The Russian Heartland Revisited: An Assessment of Russia's Transformation

Abstract

The concept of "Russian Heartland," elaborated previously by Hooson (1964) for the USSR on the basis of Mackinder's (1919) forecast of the emergence of a land-based global power controlling the center of the Eurasian landmass, is revisited by two British geographers in the new economic, demographic, and political context of post-Soviet Russia. Using many of the same indicators as Hooson some 40 years earlier, they attempt to identify areas of strength and weakness in Russia's contemporary geography, examining in particular the extent to which it is consolidating its "effective national territory." The focus is on how present obstacles to this consolidation pose a security threat to Russia and neighboring states. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F02, O10, P20, R11. 21 figures, 3 tables, 67 references.