Publications

When the Soviet Union broke up, Kaliningrad suddenly found itself separated from mainland Russia by new frontiers. Hardly any other Russian region has been hit as hard by the economic disruption as Kaliningrad. The geographical situation of the region meant that it was more highly exposed to the destabilising effects of post-communist economic transformation. Since then, a dramatic trade opening has occurred, and regional trade and production have undergone profound changes. Kaliningrad has experienced a major shift in its economic orientation towards the tertiary sector and a new industrial orientation based on its position as an intermediary in EU–Russian trade. In short, that is what this report is about: the present and future economic development of this Russian enclave during its integration into the world economy, its place in the international division of labour and in the Russian–EU economic interface.

The principal argument of the paper is the following. Russia’s policy on Kaliningrad, above all the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) regime, renders the defining impact on Kaliningrad’s regional economic development. At the same time, changes in the external environment, of which the 2004 EU Enlargement is a major instance, have only a moderate impact on Kaliningrad. In other words, economic gravity of the enclave is determined politically (through the alliance with the mainland state) rather than geographically. Despite being detached from mainland Russia, its geographical proximity to the EU is by far less important than the special economic regime and other consequences of Kaliningrad being a Russian region.

Russian Europe" Publishing House

Dissemination: consulates general and foreign representations in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russian Federation Foreign Ministry Representation, Kaliningrad Oblast Administration, main participants of foreign economic activity, a business-class airline "Kaliningradavia".
You may also get the publication at the office of the Association of International Experts of the Development of the Kaliningrad Region.

"Russian Europe" Publishing House

Dissemination: consulates general and foreign representations in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russian Federation Foreign Ministry Representation, Kaliningrad Oblast Administration, main participants of foreign economic activity, a business-class airline "Kaliningradavia".
You may also get the publication at the office of the Association of International Experts of the Development of the Kaliningrad Region.

Nizhni Novgorod 2006

Table of Contents

"Russian Europe" Publishing House

Dissemination: consulates general and foreign representations in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russian Federation Foreign Ministry Representation, Kaliningrad Oblast Administration, main participants of foreign economic activity, a business-class airline "Kaliningradavia".
You may also get the publication at the office of the Association of International Experts of the Development of the Kaliningrad Region.