—2020s
The article analyses migration from border countries (the so-called overlapping area) of two migration subsystems — Eurasian (centred in the Russian Federation) and European (the European Union) from 1991 to 2021 (before the recent events in Ukraine). A step-by-step analysis of the migration situation in the countries of the former USSR — Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Ukraine and Estonia was conducted. The article examines bilateral and multilateral migration processes, analyses the main...
Geo-demographic typology of municipalities of the Kaliningrad region
The article discusses the emergence and development of geo-demographic research in Russia, the US and Europe. It was concluded that despite the differences in purpose and nature of this kind of research, the geo-demographic classification remains the primary methodology in the analysis of geodemographic situation. The cluster analysis is applied to study territorial differentiation of geo-demographic development of the Kaliningrad region.
1. Sleight P. Targeting customers: How to use geodemographic...
Improving Human Resource Training Policy for the Balanced Economic and Demographic Development of the Kaliningrad Region
Balanced economic and demographic development is vital for ensuring the dynamic and proportional development of the regions. However, Russia as a whole and the exclave region of Kaliningrad as its integral part demonstrate significant disproportions between the need for human resources and their availability. This article aims to assess the balance between the components of the regional system of demography, education and economy system. It also explores the possible solutions to the problems revealed...
Is demographic development of central Russia facing a tipping point?
The article studies current trends and problems of demographic development in Central Russia. Particular attention is paid to the Smolensk region which is considered to be one of the most demographically troubled Russian regions. The causes of the drop in absolute and relative fertility rates in the region have been revealed. One of them is the dramatic change in the age structure of the population due to the fact that demographic development entered the recession phase which in its turn might be...
Geography of external migration ties of the Kaliningrad region in the 1990s and 2000s
The article studies changes in migration relations between the Kaliningrad region and other regions of Russia and the former Soviet republics in 1990s and 2000s. Migratory flows intensity was assessed on the methodology of calculation of interregional migration intensity ratio (KIMS). The study analyzes the information on the annual arrivals and departures in the Kaliningrad region since 1992 provided by the Kaliningrad regional statistics office. Mapping of migration areas dynamics in the Kaliningrad...
Management of Migration Processes in the Far East: Dysfunctions of Socio-Demographic Policy in the Region
The author identifies and analyzes the dysfunctions generated by the socio-demographic situation in Russia. This study contains a critical analysis of the demographic indicators of the Far Eastern Federal District and Russia as a whole, through which a critical assessment of the region’s current development program and an analysis of its compliance with public expectations are formed. One of the fundamental issues of the study is migration of Russia’s population, because many regions of the country...
The ethnic aspects of demographic processes in the Baltic region states
This article focuses on the problems pertaining to the regionalisation of geo-demographic situation in the Baltic region. Particular attention is paid to the influence of ethnic factors on the parameters and trends of demographic processes. The author comes to a conclusion about the achievement of demographic homeostasis in most ethnos-nations in the Baltic region.
1. The EU Baltic Sea Region Strategy Towards a Sustainable, Prosperous Future.2009. Brussels: European Commission, Directorate-General...
Population Change in the Neighbouring Regions of Russia and the European Union States
In this article, I carry out a comparative analysis of population change in the bordering regions of Russia and the European Union. Peripheries of their countries, most of these regions enjoy a more or less favourable demographic situation, which, however, differs from place to place. To attain the aims of the study, I analyse official data from Russian and EU statistical offices and map the results obtained. I identify significant differences between border regions and cities. The most adverse demographic...
Economic and demographic distinctions between municipal districts of the Kaliningrad region
The economic and demographic situation in the Kaliningrad region is better than in most regions of the country. The dynamic economic development results in high employment and low unemployment rates. The demand for labour force is partially satisfied through high net migration rate. However, there are obvious distinctions between municipalities. Having analyzed the statistical data on the situation in urban districts, the authors identified territorial differences, influencing the economic...
Typology of the geodemographic situation in the regions of the North-West of Russia
The article evaluates the geodemographic situation at the meso level through complex analysis of demographic, migration, socio-economic processes in the subjects of the North-West Federal District of Russia. The authors have selected 30 assessment indicators which reflect in aggregate the level of demographic development, the quality and standard of living of the population. It allowed to make the typology of subjects NWFD of the Russian Federation by the nature of the geodemographic situation according...
Human Resource Efficiency as a Development Factor for the Kaliningrad Economy
Various studies of economic and geographical relations in Russian regions often overemphasise the role of economy. However, the quality and quantity of human resources is one of the key factors behind distribution and development of production. Human resources are of even more importance in the Kaliningrad exclave. This paper aims to increase understanding of the role of human resources in the economic development of the Kaliningrad region. The study uses the cohort component method, scenario-based...
The demographic problems of the Pskov region and the main approaches to solving them at the level of the regional state authorities
This article analyses the demographic problems of the Pskov region. The authors propose a system of government regulation of demographic processes in view of the functions of the regional executive authorities.
1. Predpolagaemaja chislennost' naselenija Pskovskoj oblasti do 2030 goda 2010. In: Statisticheskij bjulleten. Pskov.
2. Pskovskaja oblast v cifrah: statisticheskiy sbornik. 2010. Pskov.
3. Pskovskij statisticheskij ezhegodnik. 2009: statisticheskij sbornik. 2009. Pskov.
4. Regiony Rossii...
The geopolitical effect of the maritime factor on the spatial development of post-Soviet Russia: the Baltic case
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...
Attractiveness of the Kaliningrad region: pull factors and reasons for disappointments of migrants from Russian regions
The Kaliningrad region’s attractiveness to migrants results in increasing external (international) and interregional migration. The interregional flow is a major contributor, accounting for approximately 60 per cent of the net migration gain. However, the age composition and professional qualification of migrants from other regions of Russia do not fully agree with the specifics of the region’s labour market and its strategic socio-economic development priorities. This lends urgency to...
Geoeconomic risks faced by the Russian Baltic region amid a deteriorating geopolitical situation
This article is a conceptual theoretical-empirical study of the geopolitical risks the Baltic Russian regions have faced amid the deteriorating geopolitical situation observed since 2014. The Baltic Russian regions are in a vulnerable position because of their geographical vicinity to EU countries, with which they share common borders, and the dramatically worsening military and political situation. To analyse geoeconomic risks, the author employed an earlier proposed methodology, which has been...
Transport connectivity as a factor in overcoming challenges of the periphery: the case of rural areas in the Kaliningrad region
Quality of life in rural areas is increasingly dependent on transport links to nearest towns and regional centres. In this article, we examine transport connectivity between villages and towns in the Kaliningrad region. We use the travel time access parameter to investigate the influence of transport connectivity on the population size and the prospects of socio-economic development in rural areas with different transport and geographical situations. Although the overall transport connectivity is...
Russia-European Union and Russian-Chinese borderlands: economic and demographic dimension
In the modern world, the intensity of inter-civilizational, intercultural and interstate interaction is increasing. Border regions, territories where this interaction involves direct contact, are of great importance in this process. This has given rise to a new area of research — border region studies. The Russian Federation has the longest state border, the largest number of neighbouring countries, and centuries of experience in the peaceful existence and cooperation between different cultures...
The Effect of Migration on Latvia’s Sex and Age Composition
The theory of Demographic Transition stipulates that the number of countries with the replacement and sub-replacement level of the total fertility rate is growing. In these conditions, population dynamics and the sex and age composition are increasingly affected by migration. The above holds true for Eastern European countries. Population decline has haunted Latvia for two and a half decades. Since 1990, the net migration rate has been negative, which contributes to depopulation. This study aims...
On demographic development trends in the Kaliningrad region during Perestroika
This article focuses on the characteristics of demographic development of the Kaliningrad region during the reform, crisis, and collapse of the Soviet administrative and political system. Priority attention is given to changes in the population reproduction model. It is concluded that the main trends in the regional population development were similar to the national ones, at the same time retaining the regional age.
1. Демографическая модернизация России, 1900—2000...
Changes in the Population Distribution and Transport Network of Saint Petersburg
The authors explores the interdependence between demographic changes and transport network centrality, using Saint Petersburg as an example. The article describes the demographic data for the period 2002—2015 and the transportation network data of 2006. The authors employ several methods of demographic research; they identified the centre of gravity of the population, produce the standard deviational ellipsis and use the kernel density estimation. The street network centrality of Saint Petersburg...
Migration Flows in Europe: Space and Time Transformation
One of the key manifestations of globalisation is an increase in the spatial mobility of population involving growing numbers of people into international migration processes. This article is an attempt to assess the density of migration connections between European states based on the 1990—2015 quantitative data. An analysis of migration flows and relevant net migration and net migration and migration localisation at the national and regional levels makes it possible to identify key trends in...
Social and Economic Space Compression in Border Areas: the Case of the Northwestern Federal District
The so-called “compression” of social and economic space has been the subject of quite a few studies in the past decades. There are two principle types of compression: communicative, that is, associated with the development of transport and information systems, and physical, manifested in the rapid decrease of the number of new territories to explore. While physical and communicative compression are interrelated, they have different spatial expressions depending on geographical conditions, economic...
Structural and Functional Characteristics of the Spatial Development of Rural and Urban Areas in the Northwestern Economic District
This article is dedicated to the problem of increasing spatial polarisation in the population distribution systems of the Leningrad, Novgorod, and Pskov regions. The author examines the impact of development and distribution of factors of production on demographic processes and trends in the transformation of the population distribution system. Based on an analysis of the sectoral structure of economy and demographic development trends, the author proposes a functional typology of urban and rural...
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...
Demographic change in Germany and reversal of spatial ageing patterns
The paper presents the result of a spatial analysis considering the effect of demographic ageing and ageing-in-place processes in Germany according to spatially differentiated ageing patterns among urban, sub-urban and rural counties up to 2025. As to the latest official population forecast counties of urban core regions will undergo a slower ageing process than other types of counties, resulting in a reversal of ageing patterns. Urban core areas in this analysis will gain demographically from their...
The demographic problems of the Baltic cities: general trends
This article discusses the trends of demographic development of the Baltic Sea region's cities. It analyses the factors affecting the urban population dynamics in the second half of the 20th — the beginning of the 21st centuries. The authors emphasise the dependence of the Baltic cities on the socioeconomic development level throughout the region as well as intraregional disparities. The article analyses the conclusions drawn in the "Urban audit.2007" report.
1. Kotov, A. Norvezhskij...
The modern economy of Russia’s Baltic regions in the municipal context
This article analyses the differentiation of municipalities at the municipal and urban district levels in the Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions based on their economic development and the response of their economies to the crises of 2020 and 2022. Emphasis is placed on the possibilities of conducting such assessments by merging Rosstat statistics with publicly available accounting and tax reporting data from the Federal Tax Service. The contribution also assesses the role of small businesses in municipal...
Geography of the mobile internet in the border and interior regions of Russia
Digital transformation of socio-economic processes is the basis for sustainable development of regions in the digital age. The foundation for such a transformation is the information and communication infrastructure and, first of all, the mobile Internet. The technological growth of mobile networks has provided a rapid increase in the number of users around the world, contributing to further digitalization. With the development of digital technologies, research in the field of human geography has...
Population and settlement of the Kaliningrad region at the beginning of 2023
The article focuses on the dynamics of the Kaliningrad region population in 1947—2023 and the dynamics components in 1990—2022 in comparison with the national average (based on the official statistics). The authors reveal some territorial features of the demographic processes, such as the development of settlement polarization and suburbanization, as well as the fundamental geodemographic differences between the near suburban zone of Kaliningrad and less urbanized eastern municipalities. It...
Societal security in the Baltic Sea Region: the Russian perspective
This study discusses whether the concept of societal security is embedded in the Russian formal and informal discourses as well as in the Russian strategic documents on national security and the Baltic 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...
Russophone immigration to Finland: new forms, trends, and consequences
Until the 1960s, Finland was more often the country of origin than the country of destination. Once a depressed area, it soon turned into a welfare state, becoming with international migrants. Since Finland’s labour market and society are beset with demographic problems, the country gladly accepts labour migrants, particularly those from neighbouring states. Most EU immigrants coming to Finland are Estonians. Immigration from without the EU — from Russia and other former Soviet countries —...
Comparative analysis of the territorial support frame of settlement in coastal areas: the case of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad regions
As a scientific method, comparative studies respond to the needs of society. However, the logic of globalisation has reduced the demand for comparative analysis in international and national (regional) studies. Nevertheless, old, settled coastal areas — which European urban science considers as evidence of the decisive effect of coastal position on spatial development and urbanisation — remain valid research objects. Achieving corresponding theoretical and practical goals requires qualitative...
Migration distances in Russia: a demographic profile of migrants
The distance of migration is closely linked to life course events, which are, in turn, marked by age. It serves as a criterion for distinguishing migration from other forms of spatial mobility. This paper aims to calculate the average distance of domestic migrations in Russia between 2011 and 2020, considering various migrant profiles such as sex, age, and type of residential registration. The Euclidean distance between 130,000 geocoded Russian settlements was computed to estimate migration distances...
The spread of the COVID-19 infection in Russia’s Baltic macro-region: internal differences
This article explores the spread of the Covid-19 infection in Russia’s Baltic macro-region. The monthly excess mortality rate in the Baltic region is analysed along with regional and municipal Covid-19 response acts to identify regional features affecting the spread of the disease. The spatial characteristics of Russia’s Baltic regions, germane to the propagation of Covid-19, were distinguished by examining selected social and economic statistical indicators. Based on the space of places/space...
Migration attractiveness of the coastal zone of Russia’s North-West: local gradients
A well-acknowledged driver of change, population movement intensifies the development of coastal territories. The Russian North-West holds a vast coastal zone. Granting access to the Baltic, the White, and the Barents Seas, it is an area of geostrategic importance where much of the country’s coastal economy — one of the national priorities — is located. Push and pull factors are enormously diverse in the area, as are migration flows forming attraction poles for migrants. There is little research...
The effect of geographical position and employment fluctuations on rural settlement trends
Structural changes in the economy and spatial and inter-settlement differences in living standards and quality of life lead to fundamental alterations in the national settlement system. Settlement polarisation is gathering momentum, along with the movement of rural population from Russia’s east and north to its southern and metropolitan regions. These processes benefit urban agglomerations. Typological differences between regional settlement systems, still poorly understood but essential for strategic...
The effect of Covid-19 on labour migration in the CIS
This study responds to the need for measures to mitigate the effects of national actions to slow the spread of Covid-19. National responses are dynamic processes and thus an elusive, albeit important, object of study. The governments of most CIS countries acted promptly and decisively in countering the pandemic. The comprehensive measures have had a serious impact on citizens’ mobility and employment situation. Among the affected are millions of migrants working in the CIS. This article offers...
The coastalisation of population in today’s Russia: A sociogeographical explication
The coastalisation of population is considered as a prolonged, universal, although not a ubiquitous — socio-geographical process. This process is a result of the evolving spatial architecture of countries and regions, a lack of balance between the potential of leading cities, economic and settlement projections of global geoecological, geo-economic, and geopolitical processes, the scale and effect of transnational and transboundary contracts, and the changing images of coastal areas. This article...
The influence of the sea on the economic development and settlement structure in the Baltic Sea region
Earliest studies into the influence of the sea on the economy and settlement structure date back to the mid-19th century. They became common in the 20th century. Researchers have come to a general understanding that a coastal position has a beneficial effect on the development of regions. Such areas have a denser population and develop more rapidly than inland regions. At the same time, the effect of environmental, socioeconomic, demographic, and political factors is often stronger than the influence...