Geopolitical regionalisation of the Baltic area: the essence and historical dynamics
The article discusses a theoretical framework for investigating regionalisation and geopolitical regionalisation, employing the activity-geospatial approach. The main theoretical foci of this study are system-forming, or region-building, socio-geo-adaptation and geopolitical relations. The article examines various types of transboundary and transnational geopolitical regionalisation as manifestos of geopolitical relations. These types are categorised based on scale, functional area, historical and...
Geoecological aspects of various types of archaeological sites in the North-West of the Russian Plain
The study of geo-ecological factors allows not only to determine the nature of human economic activities but also reveals natural influences affecting the placement of archaeological objects in the past. Special attention is given to «Stone piles» («Lappish cairns») — stone piles widely found within the studied territory. Despite years of archaeological research, the nature of these structures remains enigmatic, though archaeological artifacts are often absent. The application of geo-chemical...
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...
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...
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...
Transformation of developed lands and geoecological potential of nature resource management
The article cartographically visualizes spatial typologies of the municipal districts of the North-Eastern Caucasus according to the degree of soil erosion as a result of water and wind erosion, salinization and dehumification. Water erosion is most actively manifested in foothill and mountainous areas on steep landslide slopes with high plowing. Wind erosion of the soil cover is most visible in the northern regions of Chechnya and Dagestan within the Tersko- Kum semi-desert and partly in the Tersko-Sulak...
Saint Petersburg as a Global Coastal City: Positioning in the Baltic Region
The Baltic region consists of coastal areas of nine countries — Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. The region’s hubs are the port cities located along the Baltic Sea coast. However, Peter Taylor and Saskia Sassen’s classification identifies higher status cities and ‘global cities’, which are to be considered in the global context. Seven coastal regions are distinguished within this region, whose organising centers are the global coastal cities...
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...
Regional innovation security as a coherence of multi-cyclic self-organizing: experience in building an ideal model
The article reflects the results of constructing an ideal synchronization model of regional economic reproduction subcycles. Achieving coherence through the mechanisms of self-organization and self-regulation is viewed to be the means of overcoming geo-economic instability. The study models the phase conjugation of information and innovation subcycle with the production and investment one, organizational one and human capital dynamics. Based on logical imitation modeling, the research identifies...
Modern geopolitical research in Russia
In this article, we present the results of our study into the contribution of geography to modern geopolitics in Russia. We stress the interdisciplinary nature of geopolitical studies and identify ensuing problems. Using content analysis of the eLIBRARY bibliography database and Elsevier’s abstract and citation database Scopus, we conclude that geography has considerably affected the development of modern geopolitics in Russia. The contribution of geographers is rather modest considering the...
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...
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 problem of biodiversity: the geohistorical approach
This article tackles the problems of the biodiversity parameter evolution from the geo-historical perspective. The authors come to a conclusion about the prevalence of global terrestrial and cosmic factors in the development of biosphere processes. On the basis of the biogeochemical approach to the biosphere evolution, the authors could identify the principal stages of its development from the ancient times to the modern epoch and refute the postulate of Leibniz (‘nature makes no leaps’).
1...
The Accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO: Geopolitical implications for Russia’s position in the Baltic Sea region
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 opposing Soviet bloc and the Soviet Union itself. Finland and Sweden were the missing links for Washington and NATO in the...
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...
Socio-geographic approach to substantiating economic security boundaries of a border region
Dramatic geopolitical and geo-economic changes occurring since 2022 have created a new development context for Russian border regions redrawing their economic security boundaries. The latter are also changing, which is understood as the required level of security in the current mode of functioning of the territorial system in terms of its openness or closeness. These regions, especially ones located along the northwestern borders, geo-strategically gain more military and political importance for...
Municipal development in modern Russia: a geopolitical aspect
The modern transformation of the world order and Russia's new place in it, which generates additional problematic situations and challenges for the country, initiate the "municipalization" of approaches both in socio-geographical, regional studies, and in the field of state regulation of spatial development. In the municipal theme itself, at the same time, issues related to geopolitics come to the fore. The article presents general theoretical ideas about the geopolitical aspects...
The economy of Russian Baltic regions: development level and dynamics, structure and international trade partners
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 development of three Russian regions located on the Baltic Sea (St. Petersburg, Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions) and analyse the intensity...
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...
Typoligocal diversity of the strongholds of Russian coastal borderlands: (theoretical and conceptual aspect)
In the late XX — early XXI centuries, the growth of marine activity is one of the most obvious and significant global trends. The multidimensional "turn" to the Sea is fully inherent in modern Russia. The article attempts to comprehend and conceptualize the effects of the spatial concentration of the national "marine" economy, as well as its complex formation and clusterization in the framework of the conceptual development of the "strongholds of coastal borderlands"...
The development of political geography and geopolitics as an academic and research discipline in the Baltic region: the historical contribution of Saint Petersburg University
In this article, we address the little-researched and complicated problems of the genesis, periodisation, and development of political geography and geopolitics as academic and research disciplines across the Baltic region in general and the contribution of Saint Petersburg University in particular. The terms ‘political geography,’ ‘geopolitics’ and the corresponding academic disciplines, as well as the first concepts of political geography and geopolitics, emerged in the Baltic....
Information metabolism and innovation dynamics in the Rostov agglomeration: the role of the coastal factor and economic clustering
The article focuses on the issues of innovative development of coastal agglomerations, as advancement drivers for the regions of Southern Russia, which experience a reduction in contact potential in modern geo-economic conditions that complicates international economic and technological cooperation. The aim of the study is to identify the specifics of the information metabolism processes as the basis of innovative development taking place in the Rostov agglomeration being the largest coastal...
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....
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...
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...
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...
The Evolution of Settlement Areas of Ingrian Finns in Northwest Russia in the Second Half of the 20th Century
Based on the nation-wide censuses conducted between 1959 and 2010 in the Soviet Union and in the Russian Federation, as well as on the contemporary data of the Estonian Department of Statistics, the author of this article studies the spatial aspects of the dynamics of the ethnic area of Ingrian Finns within their main settlement area. This is done through utilizing ethnicity-related statistical data of the district at the lowest level of administrative division. The author emphasises a significant...
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...
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...
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...
A new role of cooperation under economic sanctions as seen by residents of the Kaliningrad region
The current economic crisis conditions call for a search for new mechanisms to maintain the population’s well-being. Within this setting, cooperation may be considered a priority form of entrepreneurial activity, enabling the consolidation of financial resources and reducing business costs. This article aims to assess the potential of consumer cooperation in the Kaliningrad region under anti-Russian sanctions. The authors analyse the features of cooperation development within the territory and...
Problems of transliteration and translation of Kazakh geographical names
The article addresses the challenges associated with standardizing and unifying the spelling of toponyms in Kazakhstan. The authors conduct an analysis of the linguistic variability of toponyms, exploring methods for their transcription into Kazakh, Russian, and English languages. The study's findings reveal that a majority of the country's geographical names undergo various modifications. The authors identify and scrutinize several types of transformations, including transliteration...
Polynominativity of geographical objects in the linguocultural context
The article attempts to analyze the linguocultural factors contributing to the phenomenon of polynominativity—multiple names for a single object. This investigation employs toponyms as a case study. The exploration delves into several key factors that give rise to polyonyms: 1) linguosociocultural factors: these factors play a pivotal role in shaping subsystems of names, encompassing both official and unofficial, widely used and niche terms, as well as neutral and connotatively charged...
Development of network business structures in the spatially distributed cluster St. Petersburg-Leningrad region-Kaliningrad region as a tool of interregional interaction
In the current conditions of increasing geopolitical tension and volatility in the global economy, the development of interregional interaction is increasingly seen as a source of economic growth for Russian regions. However, the study of such interaction should not only include an analysis of trade flows but also an analysis of network interaction, an attempt to carry out which is presented in this work. The article presents the results of a study analyzing the presence of Saint Petersburg companies...
Knowledge and innovation dynamics of the Northwest Russia under geopolitical changes
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 strategy and transition to a new path of development. This transition requires the development of new knowledge-intensive industries, expansion into promising markets, strengthening trade and economic partnerships, and...
Three Russian Baltic regions in the context of confrontation between Russia and the West
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 return...
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...
On economic well-being and current measures to support small businesses in agriculture in the Kaliningrad region
Small forms of management in the agricultural system of the Kaliningrad region continue to be an important structural element. At the same time, for the rural area of the region, they perform a more complex role, ensuring, among other things, an increase in the quality of life of the rural population. The current geopolitical and geo-economic conditions in which the Kaliningrad region operates have required strengthening and differentiation of measures and forms of state support for such enterprises...
Extralinguistic factors of city renaming in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic
The article is devoted to extralinguistic factors that contribute to the renaming of cities in one of the North Caucasian regions of Russia. The study of toponymy, in particular, the oikonyms of a certain territory, is of great importance for the study of the history, ethnography, and culture of the people living in this territory. The purpose of this work is to identify the original names of settlements and study new names of cities, which will contribute to a more fruitful study of socio-historical...
The geopoetics of the city K.: the optics of perception
This article is a study of literary representations of the text 'Königsberg-Kaliningrad' analysed from the point of view of geopoetics. Based on the descriptions of Königsberg-Kaliningrad in Bolotov's memoirs "Life and adventures of Andrey Bolotov, described by himself for his descendants", Brodsky's poem "Einem alten Architekten in Rom" and the novel "Königsberg" by Buida, the authors explore the sensorial perception of the city by the writers and establish its correlation...
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...
Research methodology and geoecological assessment of watersheds of small water currents of polder lands in the Kaliningrad region
Chemical pollution of watercourses can be considered as one of the integral indicators of the geoecological state of the catchment area. Such an indicator is most likely to be taken into account in the two-way interaction of a person with watercourses, both for a water user and a negative impact on them, since in both cases, water quality very often comes high in priority. Thanks to the analysis of data on pollution, it is possible to find out its sources, both anthropogenic and natural, the dominant...
Geography of "digital footprints" of Kaliningrad citizens in the border regions of Poland and Lithuania: results of content analysis
Widespread introduction of digital technologies into human life has resulted in the accumulation of huge amounts of digital data that enables quantitative assessment of various social processes. This article uses data on Internet search user queries in the border region, namely the Kaliningrad region of Russia, to assess the interest of its inhabitants in establishing local cross-border links with the border regions of Poland and Lithuania. The data source is the Yandex. Wordstat open service, which...
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...
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...
International positioning of the region: the image of the Kaliningrad region in the media space of the Baltic states
The issue of international positioning is crucial to all exclaves, and the Kaliningrad region surrounded by the Baltic region countries is no exception. This contribution aims to describe a general strategic path for positioning the Russian territory in question. To produce recommendations on a positioning concept, it looks at the ties between the Kaliningrad region and the neighbouring Baltic States and how the former is perceived by the latter. Publication monitoring and media content analysis...
Composition and functions of the software of the geographical information system (on the example of Maptitude)
In the modern world, the process of developing and implementing innovative information updating systems is rapidly developing, and geographic information systems are no exception, which, having a complex structure, require regular updating of information in various formats. The purpose of the article is to analyze the systems used in the creation of GIS mapping software. Geographic Information System (GIS software) is designed to store, retrieve, manage, display and analyze all types of geographic...
Structural changes in the economy of the Russian North-West regions: institutional factor
Balancing out uneven regional development and territorial 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...