Russia is the largest country in the world in area . What territory does it occupy? What are the main features of the geopolitical and economic-geographical position of Russia?
Basic information about Russia
The modern state of Russia appeared on the world map only in 1991. Although the beginnings of its statehood arose much earlier - about eleven centuries ago.
Modern Russia is a republic of a federal type. It consists of 85 entities, different in area and population. Russia is a multinational state in which representatives of more than two hundred ethnic groups live.
The country is the world's largest exporter of oil, gas, diamonds, platinum and titanium. She is also one of the world leaders in the production of ammonia, mineral fertilizers and weapons. The Russian Federation is one of the leading space and nuclear powers on the planet.
What are the main features of the geographical position of Russia? This will be discussed later.
Geographical position of Russia: territory, area, extreme points and population
The country covers a huge area of 17.1 million square meters. km (first place in the world in terms of territory). It stretches for ten thousand kilometers, from the shores of the Black and Baltic Seas in the west to the Bering Strait in the east. The length of the country from north to east is 4000 km.
The extreme points of the territory of Russia are as follows (all of them are displayed in red conventional icons on the map below):
- north - Cape Fligeli (within the Franz Josef Land);
- southern - near Mount Kichensuv (in Dagestan);
- western - on the Baltic spit (in the Kaliningrad region);
- eastern - Ratmanova island (in the Bering Strait).
Russia directly borders with 14 independent states, as well as with two partially recognized countries (Abkhazia and South Ossetia). A curious fact: about 75% of the country's territory is located in Asia, but almost 80% of Russians live in its European part. Total population of Russia: about 147 million people (as of January 1, 2017).
Physico-geographical location of Russia
The entire territory of Russia is located within the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth and almost all (with the exception of a small part of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) is within the Eastern Hemisphere. The state is located in the northern and central parts of Eurasia and occupies almost 30% of Asia.
From the north, the coast of Russia is washed by the seas of the Arctic Ocean, and in the east - by the Pacific. In the western part, it has access to the Black Sea, which belongs to the basin of the Atlantic Ocean. The country has the longest coastline among all countries of the world - over 37 thousand kilometers. These are the main features of the physical and geographical position of Russia.
The country has a tremendous wealth and diversity of natural resource potential. On its open spaces are the richest deposits of oil and gas, iron ore, titanium, tin, nickel, copper, uranium, gold and diamonds. Russia also has enormous water and forest resources. In particular, about 45% of its area is covered with forest.
It is worth highlighting other important features of the physical and geographical position of Russia. So, most of the country is located north of the 60th degree of northern latitude, in the permafrost zone. And in these difficult climatic conditions millions of people are forced to live. All this, of course, left its mark on the life, culture and traditions of Russian people.
Russia is in the field of so-called risky farming. This means that successfully developing agriculture for the most part is difficult or impossible. So, if in the northern regions of the country there is not enough heat, then in the southern regions, on the contrary, there is a moisture deficit. These features of the geographical position of Russia significantly affect the agricultural sector of its economy, which is in dire need of state subsidies.
Components and levels of the country's economic and geographical position
Under the economic and geographical position (EGP) of a country or region is understood the totality of relations and relations of individual enterprises, settlements and regions with objects that are located outside the country and have a strong influence on it.
Scientists distinguish the following components of EGP:
- transport;
- industrial;
- agro-geographical;
- demographic
- recreational;
- market (position relative to sales markets).
EGP of a country or region is assessed at three different levels: at the micro, meso and macro levels. Next, we will assess the macro position of Russia in relation to the world around it as a whole.
Features, changes in the economic and geographical position of Russia
The size of the territory is the most important feature and benefit of the economic and geographical position of the Russian Federation, with which there are many prospects. It allows the country to ensure a competent division of labor, rationally allocate its production forces, etc. Russia borders on fourteen countries of Eurasia, including powerful raw material bases in China, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Numerous transport corridors provide close cooperation with the states of Western and Central Europe.
Here, perhaps, are the main features of the geographical position of Russia of an economic nature. How has it changed in recent decades? And has it changed?
After the collapse of the USSR, the country's economic and geographical position deteriorated markedly. And above all, transport. Indeed, Russia's access to the strategically important water areas of the Black and Baltic Seas in the early 1990s was significantly limited, and the country itself was several hundred kilometers away from the highly developed states of Europe. In addition, Russia has lost many of its traditional markets.
The geopolitical position of Russia
The geopolitical position is the country's place in the world political arena, its relationship with other states. In general, Russia has ample opportunities for economic, political, military and scientific-cultural cooperation with many countries of Eurasia and the planet.
However, not with all states these relations are developing in the best way. So, in recent years, relations between Russia and a number of countries of the NATO bloc — the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, which were once close allies of the Soviet Union — have significantly deteriorated. This fact, by the way, is called the largest geopolitical defeat of the Russian Federation in the new century.
Relations between Russia and a number of post-Soviet states remain complicated and rather tense: Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and the countries of the Baltic region. The geopolitical position of the country changed significantly in 2014 with the annexation of the Crimean peninsula (in particular, in the Black Sea region).
Changes in the geopolitical position of Russia in the twentieth century
If we consider the twentieth century, then the most tangible shift of forces in the European and world political arena occurred in 1991. The collapse of a powerful power of the USSR entailed a number of fundamental changes in the geopolitical position of Russia:
- along the perimeter of Russia, more than a dozen young and independent states arose with which a new type of relationship had to be established;
- the Soviet military presence was finally eliminated in several countries of Eastern and Central Europe;
- Russia got into its composition a rather problematic and vulnerable enclave - the Kaliningrad region;
- The NATO military bloc gradually approached directly the borders of the Russian Federation.
However, over the past decades, fairly strong and mutually beneficial ties have been established between Russia and Germany, China, Japan, and India.
In conclusion: Russia in the modern world
Russia occupies a vast territory, possessing tremendous human and natural resource potential. Today it is the largest state on the planet and an important player in the global arena. You can highlight the most important features of the geographical position of Russia, here they are:
- The vastness of the occupied space and the huge extent of the borders.
- A tremendous variety of natural conditions and resources.
- Mosaic (uneven) settlement and economic development of the territory.
- Ample opportunities for trade, military and political cooperation with various neighboring states, including the leading economies of the modern world.
- The inconstancy and instability of the country's geopolitical position over the past decades.
Features of the geographical location of Russia are extremely profitable. But these benefits (natural, economic, strategic and geopolitical) it is important to learn how to properly and rationally use, directing them to increase the country's power and the well-being of its citizens.