Suchergebnisse

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 tested in Russia and abroad. Four types of geoeconomics risks are examined: spatial, economic, socio-­­demographic, national geopolitical and regional geopolitical. Overall, five levels of geopolitical risks can be distinguished. The contribution sets out to provide a conceptual picture of the geoeconomic risks which the Baltic Russian territories - St. Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia and the Leningrad, Kaliningrad, Novgorod, Pskov and Murmansk regions faced in 2014-2021 as the geopolitical situation changed for the worse in the wake of the Ukraine political crisis (2013-2014). The objectives of the study included selecting economic, social and international trade indicators and analytics matching each type of the geoeconomic risks. To identify the geo-economic risks of the selected regions, three basic indicators are considered - population, GRP, foreign trade turnover, and changes in other indicators for 2014-2021 were tracked. Eighteen risks divided into four types were explored for the Baltic Russian regions. The geoeconomic risks were grouped into two categories: spatial/geopolitical and economic/socio-­­demographic. A preliminary assessment of the regional risks was obtained using a methodology proposed by the author. The risks in the spatial/geopolitical category are substantial for the Kaliningrad region, whilst the Pskov region and Karelia proved to be most susceptible to the economic/socio­demographic risks.

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 Economic Security of the Russian Federation until 2030. I also use other parameters pertinent to the evaluation of the state of an economy amid geoeconomic uncertainty, in this case, in the conditions of the crisis of 2014-2016, brought about by both external and internal factors. I employ the concept of the triad of regional economic competitiveness, regional economic security, and sustainable regional socio-economic development. I believe that this triad does not only demonstrate the logic of the current and prospective development of a Russian region but also highlights weaknesses and opportunities for future development. The competitiveness of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region amid geo-economic uncertainty is considered through the performance of the regions' key enterprises and emerging technology companies. I analyse the revenue profiles of the regions' leading industrial enterprises in 2014-2015 and emphasise the role of key industrial exporters. This article is a preliminary study without any claim to completeness. Further research will seek to present the findings obtained in more detail.

This article analyses certain issues of implementation of Russian energy policy in the Baltic region fr om the geoeconomic perspective. The purpose of the study is to explain Russian energy policy in the region as dependent solely on the import capacity of its partners. Russian energy policy is viewed as one of the most important activities of the state and its business structures. As such it aims to achieve both general economic goals (generation of profit, market domination) and more specific geoeconomic tasks. At the same time, the policy follows the traditional rules of consumer/producer market game. Russian energy resources are delivered to an energy deficient region, where the demand and need for them is stable. The study is based on the author's geoeconomic methodology, which extensively uses geographical and general scientific methods. This work aims to develop a geoeconomic paradigm in the framework of social geography. It will be of interest to anyone who aims to analyse the true motives behind Russian current energy policy.

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 of Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Riga, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, and Malmö. The concept of a "global city-region" (Sassen) can be used as a methodological framework for analyzing this connection. Within this hierarchy, the dominant alpha group global city is Stockholm. The authors argue that, as a global coastal city, St. Petersburg forms the St. Petersburg coastal region, which can be defined as a typical "global city region". The index method shows that the position of St. Petersburg in the system of global coastal cities of the Baltic region is relatively favorable in view of its transport, logistics, and demographic potential and the advantageous geo-economic situation. St. Petersburg has certain competitive advantages in the region brought about by its demographic potential, port freight capacity, and the favorable geo-economic position of the "sea gate" of Russia. However, the level of high-tech services and "new economy" development is not sufficient for the port to become a match for the top three cities (Stockholm, Helsinki, and Copenhagen). This is increasingly important because transboundary global city networks demonstrate that global cities are functions of global networks. Saint Petersburg is just starting to integrate into these networks through the Pulkovo airline hub and seaports of Ust-Luga, Primorsk, and Saint Petersburg.

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, but also to describe the contiguous geoeconomic space. The position of the St. Petersburg coastal region is of crucial importance for ensuring a steady growth of regional economy, the propagation of industrialization impulses, and modernization in the heart of Russian Northwestern macroregion. At the same time, the specific features of the region's geoeconomic position magnify the "inherited" ad acquired effects of focal industrialization and space polarization, which creates additional prerequisites for the inversion of the Russian economic space - "Russia of the physical space" and "the economic space of Russia". The study uses traditional methodology of economic geography (the territorial, cluster, and spatial approaches) and the geoeconomic approach developed by the authors. The article also addresses recent findings in regional economy and spatial studies. It is aimed at the development of the geoeconomic paradigm in the framework of social geography and that of spatial science. An analysis of the geoeconomic position and the developing spatial relations can be of interest for researchers of geographic clusters, agglomerations, and such cross-border forms of cooperation, as growth triangles, for example.

This article presents an inventory and a typology of the existing and emerging economic clusters in the coastal zone of the European part of Russia. The authors hold that transboundary clustering takes priority in the Baltic coastal region - nine of the 56 clusters identified are located in the Kaliningrad region and another eight in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The authors describe major catalysts and immanent inhibitors in coastal zones. The former include a high density of coastal economies, proximity to international markets, and better logistics and communications. The inhibitors comprise geopolitical risks and institutional barriers. It is shown that the potential and prospects of transboundary clustering are affected by both global integration and disintegration patterns, coastal infrastructure, geopolitical and geoeconomic "neighbourhood", cultural excellence, and business and investment environment.