Социально-экономическая дифференциация регионов Западного порубежья России

Abstract

Russia’s western borderlands comprise seventeen constituent entities of the Russian Federation, located along its western land and maritime border. Ten of them were border regions before the demise of the USSR; they belonged to the so-called group of «Old borderlands». The remaining seven are part of «the New borderlands». They are located along the land border with Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine. In the “Spatial Development Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025” all of them are regarded as geostrategic territories, which require special attention to ensure their economic security. The border location affects their socio-economic development, which largely depends on the ratio of the contact and barrier functions of the borders between Russia and its neighbouring countries. Border regions differ significantly in their natural conditions, the level of economic and social development, their sectoral structure, economic growth rates, the quality of life and migration flows. Using a set of indicators, reflecting the above characteristics, five types of regions and four subtypes have been identified. Even though there are some features common for all regions of Russia’s western borderlands, each of them requires a separate approach to the implementation of the federal policy and the justification of its development strategy.