Russian Trade Research Articles

Prospects for Trade Cooperation between Russian Regions and the Countries of the African Continental Free Trade Area (on the Example of the Kursk Region)

Relevance. In modern conditions, in the interaction of Russia with foreign partners, there are trends towards changing traditional global value chains and changing logistics directions. In this connection, Russia needs to address the issue of expanding trade cooperation with new partners and the formation of more sustainable value chains.The purpose is identifying and evaluating the main foreign trade indicators that affect the cooperation of Russia and its regions with the countries of the African Continental Free Trade Area.Objectives: to analyze the volume and structure of Russia's foreign trade turnover with the countries of the African Continental Free Trade Area; determine the conditions that can contribute to the expansion of Russia's partnership with the countries of the African Continental Free Trade Area; to propose directions for the development of foreign trade relations between the regions of Russia and the countries of the African Continental Free Trade Zone (on the example of the Kursk region).Methodology. The study is based on the statistical collection and analysis of information on the volume, structure and dynamics of foreign trade with the countries of the African Continental Free Trade Area.Results. The analysis of the main indicators characterizing the mutual foreign trade of Russia and its regions with the countries of the African Continental Free Trade Area has been carried out. The main trading partners among African countries and the conditions for expanding partnerships with them have been identified.Conclusions. It is concluded that the countries of the African continental free trade zone are the main market for certain types of domestic agricultural products of the extractive and manufacturing industries, and Russian enterprises receive the raw materials they need from African countries. At the same time, the expansion of Russia's trade relations with African countries will be facilitated by the conclusion of agreements on the creation of free trade zones, primarily with Egypt, as the main trading partner.

Current Trends in Russian Trade in Goods with the EU and China

The article examines the current trends in Russia’s foreign trade with the EU and China in the context of sanctions restrictions imposed by “unfriendly” countries.Aim. The study aims to explore current trends in Russia’s foreign trade in goods with the EU and China in 2022.Objectives. The author conducts an analysis of the dynamics of Russia’s trade with the EU and China; identifies the main commodity groups that have contributed to the changes in trade with the EU and China; explores the impact of sanctions restrictions on Russia’s trade with the EU; assesses the possibilities of reorienting Russia’s foreign trade towards China.Methods. The main methods are the analysis of current statistics of foreign trade in goods between the EU and China; a comparative analysis of the dynamics of trade in commodity groups and individual goods with the EU and China; method of mirror statistics (due to the suspension of the publication of official data by the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of Russia).Results. The analysis shows a decrease in trade turnover between Russia and the EU and its growth with China. With the EU the decline in exports was mainly due to metal industry products, chemical products, precious stones and metals, and timber; in imports — at the expense of machinery and equipment. Trade with China in the main commodity groups has expanded, most significantly in terms of exports — in chemical products, in terms of imports — in machinery and equipment.Conclusions. The role of Russian exports of mineral fuels and energy as the basis for trade with the EU and China in 2022 has strengthened in the face of sanctions restrictions and rising prices. Russia’s trade with the EU reduced mainly due to the sanctioned goods. The reorientation of Russia’s foreign trade towards China is partially possible, with the restraining factors: in terms of imports — China’s lack of strong positions in certain high-tech goods; in terms of exports — objective limitations on China’s domestic market capacity, a slowdown in economic growth, a decrease in the energy intensity of the economy, competition with Russia.

The Development of Urban and Peasant Trade in Russia at the End of the XVIII Century. (Case-Study of the Vladimir Viceroyalty)

The article examines the development of domestic trade in the Russian Empire in the context of the provincial reform of 1775, using the example of the Vladimir Viceroyalty. The new administrative-territorial unit lacked uyezd (county) centers. Seven villages and settlements were renamed cities. However, according to the economic situation, the locals clearly did not correspond to their new status. The government found itself in a dilemma when, on the one hand, it was forced to support the class rights of merchants and philistines, limiting peasant trade geographically and in the assortment of goods. On the other hand, it could not but take advantage of the economic activity of the peasants, luring out the richest of them to the cities, thereby contributing to the development of peasant trade.

Трифон Кириллович Чоков, человек фронтира, и его трагедия

The article is devoted to the life and activities of Trifon Kirillovitch Chokov (d. 1911), a Russian entrepreneur and tea merchant in Ceylon, who was one of the first Russian tea-merchants to settle in the island and start the tea-trade there. Being a very proactive and resilient person, he became the head of a small Russian community in Colombo. When the Russian vice-consul was absent, Chokov replaced him as a consular agent and as such played the role of the head of the house for those Russians who visited the island. The author valued Chokov as a man of the frontier, a certain territory which he wanted to “colonize”, to promote his business and to promote Russian trade and political influence there. He tried to involve Russian merchants in this trade, to show that that this distant island could be a profitable catch for Russia. His dream was to be appointed Russian Vice-Consul in Colombo, but all his initiatives ended in failure. That remote island was never appreciated as a frontier by the Russian authorities, which turned out to be a tragedy for Chokov.

Economic Security, Sanctions and Reorientation of Russian Foreign Trade Flows

Relevance. Under the conditions of sanctions pressure, Russia needs to protect its economic interests and strengthen economic security. Therefore, the reorientation of foreign trade flows requires additional analysis. The purpose is to consider the direction of reorientation of Russian foreign trade flows in the context of anti‒ Russian sanctions.Objectives: to determine the main agenda of world trade policy; to identify common priorities of world trade; to provide quantitative data on the volume of trade of countries, to analyze the specifics of trade agreements over a decade, to identify the main economic method of pressure on states; to provide data on Russia's trade with other countries; to consider the Russian export commodity structure; to identify the relationship between the share in the commodity structure goods and growth rates in stable and crisis periods; identify priority export Russian goods in modern conditions.Methodology. The research methodology included the use of methods of analysis of quantitative and qualitative characteristics, correlation analysis, description, retrospective analysis, abstraction, generalization of the analyzed information.Results. The reasons for the forced change in the direction of foreign trade flows are not only direct pressure on the Russian economy, but also global trends of deglobalization and regionalization. The current trading partners, despite the restrictions imposed, continue to trade with Russia. When finding potential allies, the focus is primarily on the reliability, security and strength of partners on the world stage. The Russian economy should not deviate from the current export structure, as the demand for energy resources continues to be high. And Russia retains the role of one of the guarantors of global energy security.Conclusions. The issue of reorientation of Russian trade flows to alternative directions will remain one of the prevailing ones today. This is able to stabilize the economy and protect the economic interests of the country, to ensure the economic security of Russia. By diversifying and transforming trade flows by changing channels, the Russian economy will be able to discover new opportunities for the development of the world market.

From the standpoint of friendshoring: Russia's trade relations with the regions of the global south

The geography of Russia's foreign trade, which is experiencing a period of profound transformational changes, acquires radically new contours. The Western states, which for a long time occupied dominant positions in the exports and imports of the Russian Federation, are being replaced by the countries of the global South – regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America. This process has been developing for more than a decade, but has now been radically accelerated in the face of sanctions and restrictions imposed on the Russian economy and trade, and the almost complete curtailment of Russia's business ties with the collective West. The countries of the global South, the informal leader of which is the economically successful China, are promoting their own agenda in the field of international trade, which opens up wide opportunities for Russia, but it also poses a new challenge – the need to build mutually beneficial business relations with dozens of different Asian, African and Latin American countries. Solving this problem requires rebooting the system of Russian foreign trade relations and developing a scientifically based and feasible strategy for cooperation with the regions of the global South. In doing so, it is necessary to take into account both the factors that bring all developing countries closer together and also regional and national specificities, which form an extremely diverse picture of the specific interests of individual States. The scientific novelty of this article, the author of which relies on the fruitful methodology developed by R. I. Khasbulatov, consists in a comparative analysis of trade relations of the Russian Federation with each of the largest regions of the global South: Asia, Africa and Latin America. The paper reveals both the specific features of Russian-Asian, Russian-African and Russian-Latin American trade, and the general features inherent in business relations of domestic enterprises with partners in the global South. The main conclusion of the study is that the development of trade relations with friendly countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America on the principles of friendshoring is becoming a key link in the foreign economic strategy, the main content of the turn of Russia's trade flows from the western (northern) to the eastern (southern) direction.

Russian trade unions’ activity priorities and prospects for the authority rise among university workers

This article is devoted to the analysis of the university trade union activity in the modern context. The authors overview the existing approaches to the analysis of the trade union movement in Russia, give the sociological study data on the demand for various activities of the Samara University trade union, its coverage in the university media and on the trade union website, and also proposals for improving the trade union activities. It is concluded that following activities are the most demanded and favorably evaluated by the university personnel: recreation and health improvement measures for employees and their children, organization of mass participation events, provision of social benefits and financial assistance. At the same time, the respondents question one of the main tasks of the trade union the ability to improve wages and working conditions for the Samara University employees. Based on the results of the study, practical recommendations for the trade union committee were formed, including the most important recommendations: activity increase in wage security and the trade union information work.

Trends of Financing Green Projects of Russian Trade Companies

The necessity to follow current trends of sustainable development involves more and more participants in the process. Trade companies are an important link in this system of relations. Thus the issues of identifying the key lines of financing green projects in the system of trade enterprise functioning are of great significance. The article shows market mechanisms that ensure implementation of ESG-transformation process in trade. Introduction of green economy principles requires active involvement of all participants of the system in case their economic interests are coordinated. The author characterized the role of trade intermediaries in the system of ESGtransformation. The need to encourage ecologic policy availability in the company was substantiated, as well as publication of non-finance accounting. The problem of shaping closed-cycle economy is still acute, which is connected with realization of priorities of sustainable development and smoothing green-washing schemes. The article formulated priorities of financing green projects in trade and demonstrated trends of developing the most important components, including introduction of new business-strategy aiming at implementation of ESGprinciples. At the same time the author underlines the necessity to form responsible consumption through intensification of advert campaigns and educational projects, including the sphere of trade enterprise work.

Quantifying impacts of competition and demand on the risk for fertilizer plant locations

Fertilizer is an essential commodity traded in international and domestic markets and spatial competition is important feature impacting interfirm rivalry. In the case of North American fertilizer, numerous plants have been announced to either expand or open new plants (nitrogen-based fertilizer plants), exerting competitive pressures on an industry with surplus capacity but highly competitive in terms of production costs and technology. Proposed new plants and expansions are being induced by changes in the composition of crops, changes in the price of natural gas which affects the cost of producing domestic anhydrous ammonia. Developments in the fertilizer industry have become more volatile in the post-COVID period, and concurrent with the escalation in fuel prices, the Ukraine invasion, related embargoes on Russian trade, the world's largest exporter, and operations of the Grain Corridor. The purpose of this study is to quantify risks for plant expansion (brownfield and greenfield) of nitrogen fertilizer plants in North America, given the spatial competition and the corresponding dynamic market boundaries. Specifically, we quantify risks associated with fertilizer plant expansions, identify the optimal locations of new plants, and characterize spatial competition as a result of new entrants. A model is specified that integrates Geographical Information Systems (GIS) data into a stochastic mixed-integer network spatial optimization model using Monte Carlo simulations to account for risk in the random variables. The results are reprocessed into GIS for interpretation. The impact of risk in these variables results in market boundaries that are random. Specifically, competition for these new plants has embedded risks for new entrants on the probability of production and market penetration.

Relationship of Russian Merchants with the Tuvan Population in the Second Half of the 19th - Early 20th Century

The author identifies the main factors that influenced the relationship between Russian merchants and the Tuvan population in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries taking into account a number of features and attracting new sources. The author studies the influence of debt trade on Russian-Tuvan relations, characterizes the policy of the Tuvan noions towards Russian merchants, determines the role of Chinese capital in the development of Russian trade in Tuva, considers the image of Russian merchant in the view of the Tuvans. In the course of the work, the system approach was used which allows us to consider the object of the study as a set of interrelated elements. The novelty of the study is the involvement of previously unused sources that considered the nature of the relationship between Russian merchants and the Tuvan population in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries: the materials of the State Archive of the Irkutsk Region, the Central Archive of the Republic of Tyva, the Scientific Archive of the Manuscript Fund of the Tuva Institute for the Humanities and applied research, the State Archive of the Tomsk Region. The author comes to the conclusion that in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century the Russian-Tuvan relations were contradictory. On the one hand, the Tuvan population that needed goods of Russian merchants showed interest and did not oppose the economic development of the region. Some of the Russian merchants managed to firmly adapt to the Tuvan territory and contact with the local population. On the other hand, the increased inflow of Chinese capital at the beginning of the 20th century, the hostility of the Tuvan noions incited by the Chinese side, as well as the terms of debt trade contributed to the aggravation of Russian-Tuvan economic relations. However, despite numerous difficulties and the unstable situation, Russian merchants managed to maintain their positions in Tuva.

A new interpretation of the inscriptions on the handles of signature knives found on the shores of Sims Bay

The article reports on a new interpretation of the inscriptions on two personalized knives found on the coast of Sims Bay in the Laptev Sea. This interpretation differs from the readings published previously by paleographers and source-study experts due to the fact that it has been possible to devise correct transcription of these inscrip-tions with the aid of the method of non-contact 3D modeling of epigraphic records developed by the RSSDA Laboratory and used in the Code of Russian Inscriptions (CIR). The reading of the inscriptions on the signature knives proposed by the authors of this paper has enabled establishing their ownership to Gurii (baptismal name) — Akakii (prayer? name) Ivanov son of Karzyaev’s, likely the head of the commercial and industrial expedition of the 1620s. The site of the polar mariners of the 17th century in Sims Bay is located 70 km west of the island of Thad-deus Severny, where in 1940 members of the hydrographic detachment of the East Taimyr hydrographic expedi-tion found similar articles, including 8 other knives. Unfortunately, these knives have only partially preserved han-dles, and most of them turned out to be represented only by the blades. Inscriptions made in the Slavic ligature could be found only on two knives from a hut in Sims Bay. According to the official version, both sites belong to the members of the Russian trade and industrial expedition of the 17th century. The rich composition of the collec-tion of archaeological artifacts assembled at the locations of these two sites makes this monument unique for the Russian culture of the 17th century.

The influence of sanctions on the transformation of trade cooperation of countries within the world economy

The article analyzes the positions of the world's leading economies in global value chains since the 60s of the XX century. The features of the formation of modern key centers of production chains, including China, the USA and Germany, are reflected. The analysis of the share of participation of ten leading economies of the world and Russia in global value chains, including in such sectors of the economy as agro-industrial, industrial, construction, services and mining, was carried out. It was revealed that in all the sectors of the economy considered, China managed to reach the first positions, with the exception of the mining sector, where the leading positions remain for the United States, followed by Russia. It is established that the decline in the share of developed economies in global value chains has led to the introduction of sanctions against those countries whose economic opportunities and prospects have served as a threat to the sustainable development of the former, primarily against China and Russia. The analysis of the transformation of Russia's trade relations with key partners has been carried out since 2013, when the dependence of the Russian economy on imports was maximum and at the same time the Western bloc of countries imposed the first sanctions against our country. Possible prospects for further development of both the Russian economy and other countries playing a key role in the future formation of the entire world economy are presented.

Geography of Russia's exports in the new sanctions realities

The article examines the current trends in the development of Russia's foreign trade relations, namely the formation of new vectors of cooperation on the international market against the background of anti-Russian sanctions policy, as well as under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the processes of digital transformation of the world economy and trade. The author concludes that at the present stage, the Russian economy is in a state of uncertainty associated with strong geopolitical tensions, the coronavirus pandemic, disruptions in global supply chains and other negative external and internal factors. The purpose of the study is to develop proposals to support Russian producers in the interests of expanding the geography of exports to friendly countries, as well as protecting the national economy from the impact of risks. As the analysis showed, in the conditions of actual transformation processes among Russia's trading partners, interaction with countries such as China and Turkey has the greatest potential, given their interest in cooperation and refusal to impose anti-Russian sanctions. In addition, Turkey is an important transit hub for Russian imports. The article concludes that the prospects for promoting and increasing the volume of Russian exports are largely associated with China and Turkey. Within the framework of this study, a set of measures to support domestic producers to expand the geography of Russian exports towards other countries has been formulated.

Development of VR technologies in domestic trade: trends and prospects

The article focuses on the trends of and prospects for the development of virtual reality technologies in Russian trade. The paper examines scientific and practical approaches to the definition of virtual reality and retail and various aspects of its application in practice (including with regard to the legal aspects of virtual world trade, ways to improve virtual reality technologies in trade, trading on virtual trading platforms, virtual retail market opportunities, features of the promotion of goods and services on the virtual markets, specifics of communications in virtual trade, pricing on the Internet, modern problems of virtual trade, etc.). Current situation in the virtual trade market is considered. The recommendations on the development of virtual reality technologies in domestic trade, taking into account economic sanctions and import substitution, are presented.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ СОВРЕМЕННОГО РАЗВИТИЯ ДИСТАНЦИОННОЙ ТОРГОВЛИ В РОССИИ

Distance trading is already an integral part of the economy of our country. With the active development of technologies, online retail determines the future of trade in Russia, having displaced other forms of distance selling. Having its own characteristics, expressed in both advantages and disadvantages, e-commerce is playing an increasing role in the developing of the current economy of the Russian Federation. This article is devoted to the description of the history of the development of distance trading in the Russian Federation, as well as to the identification of modern key features of its development.

ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКИЕ АСПЕКТЫ И ОСОБЕННОСТИ ПРОДВИЖЕНИЯ ТОВАРОВ НА МАРКЕТПЛЕЙСАХ

The article is devoted to the study of the features of the promotion of goods on marketplaces in modern realities. The place and role of marketplaces in the structure of modern trade in Russia are clarified, trends and trends in the e-commerce environment are highlighted, forming special prospects for business entry into online segments. A contradiction is established between the availability of tools for promoting goods on the marketplace and the inefficiency of its use due to its public nature. The solution of the revealed contradiction is based on the preparation of unique strategies for the promotion of goods on the marketplace, which is associated with subjective and objective factors of promotion. It is noted that the promotion of goods on the marketplace depends on external changes and the dynamics of the market itself, which is associated with the possibilities of organizing sales (objective conditions). Promotion also depends on the policy of the marketplace itself, the inclusion of promotion-stimulating algorithms, the availability of additional tools to promote products. Subjective conditions of promotion are based on the use of promotion tools, SEO, targeted and contextual advertising, preparation of unique product cards, descriptions.

"Чайное дело": от антропологии пищи к неформальным экономическим практикам XIX в.

Author, based on published and archival materials, shows what role was played by tea in the life of various strata of Russian society in the 19th century. The main problematic of the work was a combination of approaches of anthropology, history, and economic sociology. An important issue was the informal practices, many of which were related to the violation of existing legislation and built on the close interaction of merchants and peasantry. According to the author, their development was greatly facilitated by the strict state regulation of the tea trade in Russia, combined with the growing demand for tea. The main source for characterizing informal practices was the "Case of counterfeit tea trade" initiated simultaneously in several centers - Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyakhta - and influencing the further history of tea trade and the system of business relations development. In addition to the analysis of informal practices, the author focuses on the history of distribution and traditions of tea consumption by metropolitan and provincial residents of the 19th century, placing the study in the framework of the study of anthropology of food. Here an important place is given to the socio-economic functions of tea. The published works of the 19th century, archival materials and modern literature help to restore them.

The role of industrial specializations in the development of industrial clusters in Russian regions

The author sets the task of answering questions from public administration regarding the effectiveness of the functioning of industrial clusters in Russian regions as part of the implementation of the tasks of the current industrial policy of Russia. To do this, the author evaluates the connection between the key specializations of industrial clusters included in the register of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and the industry specializations of the regions in which these clusters are located. The work analyzes the specializations of industrial clusters, production dynamics, current industry specializations of regions, specializations of regions that emerged in the period from 2005 to 2015. The analysis allows us to assess the influence of regional industrial specializations on the initial formation and subsequent implementation of the current industrial policy of Russia. It is shown that the lack of connection between the specialization of industrial clusters and the sectoral specializations of the region leads to lower rates of cluster production. For higher production rates, connectivity is essential. It has been empirically established that state-supported industrial clusters are often not based on the sectoral structure of their regions, and changes in specialization industries are not taken into account when creating them. The results of the study indicate that when forming the current industrial policy, the issue of connectivity between the specializations of industrial clusters and the industrial specializations of the regions was probably not considered, and the ongoing structural changes in the regions were not taken into account. The author has formulated recommendations for clarifying the requirements for providing state support for industrial clusters and subsidizing their participants in order to achieve a synergistic effect in the development of clusters and economic specializations of the regions.

Приграничная торговля как объект исследований и государственного регулирования

The analysis of scientific literature and regulatory legal acts shows that cross-border trade, despite the widespread use of this term, does not have an unambiguous understanding. In a narrow sense, this is trade across the border exclusively in the interests of the population and companies of border territories, often in the presence of a special regime of foreign trade activity. In a broad sense, foreign trade flows between regions of neighboring countries or even regions of the same country with neighboring countries. The contribution of cross-border trade to the development of foreign trade is often negative due to its use exclusively for avoiding taxes and customs payments. Therefore, cross-border trade is more important as a component of the state spatial, rather than foreign economic policy. In order to improve the state regulation of border trade in Russia, it is proposed to specify the goals and objectives of its development (positioning as one of the directions of activating the socio-economic development of border territories), ensuring effective formats of interaction between federal authorities and authorities of border territories, clarifying the powers of the latter. It is proposed to pay special attention to the links of cross-border trade with other areas of cross-border cooperation and economic policy in general (since it is impossible to ensure cardinal shifts in the development of the economy of territories only through cross-border trade), for example, to work out the issue of creating special economic zones (or their analogues) in border regions; to specify the directions of development of cross-border cooperation for different types of border territories, depending on the current and prospective nature of their foreign economic relations with neighboring countries.

Evolution of retail in Russia

This study purpose was to investigate the historical evolution of trade in Russia, spanning three distinct periods: pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet eras. In the article authors analyzed the shifts and continuities in Russia’s trade landscape over time and understand how historical patterns influence contemporary trade dynamics. Authors used methods of data collection from primary sources, including archival research and economic statistics, supplemented by a review of scholarly literature. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted to extract insights into trade practices, regulations, and economic conditions. The results reveal significant transitions, including the dominance of state-controlled trade during the Soviet era and the emergence of retail chains in recent years. Retail chains have evolved to assume distribution functions, blurring the lines between trade and production. In conclusion, this historical analysis elucidates the historical context of Russia’s trade practices, offering insights into its economic evolution. Understanding the impact of historical events on trade structures provides valuable perspectives for comprehending contemporary trade dynamics in Russia.