East EuropeEast Europe: political : political giant vs. economic giant vs. economic
lagginglagging
Economic GeographyEconomic GeographyI. International Business bachelor study programme (BA)I. International Business bachelor study programme (BA)Spring term 201Spring term 20144/201/20155..CUB Department of Economic Geography and Futures StudiesCUB Department of Economic Geography and Futures Studies
dr. Jeney Lászlódr. Jeney LászlóSenior lecturerSenior lecturer
[email protected]@caesar.elte.hu
Delimitation and main Delimitation and main features of East Europefeatures of East Europe
East Europe: physical geographical aspect
East European Plain– 4.5 mn km2
– European part of former SU (except: Karelia, Western peripheries North and Central Europe)
– Highest point: Podolia 515 m West: no natural frontier state
borders33
East Europe: military aspect
During Iron Curtain
After Iron Curtain United Nations
44
Rounds:– Only Russia (political Core)– East Slavic countries: RU+BY+UA– Former SU (East Slavic + Baltic states+MD)– Former SU+East Central Europe (V4)– +DDR– Post-socialist countries: Balkan Peninsula too
NATOEast Europe NATO
East Europe
East Europe
Religious feature: Eastern Christianity
55
Area of Eastern Christianity (orthodoxy)
Centre: from Constantinople (Byzantium) to Moscow
But:– East Balkan
Peninsula too
– Atheism– Religious
minorities
East Europe
666666
HHome of Eastern Slavsome of Eastern Slavs
Slavic countries– Eastern (RU, UA, BY)– Western (PL, CZ, SK)– Southern (former YU, BG)
Eastern Slavs: offshoots of the Broader Rus’
East Slavic Countries– European Russia (except: Karelia,
Kaliningrad)– Belarus (except: Western part)– Ukraine (except: Transkarpathia,
Galicia, Podolia)
66
EastEurope
Economic development of Economic development of RussiaRussia
Historical development
Predecessor of SU: Russian Empire (incl. Belarus, Ukraine, East Poland too)
After WWI: Ukraine + Russia (incl. Belarus) 1922: Soviet Union (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine) From 1991: Russia, Ukraine and Belarus
– Independent Russia remained considerable power Presidents
– Boris Yeltsin (1991–2000)– Vladimir Putin (2000–2008)– Dmitry Medvedev (2008–2012)– Vladimir Putin (from 2012)
88
1990s: economic hardship
Transition to capitalism: economies shrank– Inefficient,
uncompetitive factories
– Most industries downsized dramatically shutting down
1998 global financial crisis– Depreciated
the Russian ruble
– Further lowered living standards
99
2000s: economies began growing again
Average 6–8 % GDP growth
Russia– GDP: WR10.– Bureaucratic reforms– Soaring global prices
for oil and natural gas– However: dependence
on oil and gas (80% of exports, 32% of GDP in 2007 13% in 1999)
1010
Foreign direct investments
1990s: inflow was prevented– Corruption– Poor infrastructure– Unwieldy bureaucracy
RU 1991–2001– FDI: 18,2 bn $ (China: 46 bn $)– Per capita FDI: 15 $ (1149 USA, 224 Hungary)
After mid 2000s: FDI in Russia expanded rapidly– 2008: 70 bn– Investors: CY, NL, L, UK
Sectors– Mainly oil, natural gas, metal ores– Also automotive industry (VW Kaluga, Ford and Japanese
companies) 2006: first time foreign cars outsold domestic cars 1111
The knowledge of the past is required to understand the present
Who founded Russia?
Rurik the Viking
The first Russian states (principalities):
Kievan Rus, Rus of Novgorod Rus = assembly of the
people
Lithuanian –
Polish Grand Dutchy
Tsar Peter the Great
Catherine the Great
Black coal Great Britain (Wales) and Donetsk Basin (East
Ukraine)
Iron ore Sweeden (Kiruna) and Krivoj Rog (East Ukraine)
Donetsk Basin (East Ukraine) the Craddle of Russian Heavy Industry (German settlers invited)
Chernozyom (black) soil, dry continental climate
Ukraine, the Bread-Basket of Russia
Hungary
Poland - Lithuania
Turkey
Russia
Turkey
Territory of today’s Ukraine in the 18th – 19th centuries
HOLODOMOR (genocide) 1931 – 1933 Ukraine (USSR) death toll ~
7 million Ukrainian civilians
The vast majority of nationalities in today’s Ukraine
Russian speaking population from 10 to 90 %
Slavic relationship
Mutual intelligibility and common vocabulary of Ukrainian language compared to:
Belarusian: 84 %
Polish 70 %
Serbian: 68 %
Croatian: 68 %
Slovak: 66 %
Russian: 62 %
XX. Century Regional Polarization of the World
1900 – 1950 MULTIPOLAR
XX. Century Regional Polarization of the World
1950 – 1990 BIPOLAR
StalinLenin
Leonid Brezhnev
Nikita Khrushchev
XXI. Century Regional Polarization of the World
1990 – 2020 POST BIPOLAR
Boris Jelcin
Mikhail Gorbachev
XXI. Century Regional Polarization of the World
2020 – 2050 MULTIPOLAR
Vladimir Putin
3 billion $ and 5 years (Germans: 1941, Yanukovych: 2014
Sochi Olympics, )
25 km
Europe Asia
The dimension of Russia and the rest of Europe
Russia
