Academician Bakranov Working together to create the future of the Russian Pacific region

Mondo Military Updated on 2024-02-21

Russian PacificIt is developing at a pace that has never been done before, and it will work with its neighbors and countries along the East Asian and Pacific coasts to shape the future.

The Russian Far EastIts geographical orientation is characterized by a large area embedded in the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The region referred to in this book is the Far Eastern Federal District, which was incorporated into two federal constituent entities until 2018: the Republic of Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Krai. The Federal District has the following three categories of territory.

1. Direct access to the eastern seas and the eastern Pacific Ocean to the subjects of the Russian Federation: Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Khabarovsk Krai, Primorsky Krai and Kamchatka Krai, Magadan and Sakhalin Oblasts.

2. The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the northern coastline of which faces the Arctic Ocean. Yakutia is thus connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Northern Sea Route.

3. Non-Primorsky Subjects: Amur Region and Jewish Autonomous Region. However, they can be connected to the eastern seas and the Pacific Ocean by means of the navigable Amur River (Heilongjiang).

Map of the degree of tilt of the economic and geographical center of gravity of the constituent entities of the eastern Russian Federation towards the Pacific Ocean.

Since the 90s of the 20th century, the economic and geographical attractiveness of the Pacific Ocean to the eastern regions of Russia has increased significantly against the backdrop of the formation of market relationsSuch as its natural resources, transport and transit potential, as well as the huge market development space of Pacific countries. This is also driven by the strengthening of foreign economic relations between the entire eastern region of Russia, including Yakutia, and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the increase in the volume of goods transported along the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur railways. In addition, in 2006-2010, a large oil pipeline was built: an offshore oil transfer terminal from Tashet (Irkutsk region) to Kozmino Bay (near Nakhodka in Primorsky Krai), and its branches extended from Amur Oblast to China. The pipeline exports about 50 million tons of Siberian oil annually to China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Japan, South Korea, and the United States, among others). At present, the large-scale gas pipeline "Siberian Power" has also been built. It also transports natural gas from Eastern Siberia and southwestern Yakutia eastward to China.

In recent years, the Russian Federation** has developed and adopted the Strategy for the Development of the Far East and Baikal Region up to 2025 and the State Programme for the Social and Economic Development of the Far East up to 2024 and beyond 2035.

The strategy and programme give priority to the active development of the marine economy of the Far East, the exploitation and processing of the region's various marine natural resources, including biological, oil and gas, in the form of enterprise clusters, and the development of the marine shipbuilding industry with its export as the main orientation. In this regard, the role of the 5.5 million km Russian Pacific 200-nautical-mile marine economic zone is significantly increasing. Thus, on the one hand, the Far East's positioning of the Pacific Ocean and its resources and potential is strengthening, while on the other hand, it is not possible to fully assess the long-term prospects of the region without covering the 200-nautical-mile marine economic zone, which is dominated by the Pacific Economic Area.

As various scientific studies have shown, all of these trends are long-term. In recent years, all this has made it possible for things likeLarin, .Minakir, .Bakranov,Andeyev and other Russian scientists have a basisRussia, a macro-region with a 200-nautical-mile maritime economic zone, is called the Russian Pacific region。As is well known, the name first and foremost emphasizes the growing importance that the macro region attaches to the Pacific and its resources, as well as to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. Secondly, it underlined the growing role of a particular geopolitical position in the long-term development of the macro-region of our country, which is in fact a maritime territory.

In terms of geopolitical status, the Russian Pacific region is a globally connected geographical regionBakranov,First of all, it is the connection point of the northeastern part of Eurasia with the Pacific and Arctic oceans, forming various relationships between land and sea in the field of natural environment and natural resources. Secondly, Russia is directly connected to world powers such as the United States, China and Japan. In the structure of linkages, national borders, both land and sea, are constantly deepening (intensive). The structure of linkages is the basis for the formation of various contact functions here, including the exploitation of various marine and marine natural resources, their integration with the natural resources of coastal lands, and foreign economic interaction through the connection of land and sea transport systems.

The region's liaison function on a global scale extends beyond land and maritime borders, creating a wide range of transboundary areas with economic and resource environmental impacts, generating geopolitical interests and sometimes challenges.

The globalized function of market interaction is achieved through transcontinental (trans-Eurasia) transport corridors, the initial chains of which began in the Russian Pacific: the Trans-Siberian Railway and its branches, the Baikal-Amur Railway and the Eastern China Railway. In the future, the northern route will also become more and more important. China's "Silk Road" can also work closely with it.

The geopolitical status of this macro regionThe most important specific characteristicsYes,The Russian Pacific region is a region of large transboundary regions whose geographical systems across national borders (Bakranov, Ganz, etc.) are integral and indivisible in terms of natural resources and the natural environment。These belong to the ocean basins: the Chukchi Sea, the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan; The Amur, Ussuri and Tumen rivers, as well as the Xingkai Lake basin. It should be emphasized that almost all basins in the Far Eastern Seas, from the Chukchi Sea to the Sea of Japan, are transboundary and are complete marine earth systems (ecosystems), that is, state borders, both land and sea, cross them.

As our research has shown, in transboundary areas, natural resources and processes (ocean currents, fish migrations, river runoff, submarine oil and gas structures, atmospheric circulation, etc.) remain closely interconnected, and the quality and quantitative changes in individual resource components or environments in one place (range) in transboundary areas (transboundary Earth systems) are often transferred to other places (ranges), including those located in other countries (ranges). Therefore,Only the most comprehensive assessment of the natural resource potential of the entire transboundary region can organize the management of natural resources for sustainable and efficient use throughout the transboundary space.

It is also important to maintain high levels of the ocean, its coasts, and marine ecosystemsIt is a task that can only be effectively achieved through the continuous cooperation of coastal States in the same maritime area。To this end, it is necessary to establish a framework of long-term agreements between the countries of the common transboundary area, followed by international monitoring.

The transboundary nature of ocean basins ultimately also means that, when developed, these basins become a convergence of geopolitical interests of almost all coastal states (Bakranov, Ganz, Romanov). For example, the waters of the Sea of Japan are a confluent of the geopolitical interests of Russia, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea. It is well known that China also intersects with geopolitical interests here, as it has its own territory in the cross-border area of the Tumen River basin. The waters of the Sea of Okhotsk are, to a large extent, the zone of geopolitical interests of Russia and, to a lesser extent, of Japan. The Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea are areas where the geopolitical interests of Russia and the United States converge.

It should be emphasized thatThe entire Russian Pacific region, such a huge region, as a whole, is simultaneously included in the Pacific transboundary space(First of all, the North Pacific). Thus, the Russian Pacific region, first of all, the seas of the cross-border zone, is a zone of convergence of geopolitical interests of the leading countries of the world, especially the Pacific maritime powers with powerful military and civilian fleets. Based on historical experience, it can be argued that between the coastal states of the world ocean zone, there is not only the intersection of geopolitical interests, but also various conflicts, which sometimes lead to geopolitical problems.

Transnationality, as a specific component of the Russian geopolitical landscape in the Pacific, is an important factor in regional development. At the same time, transnationality provides an objective prerequisite for sustainable international cooperation.

As a result, the macro regions of Northeast Asia, the Russian Pacific and Northeast China are included in the international transboundary area: the Amur River (Heilongjiang) and Xingkai Lake basins, as well as the Sea of Japan basin. Our research, including with Chinese scientists, shows that it is impossible for our countries to effectively develop and develop sustainable environmental management in these transboundary areas without continuous close cooperation between them. To do this, both China and Russia should have a good and complete cross-border regional information base. Ultimately, international cooperation programmes for sustainable environmental management and development should be developed for these transboundary areas. This oneThe Russian Pacific: Past, Present and FutureIt contains various geographical information about the nature, natural resources, population and economy of the large eastern region of Russia, which can contribute to this.

Swipe left and right to viewDetails

This book takes the comprehensive geographical characteristics of the Russian Pacific region, which consists of the Russian Far East and its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, as the research object, describes the historical process of the formation of the paleogeographical environment of the region and its main development stages, describes in detail the status quo of the adjacent sea, nature reserves, population and economic development, and expounds the geographical elements of long-term development of the region, such as natural resources, economic geography and geopolitical conditions, international relations, tourism and natural resource utilization. In addition, the book reflects the long-term development plans of the Russian government and the academic evaluation of the development trends and prospects of the region.

I hope that the book "The Russian Pacific: Past, Present and Future" will contribute to the further development, deepening of the research of Russian and Chinese scientists, and the effective development of our, in many waysA common and unique Northeast Asia, the largest region of the planet

p. ya.Academician Baklanov.

End of 2021

From the paleogeographical features of the natural and climatic evolution of the Eurasian margin, to new archaeological discoveries, to contemporary natural, demographic, and economic descriptions, to the outlook for the future, the Russian Pacific: Past, Present, and Future provides a comprehensive and systematic study of a wide range of issues. The panoramic description of the history of the region is also quite fully integrated with a comprehensive evaluation of the geographical factors of regional development, such as natural resources and the natural environment, economic and geopolitical location, and regional security issues.

In the chapter on long-term development options for the region, vivid and informative official documents and academic sources are cited. The book contains a large amount of realistic material, such as **, maps, illustrations, and **, which will undoubtedly be interesting and beneficial to a wide range of readers.

Director of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Honorary President of the Russian Geographical Society

Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences

This article is an excerpt from "The Russian Pacific: Past, Present and Future" [(Russia)].Baklanov etc.; Translated by Li Zehong. Beijing: Science Press, 202311] The book "Preface", "Preface" and "Preface" of the Chinese Edition, with deletions and modifications, the title is added by the editor.

China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor Translation Series).

Drawing review number: GS (2021) No. 6903.

isbn 978-7-03-070519-8

Editor in charge: Han Peng, Zhang Jingfei.

This book is intended for a wide range of readers, including professionals, local chroniclers, students, teachers, etc., who are interested in the development of this vast and unique region of Russia in all its aspects.

Editor of this article: Liu Sidan).

Related Pages