Territorial Gradients of Socioeconomic Development of Russia’s Borderland

Abstract

Socioeconomic differences in different parts of Russia’s borderland are analyzed. Based on a compiled database of statistical indicators for 2000–2016 characterizing demographic, economic, and social development, as well as external economic ties of Russia’s border regions and neighboring countries, the territorial gradients on both sides of the Russian border are assessed on a comparative basis. An increase in differences in the demographic potential has been identified in the Russian–Chinese and Russian–Kazakhstan regions. In the post-Soviet borderland, a growing inward turn of the borderline economies for the respective countries and an increasing marginality of border zones have been identified, which hinders interaction and cooperation. It has been established that the largest gradients in the level of economic development are observed at the old borders in the European part of the country inherited from the former Soviet Union. With an analysis of the economic and trade relations between the border regions of Russia and neighboring EU countries, as well as China, it has been shown that the larger the gap between their demographic and socio-economic indicators, the higher the probability of unequal economic relations.