THE UNIQUE ECONOMIC-GEOGRAPHIC SITUATION OF THE SOVIET FAR EAST AND SOME PROBLEMS OF USING IT OVER THE LONG TERM

Abstract

The economic-geographic situation of the Soviet Far East is analyzed in terms of the role this outlying region may play in the long-term development of the Soviet economy. On an international plane, the region has unique features, such as direct access to the world's oceans and proximity to some of the world's major nations (China, Japan, the United States and Canada) that represent potential markets for the natural resources of the Far East. In a domestic Soviet context, the Far East is distinguished by remote location far from the nation's principal economic centers and by a transport-geographic situation that favors transit hauls across the Eurasian landmass (container shipments between Japan and Western Europe). In view of the huge overland distances separating the Far East from the economic core of the Soviet Union, the economy of the region needs to be oriented increasingly toward the Pacific basin, relying heavily on maritime exports and imports rather than the costly overland hauls across Siberia....