Small towns of Latvia: disparities in regional and urban development
... investigation of towns as a factor in spatio-dynamic process. The literature review suggests that polycentric development requires a focus on knowledge economy (smart development) and high value-added production as a driver of the development of regional economies of towns and villages [12], [13], [14]. It has also been emphasised that a primary long-term goal of Latvia’s development is the effective comprehensive involvement of weaker peripheries in the economy amid urbanisation and globalisation [15],...
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 ...
Three Russian Baltic regions in the context of confrontation between Russia and the West
... the strategy was adopted.
As the special military operation prolonged, the recognition surfaced that the enduring confrontation between Russia and the West would exert a lasting and widespread negative impact on the majority of European companies and economies. In this context, the significance for business and the economy lies not only in the eventual conclusion of the special military operation in Ukraine but also in determining which trade and financial restrictions on Russia can be lifted and ...
The economy of Russian Baltic regions: development level and dynamics, structure and international trade partners
... and border position, on the one hand, and Russia’s involvement in the global economy, on the other, have made them ‘international development corridors’ [27]. They account for a significant portion of Russia’s international trade, and their economies are included in international value chains. All this causes them to outstrip most Russian regions in terms of social and economic development. A positive net migration rate provides for a population increase in the territories: the average annual ...
The border as a barrier and an incentive for the structural economic transformation of the Kaliningrad exclave
This paper aims to study how geopolitical shifts affect regional economies and their structures. Border functions and regimes act as tools for the economy and society to adapt to the redistribution of political influence, movements of people, goods, capital and information between integration associations, individual ...
The sea factor in the federal regulation of Russia’s spatial development: post-Soviet experience and current priorities
Current geoeconomic and geopolitical transformations project on Russian society and its spatial organisation, highlighting the problems of spatial socioeconomic development and its governmental regulation. This article examines the theoretical and applied aspects of the incorporation into the national regional policy of the sea factor, understood as a combination of location and resources, which is determined by a country’s jurisdiction over coasts and waters, its maritime activities and coastalisation...
The adaptation of Russian regions’ economies to the rupture of relations with Europe: the case of Baltic Sea ports
... 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 returning to growth. A number of growth areas have emerged in the Russian regions, which continue to develop under sanctions. A prime example of this is Russian seaports. This article examines the factors that enabled Russian businesses,...
The marine component of human geography studies in Post-Soviet Russia: key trends and development priorities
Originated in the 1960s, the ‘marine branch’ of Soviet, and later Russian, economic and social geography contributed to the diversification of geographical science and expanded its scope. The new branch was a product of the rapid growth of the marine economy and the country’s military infrastructure and settlement system starting to gravitate towards the world ocean. This article uses bibliographical and scientometric materials to explore the factors, features and priorities of the development...
The geopolitical effect of the maritime factor on the spatial development of post-Soviet Russia: the Baltic case
... are capable of withstanding external (sometimes overwhelming and disruptive) influences, which have been extensively discussed within regional studies [40], [41].
Conducted following the logic of the key plot methods, my analysis demonstrates that the economies of coastal municipalities comprising disparate maritime hubs responded differently to the turbulent events of 2014 and 2015 (Table 3). The same diversity in reaction was observed during the COVID-19 restriction and the situational degradation ...
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...
Economic development of Russia’s north-western regions and migration to the St. Petersburg agglomeration
... industries in these countries are concentrated in urban agglomerations, particularly Helsinki [2], [9].
The share of intangible products with low logistics costs, mostly related to information and communication technologies (ICT), is growing in Nordic economies. In Finland, game software development companies tend to concentrate in university cities, as staff communication and inter-firm contacts are essential for them. In Helsinki, knowledge-based firms are usually located closer to the urban core ...
Efficiency analysis of seaports in Russia’s Baltic basin: performance evaluation
This research presents a comprehensive analysis of the performance efficiency of Russia’s Baltic seaports, taking into account various economic indicators and addressing investment planning and management issues. Special attention is given to the sustainable development goals and objectives of the seaports, considering their significance in transport and logistics systems. The primary objective of this work is to develop a system approach for conducting multi-criteria studies on seaport performance...
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...
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...
The effect of Covid-19 on labour migration in the CIS
... Population Studies, vol. 37, no. 1—2.
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38. Kuznetsova, O. V. 2020, Vulnerability of Regional Economies’ Structure in Crisis Conditions, Federalism, no. 2, p. 20—38. doi:
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(in Russ.).
39. Zubarevich, N. V., Safronov, S. G. 2020, Regions of Russia in the acute phase of the COVID crisis: differences ...
Priorities for the development of manufacturing industries in the Kaliningrad region
... relations with neighbours against the backdrop of the events of 2022 and 2023. Even scholars from remote countries such as the US and Australia address the region in their publications<6> [14].
An entire 2022 issue of the Finnish journal Baltic Rim Economies was dedicated to Kaliningrad, featuring publications from international and Russian authors, with Kaliningrad transit through Lithuania and the region’s transportation links with the rest of Russia garnering significant attention [15], [16]....
Adapting regional strategies to the new non-resource export development target
In the radically new economic conditions of 2020, the Government of the Russian Federation selected supporting non-resource and non-energy exports as one of the four factors of sustainable economic growth. Achieving this target is a challenge, but the absence of sufficient conditions for a systemic diversification of Russian exports also poses a substantial problem. This situation lends urgency to developing a methodology for the normative institutional reflection of non-resource non-energy targets...
Societal security in the Baltic Sea Region: the Russian perspective
... by Putnam, Ruggie and Keohane it was designed as a coherent theory by Andrew Moravcsik [6]. Among other things, the LIGA aims at explaining why states with diverging and even conflicting interests as well as with different systems of government and economies (Russia and other BSR countries) still can cooperate and integrate with each other. Russia’s love-hate relations with its BSR neighbours represent an exemplary case from the LIGA point of view.
States’ decisions to cooperate internationally ...
Towards a Stable and Dynamic Economy in the Kaliningrad Region
... Local Models of Dévelopment, Pavia, Gianni Iuculano Editore.
29. Eskelinen, H., Hannibalsson, I., Malmberg, A., Maskell, P., Vatne, E. 1998, Competitiveness, Localised Learning and Regional Development: Specialisation and
Prosperity in Small Open Economies, Routledge, London, 256 p.
30. Karlsson, C., Rouchy, P. 2015, Regional Economic Development, Social Capital and Governance: A Buchanian Approach, CESIS Electronic Working Paper Series, no. 390, 38 p.
31. Wilson, J. 2008, Territorial competitiveness ...
From the editor
Russia’s Baltic regions have received considerable scholarly attention throughout the country’s contemporary history, with recent years being no exception. Yet, the year 2022 — probably for the first time since the demise of the USSR — saw dramatic changes in the geopolitical standing of Russian regions, particularly the northwestern ones lying on the shores of the Baltic Sea.
Despite the many years of cooling in relations between Russia and the West, Russian Baltic regions continued to function...
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...
Structural changes in the economy of the Russian North-West regions: institutional factor
... disparities is an urgent task. Solving it requires considering the geo-economic features of various parts of Russia’s spatially structured territory. This study aims to describe trends in the economic space transformation and structural changes in the economies of the North-Western Federal District. Exploring the economic space transformation, the paper draws on economic theory and geography, the concepts of cluster and power generation cycles, regional economics and other theories. It presents the ...
Structural Changes in the Economy of the Russian Northwest: Spatial Dimension
... economic transformations in the Russian Northwest (NWFD). It studies the changes in the structure of the gross regional product (GRP) and economic specialization of the NWFD regions. The authors suggest approaches to managing structural changes in the economies of the NWFD regions. The authors propose a new method for the identification of the regional economic specialization on the basis of the reginal economy sectoral development rate. The article describes a methodology for identifying the development ...
The Visegrad Group and the Baltic Assembly: coalitions within the EU as seen through Russian foreign policy
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 between Russia and the EU are building up – another tendency that did not arise on the Russian initiative. This article aims to address the question of whether Russia should establish direct relations with the V4 and the BA/BCM as tools...
Development of municipal districts in Saint Petersburg over the last decade: an economic and spatial analysis
The article analyses economic and spatial indicators to produce a typology of the economic development levels of St. Petersburg municipal districts. To normalise the city’s development, it is vital to understand which territories have contributed more to the process and which have inhibited it. It is also essential to analyse the principal economic indicators of each municipal district and assess transport accessibility, street activity and transit. The study demonstrates the connection between...
Introducing Sectoral Models into Regional Management: An Assessment of Regulatory Impacts on the Economy
..., 2014, available at:
http://www.cggc.duke.edu/pdfs/Gereffi_GVCs_in_the_Postcrisis_World_Book.pdf
(accessed 13.10.2016).
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27. Ju, J., Yu, X. 2015, Productivity, profitability, production and export structures along the value chain in China, Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol. 43, no. 1, p. 33—54.
28. Kaplinsky R., Morris, M....
Economic Development of the Baltic and Nordic Countries: Characteristics of Еconomic Models
Economic development models are crucial for understanding historical progress of countries and in forecasting their future economic prospects. The Nordic countries are connected with the Baltics through culture, history, politics, and economy. These states have a common interest of ensuring stability, security, and welfare in the Baltic region. This article strives to answer the question as to why the Nordic model of economic development is acclaimed internationally for the effective use of national...
Russia’s Coastal Zone as a Social and Geographic Phenomenon: Conceptualisation and Delimitation
This article defines coastal zones as a priority subject of studies in social geography and interprets coastalisation of population and economy as a key indicator of the development of a coastal zone. The author stresses the inverted coastalisation in Russia at the macro- and meso-levels and identifies its causes. The article defines the coastal zone as a full-scale, continuum-discrete phenomenon with clear crossborder characteristics and increased potential for cluster formation in the economy....
The concept of “network” in the system of basic concepts of regional economic geography
The concept of “network” is traditionally used in sociological and economic sciences and serves as an in important object of research on the organisational forms of different phenomena and processes. This article examines the use of the “network” concept in socioeconomic geography through identifying the place of this concept in the system of traditional concepts of this branch of geography: spatial system, territorial production complex, and cluster. The interaction between networks on a...
The development of small innovative enterprises through harmonising economic interests
The harmonisation of economic interests is one of the essential preconditions for the development of enterprises, including small ones. As practice shows, the harmonisation of major interests of small innovative business requires not only market instruments, but also state regulation, which demands the development of a corresponding mechanism. This study sets out to develop and justify the macroeconomic mechanism of development of small innovative enterprises on the basis of harmonisation of basic...
Trade Liberalisation and its Impact on Regional Development: Theoretical and Experimental Studies
... — the assessment of the level of national or regional development — needs further research. This article sets out to analyse theoretical and empirical research works focusing on a varied spatial effect of expanding international trade on national economies and identifies factors affecting regional development. Firstly, it is established that expanding international trade is a more important source of growth for the regions of developing countries than for those of developed ones. Secondly, in ...
Artificial Intelligence: a catalyst for entrepreneurship education in the Baltics
The article explores the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in entrepreneurship education within universities. This exploration is set against the backdrop of the rapid and widespread integration of AI technologies across economic and other domains of life. The authors aim to define the concept of ‘entrepreneurial potential’ and elucidate the contribution of AI in augmenting the entrepreneurial potential among university students in the Baltic States. To achieve this goal, the authors...
The spread of the COVID-19 infection in Russia’s Baltic macro-region: internal differences
... macro-regions. Such an analysis is particularly important for the Baltic region, one of Russia’s most export-oriented territories. The automotive industry, whose vulnerability to the pandemic crisis has been repeatedly noted in the literature, is key to the economies of St. Petersburg, as well as the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions.
In exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that research not only considers the economic and geographical factors of a region, but also takes into account ...
Agents approach to the state economic policies in the condition of fundamental uncertainty
The article analyses approaches to understanding the term "economic policies". The author proceeds from the fact that the state acts as a specific economic agent and, being the economic agent, on the one hand has the right to establish formal institutions of the national economics, and on the other hand, it itself is one of the elements of this sector of the global socio-economics system. The article proposes the author’s definition of the economic policies regimes, which is understood...
Some Aspects of Economic Security of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region under Conditions of Geo-Economic Uncertaint
In this article, I consider individual aspects of the economic security of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region amid the geo-economic uncertainty observed since 2014. The object of the study is the economic and technological sustainability of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region given geo-economic risks and growing challenges to economic security. To evaluate the economic security of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, I employ some of the parameters proposed in the Strategy for...
The dynamics of agricultural land use in the North-West of Russia and the Baltic countries
...? // Canadian Journal of Regional Science. 2001. № XXIV (1). P. 101—120.
29. Johnson, B., Lundvall B. Catching-up and institutional learning under post-socialism // Hausner J., Jessop B., Neilsen K. (eds.). Institutional Frameworks of Market Economies. Aldershot, 1993. P. 68—86.
30. Lundvall B. National Systems of Innovation: Towards a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning. L., 1995.
31. Martin P., Ottaviano G. I. P. Growing locations: Industry location in a model of endogenous ...
Commodity flow model for an exclave region: Rent-seeking in the ‘transitional period’ of the special economic zone
This article focuses on a commodity flow model for an exclave region (CFMER). The CFMER development is aimed at identifying aggregate proportions of the exclave’s economy in the transitional period of the special economic zone (SEZ) functioning. The key method of analysis is the comparison of data on the generation of gross regional product and regional foreign economic activities (including export and import of goods and moving goods from/into the Kaliningrad region to other Russian regions)....
Does corruption influence the sustainability of economic growth?
Sustainable development is a term that is widely used by politicians nowadays. The definition of the concept of sustainable development is constantly revised. Sustainable development is about promoting an integrated approach. It includes economic, social and environmental objectives. Economic objectives include growth, efficiency and stability. The main purpose of the article is to analyze the influences of corruption on sustainable economic growth. The impact is decreasing continuously and the main...
Geopolitical Security of Russia: Remarks on the Problem Statement
This paper summarizes the results of the seminar “Geopolitical Security of Russia: Remarks on the Problem Statement”, held on August 26, 2022, at the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad. During the seminar, the Institute of Geopolitical and Regional Studies of the university announced an initiative to devise a system of monitoring the geopolitical (regional) security of Russia. The debate centred around the development of a conceptual framework and a geopolitical security model...
The impact of monetary policy regimes on economic development: results of an in-house economic experiment
The article analyzes the approaches to understanding the term “economic policies”. The author proceeds from the fact that the state acts as a specific economic agent and, as such, on the one, is eligible to develop formal institutions of the national economy, and on the other hand, it itself is one of the elements of this sector of the global socio-economics system. The author defines the economic policies regime as a set of rules, measures, norms to achieve the macro-goal of the country’s...
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...
Clusters in the institutional perspective: on the theory and methodology of local socioeconomic development
... considered against the background of the identification of institutional levels, whose full development makes it possible to speak of the formation of clusters as most successful mesoeconomic systems. At the same time, the author emphasizes that, in economies gravitating towards the market type of organisation, the development of mesoeconomic systems is closely connected to competition for innovative rent. The article outlines the methodology for cluster studies, which makes it possible to consider ...
Internet diffusion and interregional digital divide in Russia: trends, factors, and the influence of the pandemic
The demand for digital technologies has been growing due to a shift in the technological and economic paradigm. The need for online services has increased since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. There are significant disparities between Russian regions in the digital technology accessibility and the development of computer skills. In 2020, the Internet diffused rapidly in most regions, although previously, there had been a slowdown. As markets got saturated with digital services, the digital divide...
Modern understanding of ‘geoeconomic position’ and the Saint Petersburg agglomeration
This article presents a modern interpretation of the concept of ‘geoeconomic situation’ as applied to one of the most important centers of the Baltic region — the St. Petersburg agglomeration. The coastal location of the agglomeration and close connections with the Leningrad region make it possible to consider the Saint Petersburg coastal region (Baltic Area) as a whole. The article sets out not only to verify, confirm, and explain the features of the geoeconomic position of the coastal region...
Modern trends in paradiplomacy: a case of Russian-Finnish regional cooperation
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 by examining Russian-Finnish regional collaboration. It reviews theoretical...
Cross-border tourist mobility as seen by residents of the Karelian borderlands: COVID-19 restrictions
This article offers a new approach to evaluating the significance of cross-border tourism for residents of the border region of Karelia amid COVID-19 restrictions. The work draws on data of a municipal-level survey of the region’s population (575 people), conducted by the author in collaboration with Dr Ekaterina Shlapeko in 2021. Analysis of the survey results has confirmed the customariness of cross-border tourist mobility for the Karelians and the essential role it plays in their lives. These...
Country Competitiveness: an Empirical Study
... Hospitality and Tourism, Vol. 16, no. 1, p. 61—75.
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24. Markusen, J. R. 1894, Multinationals, Multi-plant Economies, and the Gains from Trade, Journal of International Economics, Vol. 16, no. 3—4, p. 205—226.
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The Policy of Regional Convergence in Russia-Belarus integration: Prospects for Development
... membership in economic and monetary unions give a new impetus to consolidation. The study aims to identify and explore the problems of political governance, which the Union State of Russia-Belarus faces due to their asymmetric and not completely compatible economies. The author analyzes the process of interstate convergence, considering it as an essential part of integration and explores a number of specific characteristics underlying the Russian-Belarusian economic integration. The author offers a set ...
The Baltic economic model: some results of the 1990—2015 transformations
... Studies into the nature of the economic development of the Baltic States have a considerable practical and scientific significance. On the one hand, the three Baltic States are a part of the post-Soviet space. The nature, success or failures of their economies contribute to a more accurate assessment of Russia’s development. On the other hand, it is the second decade of the Baltic States’ EU membership, and the countries’ experience is very relevant. The article identifies and analyses key characteristics ...
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...