Abstract
Research background: Integration and globalization processes encourage activities for the development of border regions. For the north-eastern regions of Poland and the Kaliningrad region, cross-border neighbourhood enables regions to cooperate and provides an opportunity for economic and social recovery.
 Purpose of the article: The present article aims to analyse areas of cross-border activity taking place on the Polish-Russian borderland, based on the opinions of the inhabitants of the Kaliningrad region. Taking into account the rapidly changing political and economic conditions, as well as social relations, the following areas of Polish-Russian cross-border cooperation have been examined: economic activity, tourism, social activity, scientific cooperation, neighbourly relations.
 Methods: The study presents the results of the author?s own research carried out using standardized interviews with 1,022 inhabitants of the Kaliningrad region. As the research instrument, a self-designed interview questionnaire. The adopted time frame encompassed four stages of the functioning of Polish-Russian cross-border cooperation, each of them different due to political, eco-nomic and social conditions. The sample was selected using the quota method. The correspondence analysis was used for statistical tools.
 Findings & Value added: The suspension of local border traffic has significantly limited the development of cross-border cooperation. The Polish-Russian relations, encumbered with high risk and uncertainty, have led to a considerable decrease in cooperation between border areas. The level of risk results not only from mutual relations between Poland and Russia, but is also a consequence of political and economic relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation. In the long term perspective, local border traffic may be open and similar conditions for the functioning of cross-border cooperation may occur. Therefore, knowledge about the activity of cross-border residents of Polish-Russian border regions will be useful in counteracting the undesirable effects that may occur.
Highlights
Modern day Europe has been shaped as a result of long-running processes of political transformations and common historical and cultural background
In accordance with the calculations performed, the zero hypothesis should be rejected in favour of the alternative hypothesis, which means that Polish-Russian cross-border cooperation depends on p-e-s conditions
The increased activity in the indicated areas resulted mainly from the opening of local border traffic, facilitated border procedures, the favourable exchange rate of the Russian ruble and good relations between neighbouring regions. − In stage D (07-12.2016), no influence of p-g-s conditions on economic activity assessed by cross-border trade (E1) was noted, while they had a moderate effect (T3) on the development of tourism in border regions
Summary
Modern day Europe has been shaped as a result of long-running processes of political transformations and common historical and cultural background. In an era of unification of Europe’s countries and the enlargement of the European Community, integration processes and cross-border cooperation are becoming a significant aspect of its socioeconomic life. Europe’s regional diversity constitutes its exceptional asset and has enormous potential. Cross-border regions are a platform thanks to which opportunities for cooperating on many levels are created. To a large degree, ceased to perform the role of separating communities. In many cases, there are distinct economic and social differences among the neighbouring countries within the European Union. Those differences are visible as regards the outer borders of the European Union with Eastern European countries
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