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Russian Black Sea Region in Modern Eurasia: Geopolitical and Maritime Economic Factors of Regional Dynamics
Inherent in modern Humanity ‘turn’ to the Oceans and a corresponding increase in maritime activity, coastalisation of population and infrastructure to sea initiate the processes of aquatic (marine) socio-economic regionalization. It is special, most
clearly apparent trend in the circuit of ‘inland’ seas. Sea regions (the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea regions, etc.), which are rapidly forming in the structure of post-Soviet Eurasia, are not only a priority space for cross-border interaction, but also the tool for implementing the geopolitical interests of global and regional ‘centers of power’. The article focuses on the features of marine regionogenesis in the Black Sea region inherent in the end of the 20th – beginning of the 21st centuries, and also on the geopolitical factors of its dynamics (related to the metamorphoses of the Eurasian space). Prior attention is paid to the opportunities, barriers and risks of the Russia’s presence in the Black Sea region (emphasizing the country’s maritime interests and its geopolitical positions), implemented primarily in the format of the ‘Russian Black Sea region’. Basing on the socio-economic and demographic comparativistics of municipalities, the study identifies the main ‘growth points’ of the Russian Black Sea region, and justifies the presence
of a special substructure within the South of Russia, which is ‘The Black Sea arc of advanced socio-economic development’. The article shows the ‘marine component’ in increasing connectivity of the largest coastal cities as the frame elements of Russia’s positioning in the Black Sea region.
clearly apparent trend in the circuit of ‘inland’ seas. Sea regions (the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea regions, etc.), which are rapidly forming in the structure of post-Soviet Eurasia, are not only a priority space for cross-border interaction, but also the tool for implementing the geopolitical interests of global and regional ‘centers of power’. The article focuses on the features of marine regionogenesis in the Black Sea region inherent in the end of the 20th – beginning of the 21st centuries, and also on the geopolitical factors of its dynamics (related to the metamorphoses of the Eurasian space). Prior attention is paid to the opportunities, barriers and risks of the Russia’s presence in the Black Sea region (emphasizing the country’s maritime interests and its geopolitical positions), implemented primarily in the format of the ‘Russian Black Sea region’. Basing on the socio-economic and demographic comparativistics of municipalities, the study identifies the main ‘growth points’ of the Russian Black Sea region, and justifies the presence
of a special substructure within the South of Russia, which is ‘The Black Sea arc of advanced socio-economic development’. The article shows the ‘marine component’ in increasing connectivity of the largest coastal cities as the frame elements of Russia’s positioning in the Black Sea region.
marine cross-border region, coastal zones, coastal cities, territorial development, maritime economic activity, geopolitics, geo-economics, Black Sea region, Russia, Eurasia