An evaluation of the Russian Far East spatial polarization in the post-Soviet period

Abstract

The post-Soviet social and economic development of Russia had a multidirectional character. At the same time the importance of smoothed factors of competitiveness, the importance of individual centers and industries increased. Regional measurement of such trends the most frequently discovers the rose sharply gradients of social and economic development, which reflct in the spatial development processes spectrum. Spatial polarization is the cornerstone in this spectrum; it has become an actual trend in the development of the whole country. Whereas its specifis in the west of the country have been researched quite actively, the Russian Far East in this respect has not been actually studied. This article is directed to eliminate this shortcoming. The main problems of socio-economic development of this territory and the process of regionalization specifi to it were preliminarily considered. The regionalization specifi process was discovered through the analysis of sharps in the most socio-economic indicators of the regional centers in the Russian Far East. For evaluating the spatial polarization we used the proprietary technology of four-step evaluation and the fial formula is proposed. The statistical base was the collection “Regions of Russia. Socio-economic Indicators”. The obtained index of spatial polarization was analyzed and conclusions about the specifis of its formation, functioning and sustainability were made. The spatial polarization index was visualized using QGIS cartographical method. As a result, 4 types of regions were identifid by the level of spatial polarization: weakly polarized (2 regions), medium polarized (3 regions), highly polarized (4 regions), maximum polarized (2 regions). Each type was analyzed, the factors and specifi of their creation and functioning were noted. The conclusion about the prevalence of qualitative diffrences between the types and signifiant prospects for further research into spatial polarization was made.