On the Comparative Effectiveness of the Economic Structure of Regions

An important problem in insuring optimal operation of the centrally planned and state-controlled economy of the Soviet Union is to measure the efficacy of the industrial structure and productive specialization of republics and economic regions. Several measures of the efficacy of regional economies have been proposed, involving various relationships between labor productivity, the value of capital plant and equipment and the value of output. All these measures are unsatisfactory, in the author's view, and an alternate approach is suggested, using the net concept of national income produced by regions. This approach has been made possible by the recent calculation of input-output tables for republics and economic regions. The idea of using national income as a measure of regional economic efficacy was first proposed in the Soviet literature by A. Ye. Probst, whose comments appear elsewhere in the issue of Soviet Geography.     

ECONOMIC-GEOGRAPHIC PECULIARITIES OF FORMATION OF THE INDUSTRIAL-TERRITORIAL COMPLEXES OF UNION REPUBLICS

Differences in industrial development of the Soviet union republics are found to persist, and the basic factors are analyzed. The presence of a skilled labor force is an important factor in insuring a high level of industrial output per capita and a high rate of return on capital. However, the distribution of labor-intensive industries does not always conform to the availability of labor resources. Such industries have reached a high level in the Baltic republics, where the reproduction rate is low and additional labor must be brought in from the outside, and they have not been fostered in Central Asia, where the rate of natural increase is high. The emphasis on resource-based industries that is characteristic of some republics (oil and gas in Azerbaydzhan and Turkmenia, nonferrous metals in Kazakhstan, etc.) is usually associated with a high level of fixed assets (capital intensity) and a low rate of return as well as low levels of industrial output per capita.     

REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURES AND ECONOMIC PROSPECTS IN THE FORMER USSR

The value of output, employment, and capital stock for each industrial sector for each oblast-level spatial unit in the former USSR, as well as differences in regional industrial structures are presented on the basis of a unique set of unpublished Goskomstat data. Particular emphasis is placed on asessing the regions' relative raw materials endowments, especially with respect to energy resources, and on the degree of diversification, or lack of same, within their industrial structures. The extremely uneven distribution of industrial capacity is examined in light of its role in determining the near- and longer-term economic prospects for the various republics and regions.     

Integrated Regional Geographic Atlases

The author reviews work on atlases of Soviet republics and oblasts published in 1961–64, containing maps on physical geography, population, economy and culture. He finds that these atlases suffer from a lack of practical purposefulness and inadequate coordination. These weaknesses are to be remedied in a new coordinated project of natural-resource atlases of the major republics and economic regions of the USSR initiated in 1963.     

The Regional Dimension of Russian Oil Production: Is a Sustained Recovery in Prospect?

An American geographer and prominent authority on oil and natural gas industries and resources of Russia and other former republics of the Soviet Union presents a region-byregion account of Russia's oil production, tracing in considerable detail developments up to September 2006. The account, based on systematic and frequent field investigations since the early 1990s as well as interviews with key industry executives, covers reserves, output trends, ownership, investments, pipelines, and a variety of economic factors including exports to China. Addressing the question of whether sustained production recovery is possible, the author presents American and Russian scenarios projecting oil output through the year 2020. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: L71, O13, Q40, Q48. 8 figures, 7 tables, 64 references.     

REPUBLICS OF THE FORMER USSR1 IN THE CONTEXT OF A UNITED EUROPE AND NEW WORLD ORDER

A comparative study investigates how individual Soviet republics would match up, as independent states, with other world countries with respect to various measures of size, economic well-being, quality of life, location, and resources. When a composite U.N. measure of development is employed, the majority of Soviet republics are on par with the poorest countries of the European Community or the most advanced developing states. Possible analogues to the Soviet situation (i.e., disintegrating past empires or states with similar political geographic characteristics) are identified for further study.     

INDUSTRIAL DISPERSION IN THE SOVIET UNION: AN APPLICATION OF ENTROPY MEASURES

Industrial dispersion across the republics of the USSR between 1926 and 1974 is described through the use of entropy measures. Ostensibly, a set of location principles would guide such dispersion, and several of them stress regional equalization as an important consideration in locating industry. Therefore, trends in regional inequality (in industrialization) are investigated through the use of inequality statistics derived from entropy measures at three different spatial scales. Between 1926 and 1960, inequality among the republics decreased, but has increased between 1960 and 1974. However, inequality has decreased between the economic regions of the USSR between 1940 and 1975, and at the oblast level, there has been a tendency toward greater equality (homogeneity) within each economic region or republic since 1960. In attempting to account for these diverse trends, it is suggested that they are largely the result of the priority of efficiency considerations in location decisions rather than those of regional equity per se.     

The Second Interagency Conference on Population Geography

A theory that areal variations in economic development in the USSR (analyzed at the oblast level for most republics) depend on regional economic structure, economic policy, cultural factors, and the center-periphery dichotomy is tested via simple regression analysis, using retail sales per capita as the indicator of economic level. The independent variables are: share of urban population (for economic structure), investments (for economic policy), percentage of Moslem population (for the cultural factor), and distance from Moscow (for the periphery effect). All of these variables except distance were significant in explaining the real variation in retail sales per capita.     

METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN THE GEOGRAPHY OF LABOR RESOURCES

Soviet population geographers have tended to study labor-resource problems at the level of major civil divisions, such as republics, krays and oblasts. There is a real need for investigating such problems at a more detailed regional level, down to particular rayons and urban places in which people live and are employed. Various types of economic-geographic investigations of labor-resource problems are suggested and a research strategy is proposed. The author notes that if population cannot be redistributed regionally in keeping with a given economic objective, economic plans may have to be revised on the basis of the actual labor resource situation.     

The Influence of Ethnic Factors on the Territorial Redistribution of Population

Although a number of non-Russian republics of the Soviet Union (Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Moldavia) are labor-surplus areas, ethnic factors operate against migration of these national groups not only to labor-deficit regions in the RSFSR but even to cities of the non-Russian republics. Instead, Russians make up most of the migrants to labor-deficit regions (European North, Siberia, Far East, Kazakhstan) and to the cities of non-Russian republics. A system of measures in proposed to correct the situation.     

Interrepublic Trade in the Former Soviet Union: Structure and Implications

A senior CIA economist presents and analyzes the structure and implications of hitherto unpublished 1990 data on interrepublic trade, recently available from sources identified with the former Goskomstat SSSR. The study, unique in its access to statistical data of Soviet origin affording detailed comparisons of trade with indigenous sectoral detail, reveals advantages and dependencies inherent in the trade structures of each of the former Soviet republics. Analysis of the context in which interrepublican trade flows (valued in rubles and dollars) occurred highlights the relationship between drastic declines in industrial output and trade among the newly independent states in the 1990s. 9 figures, 18 tables, 12 references.     

URBAN PLANNING ASPECTS OF THE SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF MOSCOW

A prominent analyst of Soviet agricultural developments examines the 1992 grain harvest in the former Soviet republics. Coverage includes selective attention to the effects of such factors as weather (both losses from drought and from winterkill), farmers' economic calculations (purchase prices, alternative markets, etc.), the availability of inputs, and measures undertaken at the local level to support the harvest. The assessment provided here indicates that earlier projections of a dramatically smaller 1992 grain harvest have been overstated and outlines measures that can be implemented to reduce dependency on grain imports.     

Ethnic Tensions in the Successor Republics in 1993 and Early 1994

A distinguished specialist on the human geography of the former USSR examines the process whereby the Russian Federation increased its influence over most of the successor states during 1993 and early 1994. Particular attention is devoted to the interplay between (a) the status of Russian minorities, political instability, and ethnic conflict in the successor states and (b) military, economic, and political pressures exerted by the Russian Federation. In addition, the paper surveys the status of interethnic relations among Russians and eponymous populations in Russia's republics and other ethnic-territorial formations. 1 map, 44 references.     

USING EXPLANATORY SPATIAL MODELS IN PLANNING CONTEXTS (a reply)

The paper surveys a complex of challenges faced by the Ukrainian people in efforts to forge an independent Ukrainian state. These include charting an independent course within the new CIS, the allocation of former all-Union assets on Ukrainian territory, relations with minority ethnic groups (particularly Great Russians) in Ukraine, and potential territorial claims by neighboring states. Among economic problems faced by Ukrainian leaders are the need for reduced dependency upon energy imports, for structural change and renovation of aging industrial infrastructure, and for maintenance of favorable terms of trade with foreign countries and the former Soviet republics.     

Urban Transition and Interstate Relations in a Dynamic Post-Soviet Borderland: The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China

Two noted American geographers examine transition in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (a de facto Soviet protectorate in the 1930s and early 1940s) within the context of that region's strategic position. The paper, based on field work exploring urbanization in the People's Republic of China, investigates the area's role as a bridgehead and corridor for emerging economic relations between China and the neighboring republics of Central Asia. The focus is on the demographic dimensions of urban growth and the underlying geopolitical and economic factors. Considerable attention also is given to the implications of increased trade and improvements in transportation links with the newly independent Central Asian states. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F14, F15, O15, O18. 4 figures, 6 tables, 51 references.     

All is quiet on the Russian front: ceasefires and the pursuit of legitimacy by self-proclaimed “republics” in Ukraine

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the pursuit of legitimacy by the self-proclaimed “republics” in Ukraine. While these “republics” are illegal, questions of their legitimacy are commonly discussed almost entirely through Weberian rule-conformity. We argue that this one-dimensional view of legitimacy overlooks the rich context of normative aspects of power relationships. If the occupied Donbas is to be reintegrated into Ukraine, it is essential to understand the perceived legitimation of the political institutions in this region. We use David Beetham’s framework of legitimacy—consisting of legality, morality, and consent—to analyze the “republics’” pursuit of legitimacy. Our analysis leads to the proposition that while the “republics” are illegal, their supporters’ normative perceptions of the right to govern have ascribed more validity to the fake “governments” than what would have been expected from a legal point of view. Additionally, while a ceasefire between the Russian proxies and Ukraine’s forces has reduced violence, it has also levied temporal effect on the legitimation of illegitimate institutions. Our treatment of the process of legitimation over time helps us identify potential strategies of delegitimization should DPR and LPR reincorporate with Ukraine-controlled territory. Without dismantling internal perceptions of institutional legitimacy among inhabitants of nongovernment-controlled areas, a re-integration could not be accomplished.     

Scientific Principles of the General Outline for the Location of Productive Forces of the USSR for the Period up to 1970

The Council for the Study of Productive Forces, the preplanning economic research agency of the USSR, has completed a general outline for economic development of the Soviet Union over the period 1971–1980. The general outline contains sections devoted to particular sectors of the economy, to particular republics and economic regions, and to major areal development complexes. It is the result of a five-year effort that involved 20,000 scholars and technicians associated with 560 research and planning agencies. The present paper deals with the fundamental principles that guided the drafting of this 10-year development program, which has not been published. The paper focuses on five aspects that have been of particular relevance in resolving location problems: (1) the accelerating rate of scientific and technical progress, (2) the assuring of the proper territorial proportions in economic development, (3) the formation of new regions and economic complexes, (4) new problems in the man-nature relationship, notably environmental pollution, and (5) the close relationship between systems of settlement and the location of development projects.     

A Quantitative Approach to Designing a System of Economic Regions of the USSR

The authors state the rationale and describe the technique used to devise a system of seven economic macroregions of the USSR for long-term planning purposes. Since broad resource groups determine the specialization of regional complexes and their specialization in the geographical division of labor, the macroregions were constructed on the basis of homogeneity in key resources, such as manpower, fuels, land, water and transport geography. The new regional system preserves the basic division of the USSR into western and eastern economic zones, and reflects the lower labor and transport costs in the west, and the lower natural-resource costs in the east. The seven-region system, which is already being used in the 15-year plan 1975–1990, is expected to help determine optimal directions of regional development depending on whether regions have surpluses or are short of fuels, electric power, land, water or manpower. The new macroregions were designed by consolidating existing basic economic regions and union republics into larger entities, but the republics may be set apart as subzones for more detailed planning purposes.     

Socioeconomic impacts of Russian invasion of Ukraine: A multiregional assessment for Europe

History shows that wars can be enormously disruptive of economic activity, especially international trade, national income, and global economic welfare. This article analyzes the impact on the European regions the Russian invasion of Ukraine using the largest and most updated multiregional input-output model for Europe. Two shocks, trade and inflation, and four alternative scenarios are simulated. The scenarios are considered regarding the number of countries applying a trade embargo, the exemption of oil and gas, and the potential trade diversions with third countries such as China. We obtained a significant fall in GDP (−1.7%), 3.7 m lost jobs and 3% raise over the prewar inflation rate. For trade shock, large indirect effects are obtained, indicating the high relevance of the sectors and countries exposed to the war and the sanctions. The republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as the satellite countries of the former communism, face the harshest adverse impacts. This work shows the importance of breaking Russia's colonial economic ties to the countries in Eastern Europe.     

ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SECTORAL AND SPATIAL MANAGEMENT IN THE ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY OF THE USSR

The management system of the electric power industry of the USSR operates at two technological levels: a lower level of 92 regional power systems, each encompassing one or more oblast-type civil divisions or a small union republic; an upper level in which regional systems are combined into 11 unified power systems, where peak loads can be more easily moved between time zones. In addition there are electric power administrations within the RSFSR and ministries within the union republics, concerned mainly with administrative functions. Power administrations often do not coincide with unified systems, creating problems of efficient electric power management. Furthermore, the boundaries of unified power systems and power administrations often do not conform to the boundaries of major economic regions, which are used for current and long-term planning of the Soviet economy. This does not necessarily mean that the power systems are out of step with the economic regions. Soviet economic regionalization theory has long stressed the important region-shaping role of electric power systems. It may well be that in some cases, the boundaries of economic regions, not the power systems, require adjustment.