Basic conditions of the Russian Far East territories’ development: on the issue of regional disparity

Abstract

Relevance. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that, despite the existing policy for equalizing the economic development and the efforts to improve the life quality of the population in the challenged eastern regions of Russia, the issue of economic and social disparity still stands. This is evidence that the approaches to the regions’ development and administration must be diversified and tailored to the specific needs of a given territory. The purpose of the article is to consider the basic conditions that form the opportunities and limitations of the regions’ development in connection with the availability of mineral resources. The informational basis of the study is derived from the official statistical indicators. Results. The article considers various indicators of the Russian Far East regions’ and the Baikal region’s basic development conditions. The aspect of the regions’ development due to the basic conditions in the context of the medical care availability is also highlighted. Conclusion. The lower basic development conditions indicators are observed in the following regions: Transbaikal Territory, The Republic of Buryatia and the Jewish Autonomous region. In these regions the situation with the per capita fiscal capacity and population’s the average monetary income by 2018 has worsened in comparison with the Russian average. The situation is somewhat better in Irkutsk and Amursk regions, but they are still on the second last place. The resource regions of the northern zone of the Russian East have higher levels of the indicators in question, that has to do with the presence of resources for the mining industry. A relevant issue for the eastern region in the field of healthcare is the issue of the human resources availability.