Ekaterina Mikhailova | Lomonosov Moscow State University (original) (raw)
Papers by Ekaterina Mikhailova
Mikhailova E. (2018) O polimasshtabnoj strukture transgranich'ja s pozicii sistemnogo podhoda [On the multiscale structure of borderlands in terms of systems theory]. Regional'nye issledovanija 3 (61), 25-34., 2018
В статье уточнены свойства трансграничных территорий с позиции системного подхода. В качестве осо... more В статье уточнены свойства трансграничных территорий с позиции системного подхода. В качестве особенностей проявления общесистемных свойств, обусловленных двухзвенной структурой трансграничья, установлены такие черты, как относительная целостность, глобальность (включенность в мировое хозяйство) и наличие дублированных элементов. Именно эти свойства
превращают трансграничье в территорию особой стратегической значимости для двусторонних
отношений сопредельных государств и место, требующее выстраивания многоуровневого многоакторного механизма сотрудничества и решения проблем. В качестве примера полимасштабного анализа сопоставлены данные плотности населения российско-китайского трансграничного региона на микро-, мезо- и макроуровнях. Сделан вывод о том, что демографические диспропорции приграничных
административных единиц низового уровня России и Китая значительно (в восемь раз) меньше диспропорций административных единиц высшего уровня. Для китайской части трансграничного региона характерны более значительные внутрисистемные демографические диспропорции, чем для российской, проявляющиеся в снижении плотности населения при переходе от макро- к мезоуровню.
The article identifies key features of cross-border regions as territorial systems and points at those of them that are influenced by their binary structure. They are relative integrity of cross-border regions, their embeddedness into the world economy and the presence of duplicated elements. These features predetermine the (bi)national strategic importance and peculiar attention to cross-border territories as well as the need for multi-layer multi-actor problem-solving and collaboration. Contrasting
population density data of the Sino-Russian borderland at multiple scales allows to conclude that demographic disproportion of administrative entities of lower level is significantly smaller (by factor of eight) than the one of regional entities. Internal demographic disproportion is substantially higher on the Chinese side of the cross-border region and its key manifestation is the decrease of population density as we downscale the research unit from the macro- and the meso-level.
Mikhailova E. (2019) Broadcast, Society and Space. URL: http://societyandspace.org/2019/03/03/broadcast/, 2019
Михайлова, Е.В. Методические подходы к созданию профилей пар городов, разделенных границей // Экономика и управление. 2014. – № 9 (107). – С. 55-58., 2014
The article has provided several methodological approaches (MAs) for profiling international-bord... more The article has provided several methodological approaches (MAs) for profiling international-border-divided cities. The critique aims, in the course of the discussion, to systemize the process of describing these cities' key characteristics. The review would do so by offering a series of definitions for major terms – such as “border-divided” and “profile” — and by classifying the developmental figures highlighted in the MAs. With respect to the MAs, the approaches would interpret their important aspects (strengths, weaknesses, and areas of use). Subsequently, the report details the MAs: for adjacent settlements; mixed types (based on comparative approach); sectoral-panoramic sorts; contextual-discrete types (related to environment); historical variants; and combined versions. As an example of the latter, the document points to the border municipalities of Narva (Estonia) and Ivangorod (the Russian Federation). The blueprint has profiled the 'border-divided cities' despite the absence of extensive background material on the subject.
Mikhailova E. (2018) Are refugees welcome to the Arctic? Perceptions of Arctic migrants at the Russian-Norwegian borderland, in G. Besier, K. Stoklosa (eds.) How to Deal with Refugees? LIT Verlag, Berlin, 183-200., 2018
Till recently the Russian-Norwegian cross-border region had reputation of an exemplary contact an... more Till recently the Russian-Norwegian cross-border region had reputation of an exemplary contact and collaboration zone between the West and the East of Europe. The long-established peaceful border, Barents cooperation as well as a 30-km visa-free zone for borderlanders are some of the key features of that area. However, in 2015 when 5,500 migrants and refugees were transiting through the region, the previously achieved reciprocal understanding and trust became questioned.
Based on media-analysis and fieldwork data, the chapter describes how processing of asylum-seekers was arranged and performed in two border towns, Nikel and Kirkenes. While the migrant transit across the Russian-Norwegian border was over by the end of 2015, its repercussions for sides involved are still present today. One of them is a profound mismatch in perceiving the challenge of international migration on two sides of the border. Verbal and behavioral expressions of borderlanders’ attitudes to the Arctic migrants presented in the chapter provide ample evidence to it. As follows from interview analysis, one of principal reasons for asymmetry in wilkommenskultur between the studied Russian and Norwegian border municipalities is their experience in receiving refugees with different cultural heritage or lack thereof.
The northernmost external border of the Schengen zone in continental Europe lies above the 69th p... more The northernmost external border of the Schengen zone in continental Europe lies above the 69th parallel north between Norway and Russia. Despite its remoteness, hostile climatic conditions and sparse population density, till recently this borderland was seen as an exemplary relationship between the West and the East. Such a reputation greatly relied on the Barents Euro-Arctic region – an institutional framework that came into being in 1993 to replace Cold War confrontation with collaboration.
Since perestroika and the opening up of the formerly closed border, contacts between border municipalities - Pechenga Rayon (Murmansk Oblast, Russia) and Sør-Varanger commune (Finnmark fylke, Norway) - have been intense and diverse. Although local cross-border interactions have never been in the focus of Barents cooperation, several times border municipalities played the role of trailblazers in exercising transfrontier lifestyle and cross-border cooperation. In this piece I trace the dynamics of a recent border-blurring experiment that was initiated and agreed upon nationally and implemented locally – the launch of the twin city relationship. To provide a more grounded analysis, I use both secondary sources as well as empirical data (interviews and a survey) collected in the Russian-Norwegian borderland in 2013-2016.
Приграничный регион в историческом развитии: партнёрство и сотрудничество: материалы междунар. науч. конф. : [в 3 ч.] / Забайкал. гос. ун-т ; [гл. ред. Е. В. Дроботушенко]. – Чита : ЗабГУ, 2017. , 2017
В статье рассмотрены проявления сжатия социально-экономического пространства в условиях перехода ... more В статье рассмотрены проявления сжатия социально-экономического пространства в условиях перехода от плана к рынку в наиболее урбанизированной части Приамурья – Амурской области. Как показал анализ динамики изменения демографических показателей городов этого региона, семь из десяти населенных пунктов испытывают устойчивую депопуляцию. Названы основные причины оттока населения: отъезд в более благополучные в экономическом отношении регионы с целью трудоустройства на новом месте (в силу кризисного положения отдельных отраслей, предприятий и моногородов, а также отмены системы снабжения Амурской области после распада Советского Союза); отъезд в связи с передислокацией или расформированием воинских частей; отъезд в связи с экологическими фобиями. Указаны региональные и федеральные проекты, направленные на адаптацию городов Амурской области к рыночным механизмам и наращиванию способности удерживать и привлекать население. На примере демографического роста села Чигири Благовещенского района проиллюстрирована тенденция субурбанизации.
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The paper addresses the issue of social and economic shrinkage in the context of transition economy in the most urbanized part of left-bank area adjacent to the Amur River – Amur Oblast. Analyzing dynamics of the demographic change revealed that seven out of ten cities experience continual depopulation. The main reasons for out-migration are 1) relocation to more economically advanced regions for purpose of employment due to crisis condition in certain economic sectors, enterprises and single-industry towns, as well as due to the abolition of the supply system of Amur Oblast after the demise of the Soviet Union; 2) relocation caused with redeployment or disbandment of military units; 3) relocation triggered with environmental phobias. The authors name regional and federal initiatives aimed at adaptation of Amur Oblast cities to market economy and increasing their capacity to keep population and attract resettlers. By looking at the Chigiri demographic growth the paper indicated the trend of suburbanization.
The suddenness of the migratory flow appearance in the High North, its content as well as the way... more The suddenness of the migratory flow appearance in the High North, its content as well as the way it has been treated and stopped caused significant outcry in international mass media, three countries involved (Russia, Norway and Finland) and world politics. However, the Arctic migrant route was lacking academic reflection. This paper contributes to filling in this gap by contextualizing it, reconstructing its chronology, naming some of its consequences and finding out its perception locally and globally. By using these two scales the author brings evidence to uncontrolled and spontaneous nature of the Arctic migrant route and thus provides yet another counterargument against hybrid warfare hypothesis.
Border studies posit that one of the key inherent traits of twin cities is an aspiration to proac... more Border studies posit that one of the key inherent traits of twin cities is an aspiration to proactively and deliberately dissolve the border and become one entity that fundamentally affects social, economic and political identity of two border communities. While a number of twin cities emerging between European countries and Russia try to follow said pattern, this is not the case in the Russian Far East. Recent claims of twin cities status made by Blagoveshchensk (Russia) and Heihe (China) do not follow the pattern that characterizes the formation of twin cities in Europe. Blago and Heihe have confined their twinning to the spheres of trade and tourism and excluded any changes to the administration of boundaries or national security. Such a narrow understanding stems from a number of significant obstacles to twin city development in the context of Russia and China. These obstacles include nationalism, competition to attain global economic influence, historical border disputes, imbalances in population size and trends, regional economic differences as well as close scrutiny by respective central governments. In spite of these limitations, the two cities regard twinning as a valuable marketing tool and have progressively adopted this brand. It also appears that pursuing the rhetoric of city-twinning allows the officials of the late socialist government of China and the post state socialism government of Russia to advance claims to opportunities in trade and tourism without really tackling the difficult questions of more meaningful cross-border interactions. To conclude, the case of Blago/Heihe is viewed in a broader theoretical and comparative perspective of city-twinning.
В статье предложена классификация проблем осуществления приграничного сотрудничества на уровне му... more В статье предложена классификация проблем осуществления приграничного сотрудничества на уровне муниципальных образований. На основе результатов качественного и количественного контент-анализа материалов интервью с экспертами приграничного сотрудничества и опроса населения пар смежных приграничных городов на российско-норвежской, российско-финляндской и российско-китайской границах сделан вывод о гетерогенности проблем (их содержания и воспринимаемой приоритетности) в осуществлении приграничного сотрудничества на различных участках государственной границы РФ. Общими для трех кейсов определены такие проблемы осуществления приграничного сотрудничества, как ограниченные финансовые возможности, несбалансированность направлений взаимодействия и низкий уровень осведомленности населения о проектах сотрудничества. Выдвинуто предложение о создании Ассоциации приграничных муниципальных образований РФ как площадки для обмена опытом осуществления приграничного сотрудничества с целью изучения и адаптации передовых зарубежных практик.
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The article puts forward a classification of cross-border cooperation challenges relevant for border municipalities. Based on quantitative and qualitative content-analysis of interviews with cross-border cooperation experts and survey of borderlanders from the Russian-Norwegian, Russian-Finnish and Russian-Chinese borders, the author argues that problems of performing trans-frontier collaboration are heterogeneous (in terms of content and their perceived significance) along the Russian border belt. Revealed common challenges to carry out cross-border cooperation include limited financial opportunities, unbalanced character of cooperation and residents' low awareness of collaboration projects. The article suggests establishing the Association of Russian border municipalities as an arena for experience transfer of cross-border cooperation performance including exploring and adapting foreign best practices in this sphere.
The brief prognosis made for 2013 discusses Russia's cross-border cooperation development from th... more The brief prognosis made for 2013 discusses Russia's cross-border cooperation development from the perspective of domestic policy. It touches upon issues of legal framework and cross-border infrastructure and sketches priority areas of cooperation along Russian borders.
Материалы 8-й международной молодежной школы-конференции “Меридиан”. Пространственно-временная изменчивость в природе и обществе, May 30, 2015
В статье рассмотрен процесс формирования трансграничного сообщества на российско-норвежской гра... more В статье рассмотрен процесс формирования трансграничного сообщества на российско-норвежской границе. В числе особенностей трансграничных связей жителей двух сопредельных муниципалитетов - Печенгского района и коммуны Сёр-Варангер - выделены 1) проактивная позиция приграничных муниципалитетов в выстраивании двустороннего взаимодействия; 2) высокая степень поддержки развития российско-норвежского приграничного сотрудничества со стороны национального и 3) регионального уровней управления, а также 4) доминирование досугового и профессионального типа мотиваций жителей приграничья к посещению города-соседа.
![Research paper thumbnail of НОВЫЕ ФОРМАТЫ СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВА В РОССИЙСКО-КИТАЙСКОМ ПРИГРАНИЧЬЕ НАКАНУНЕ ПРАЗДНОВАНИЯ 70-ЛЕТИЯ СО ДНЯ ОКОНЧАНИЯ ВТОРОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ [New Formats of Cooperation in Russian-Chinese Borderlands before Celebrating the 70 th Anniversary of World War II]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/38754691/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](В статье рассмотрена специфика празднования 70-летия со дня окончания Второй мировой войны на ази... more В статье рассмотрена специфика празднования 70-летия со дня окончания Второй мировой войны на азиатском участке российской границы. Произведена классификация новых форматов сотрудничества, появившихся в российско-китайском приграничье. Охарактеризованы примеры уникальных мероприятий приграничного сотрудничества, приуроченных к отмечанию годовщины Победы, и новые форматы, имеющие потенциал стать регулярными.
[The article explores what is special in celebrating the 70-th anniversary of World War II in the Asian part of the Russian border. The author classified new formats of cooperation emerged in the Sino-Russian borderlands. The contribution names examples both of unique events dedicated to the Victory celebration and new formats with potential for becoming regular]
![Research paper thumbnail of ДВИЖУЩИЕ ФАКТОРЫ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ТРАНСГРАНИЧНОГО СООБЩЕСТВА НА ПРИМЕРЕ РОССИЙСКО-ФИНСКОЙ И РОССИЙСКО-КИТАЙСКОЙ ГРАНИЦ [Drivers of Cross-Border Community Formation along Russian-Finnish and Russian-Chinese Borders]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/37437610/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Рассмотрены и проанализированы на примере смежных городов, представля-ющих собой единое пространс... more Рассмотрены и проанализированы на примере смежных городов, представля-ющих собой единое пространственно-территориальное образование, но раз-деленных государственной границей, процессы трансформации стихийного возникновения и развития трансграничных сообществ в управляемый про-цесс. Выделены основные движущие факторы, позволяющие развивать межмуниципальный диалог на уровне как физических, так и юридических лиц. Предложена классификация типов мотивации для пересечения границы. Определены меры по улучшению инфраструктуры трансграничного взаимо-действия, такие как договорное закрепление отношений, формирование пла-нового характера сотрудничества, использование проектных форм работы, бюрократическая и процедурная оптимизация процесса пересечения границы.
The paper focuses on the tourism development strategy of the Amur Oblast called “Twin Cities”. Sa... more The paper focuses on the tourism development strategy of the Amur Oblast called “Twin Cities”. Said initiative became the first attempt of the Russian Far Eastern regions to create the hospitality industry towards Chinese tourists in the Sino-Russian borderlands. Bringing together such sub-disciplines as border tourism, urban planning and territorial development helps to find out the peculiarities of Blagoveshchensk and Heihe relations among other adjacent settlements along the Russian-Chinese
border. Detected features give the ground to define “twin-cities” rhetoric around the border city pair under the scrutiny as a touristic brand construction. On the basis on Blagoveshchensk and Heihe investment plans analysis, the author argues that studied initiative might reshape unbalanced onesided structure of current tourist flow across the Russian-Chinese border.
В статье сопоставляется применение понятий «регион» и различных видов субгосударственного сотрудн... more В статье сопоставляется применение понятий «регион» и различных видов субгосударственного сотрудничества в нормативно-правовой базе России, Содружества Независимых Государств и Совета Европы – двух региональных международных организаций общей компетенции, членом которых является Россия. На основе проделанного анализа делается вывод о преемственности и противоречиях в употреблении данных терминов, формулируются рекомендации по гармонизации понятийного аппарата.
The paper provides an overview of theorizing on the cross-border governance concept. Based on the... more The paper provides an overview of theorizing on the cross-border governance concept. Based on the literature review, the author reveals that albeit the determiner of the whole term is “governance”, the managerial remarks on it are few and fragmented while the majority of definitions demonstrate clear Political Science slant. The heterogeneity of interpretations is explained by the complex multidimensional nature of studied phenomenon and attempts to explore it from standpoints of various disciplines. The emergence of the idea of coordinative governance beyond the borders is described as a result of the evolutionary process of understanding the contact function of the borderlands. Border regions and border municipalities are named the chief initiators of project work to implement governance beyond the borders. Taking into consideration peculiarities, advantages and limitations of managerial practices on the sub-national and local level, the author stresses the need for further research and conceptualization of cross-border governance.
![Research paper thumbnail of РОЛЬ ТРАНСГРАНИЧНОГО ТЕРРИТОРИАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ БЛАГОВЕЩЕНСК-ХЭЙХЭ В РОССИЙСКО-КИТАЙСКОМ ПРИГРАНИЧНОМ СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВЕ [THE ROLE OF THE TRANSBORDER TERRITORIAL UNIT OF BLAGOVESHENSK AND HEIHE IN RUSSIN-CHINESE CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION ]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/35508538/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](В статье рассматривается применимость термина «города-близнецы» к паре городов Благовещенск-Хэйхэ... more В статье рассматривается применимость термина «города-близнецы» к паре городов Благовещенск-Хэйхэ. В качестве альтернативы для их дефиниции предлагается понятие «трансграничное территориальное образование». На основании сравнения взаимодействия пары Благовещенск и Хэйхэ с принятыми в академической среде характеристиками российско-китайского приграничного сотрудничества автор делает вывод о курсе на повышение взаимодополняемости экономик двух городов.
The article examines the appliance of the term “twin-cities” to describe a city pair of Blagoveshensk-Heihe. The concept of transborder territorial unit is introduced as an alternative for their definition. Based on the comparison of collaboration between city pair of Blagoveshensk-Heihe with accepted within academic circles characteristics of Russian-Chinese cross-border cooperation the author concluded that the economical unification and integration between Blagoveshensk and Heihe takes place.
The article is devoted to the city pair of Blagoveshchensk (Russia) and Heihe (People’s Republic ... more The article is devoted to the city pair of Blagoveshchensk (Russia) and Heihe (People’s Republic of China), the only city pair in Russian-Chinese borderland that describes itself with the term “twin-cities”. The current contribution reconstructs the history of appearance of the twin-cities concept in Russian-Chinese agenda. On the basis of interviews and questionnaires collected in the cities in question the paper examines specificity of understanding of “twin-cities” concept and its practical execution in the Asian context. Exploring the extent to which the twin-cities relations model is applicable to Russian-Chinese border cities, the author concludes that cooperation predominantly exists in a form of bilateral annual events in various spheres (culture, education, sport, etc.) and dialog between delegations of region’s/city’s representatives, not in a form of direct people-to-people or institution-to-institution cooperation. The lack of local initiatives to cooperate (almost zero-amount of initiatives not from region’s/city’s administrations) is named as a main drawback of Blagoveshchensk and Heihe relations. While planned character of cooperation makes the calendar of joint events stable and predictable, it also keeps Russian-Chinese cooperation staying on the ritual level and prevents it to become a necessary part of everyday life.
Talks by Ekaterina Mikhailova
Implementation of territorial development projects often turns into a hostage to the inability of... more Implementation of territorial development projects often turns into a hostage to the inability of reaching consensus among various political actors involved in decision-making process. Using creation of regulatory framework on Russia's cross-border cooperation as an example, the current article brings evidence that even large-scale close-awaited legal initiatives can be halted when a vision of problem-solving is fragmented and heterogeneous.
The paper represents a piece of a doctoral research on four city pairs which name themselves «twi... more The paper represents a piece of a doctoral research on four city pairs which name themselves «twin-cities» and are located near the border of the Russian Federation. The term «twin-cities» is used in a narrow sense, with geographical closeness as an important criterion (on the contrary to sister-cities where the distance between cooperating cities doesn't matter). These cities lie on Russian state border with China (Blagoveshchensk-Heihe), Estonia (Ivangorod-Narva), Finland (Svetogorsk-Imatra) and Norway (Nikel-Kirkenes). The current contribution is devoted to examining the appliance of the twin-cities concept to the Nothernmost and last mentioned city pair.
Mikhailova E. (2018) O polimasshtabnoj strukture transgranich'ja s pozicii sistemnogo podhoda [On the multiscale structure of borderlands in terms of systems theory]. Regional'nye issledovanija 3 (61), 25-34., 2018
В статье уточнены свойства трансграничных территорий с позиции системного подхода. В качестве осо... more В статье уточнены свойства трансграничных территорий с позиции системного подхода. В качестве особенностей проявления общесистемных свойств, обусловленных двухзвенной структурой трансграничья, установлены такие черты, как относительная целостность, глобальность (включенность в мировое хозяйство) и наличие дублированных элементов. Именно эти свойства
превращают трансграничье в территорию особой стратегической значимости для двусторонних
отношений сопредельных государств и место, требующее выстраивания многоуровневого многоакторного механизма сотрудничества и решения проблем. В качестве примера полимасштабного анализа сопоставлены данные плотности населения российско-китайского трансграничного региона на микро-, мезо- и макроуровнях. Сделан вывод о том, что демографические диспропорции приграничных
административных единиц низового уровня России и Китая значительно (в восемь раз) меньше диспропорций административных единиц высшего уровня. Для китайской части трансграничного региона характерны более значительные внутрисистемные демографические диспропорции, чем для российской, проявляющиеся в снижении плотности населения при переходе от макро- к мезоуровню.
The article identifies key features of cross-border regions as territorial systems and points at those of them that are influenced by their binary structure. They are relative integrity of cross-border regions, their embeddedness into the world economy and the presence of duplicated elements. These features predetermine the (bi)national strategic importance and peculiar attention to cross-border territories as well as the need for multi-layer multi-actor problem-solving and collaboration. Contrasting
population density data of the Sino-Russian borderland at multiple scales allows to conclude that demographic disproportion of administrative entities of lower level is significantly smaller (by factor of eight) than the one of regional entities. Internal demographic disproportion is substantially higher on the Chinese side of the cross-border region and its key manifestation is the decrease of population density as we downscale the research unit from the macro- and the meso-level.
Mikhailova E. (2019) Broadcast, Society and Space. URL: http://societyandspace.org/2019/03/03/broadcast/, 2019
Михайлова, Е.В. Методические подходы к созданию профилей пар городов, разделенных границей // Экономика и управление. 2014. – № 9 (107). – С. 55-58., 2014
The article has provided several methodological approaches (MAs) for profiling international-bord... more The article has provided several methodological approaches (MAs) for profiling international-border-divided cities. The critique aims, in the course of the discussion, to systemize the process of describing these cities' key characteristics. The review would do so by offering a series of definitions for major terms – such as “border-divided” and “profile” — and by classifying the developmental figures highlighted in the MAs. With respect to the MAs, the approaches would interpret their important aspects (strengths, weaknesses, and areas of use). Subsequently, the report details the MAs: for adjacent settlements; mixed types (based on comparative approach); sectoral-panoramic sorts; contextual-discrete types (related to environment); historical variants; and combined versions. As an example of the latter, the document points to the border municipalities of Narva (Estonia) and Ivangorod (the Russian Federation). The blueprint has profiled the 'border-divided cities' despite the absence of extensive background material on the subject.
Mikhailova E. (2018) Are refugees welcome to the Arctic? Perceptions of Arctic migrants at the Russian-Norwegian borderland, in G. Besier, K. Stoklosa (eds.) How to Deal with Refugees? LIT Verlag, Berlin, 183-200., 2018
Till recently the Russian-Norwegian cross-border region had reputation of an exemplary contact an... more Till recently the Russian-Norwegian cross-border region had reputation of an exemplary contact and collaboration zone between the West and the East of Europe. The long-established peaceful border, Barents cooperation as well as a 30-km visa-free zone for borderlanders are some of the key features of that area. However, in 2015 when 5,500 migrants and refugees were transiting through the region, the previously achieved reciprocal understanding and trust became questioned.
Based on media-analysis and fieldwork data, the chapter describes how processing of asylum-seekers was arranged and performed in two border towns, Nikel and Kirkenes. While the migrant transit across the Russian-Norwegian border was over by the end of 2015, its repercussions for sides involved are still present today. One of them is a profound mismatch in perceiving the challenge of international migration on two sides of the border. Verbal and behavioral expressions of borderlanders’ attitudes to the Arctic migrants presented in the chapter provide ample evidence to it. As follows from interview analysis, one of principal reasons for asymmetry in wilkommenskultur between the studied Russian and Norwegian border municipalities is their experience in receiving refugees with different cultural heritage or lack thereof.
The northernmost external border of the Schengen zone in continental Europe lies above the 69th p... more The northernmost external border of the Schengen zone in continental Europe lies above the 69th parallel north between Norway and Russia. Despite its remoteness, hostile climatic conditions and sparse population density, till recently this borderland was seen as an exemplary relationship between the West and the East. Such a reputation greatly relied on the Barents Euro-Arctic region – an institutional framework that came into being in 1993 to replace Cold War confrontation with collaboration.
Since perestroika and the opening up of the formerly closed border, contacts between border municipalities - Pechenga Rayon (Murmansk Oblast, Russia) and Sør-Varanger commune (Finnmark fylke, Norway) - have been intense and diverse. Although local cross-border interactions have never been in the focus of Barents cooperation, several times border municipalities played the role of trailblazers in exercising transfrontier lifestyle and cross-border cooperation. In this piece I trace the dynamics of a recent border-blurring experiment that was initiated and agreed upon nationally and implemented locally – the launch of the twin city relationship. To provide a more grounded analysis, I use both secondary sources as well as empirical data (interviews and a survey) collected in the Russian-Norwegian borderland in 2013-2016.
Приграничный регион в историческом развитии: партнёрство и сотрудничество: материалы междунар. науч. конф. : [в 3 ч.] / Забайкал. гос. ун-т ; [гл. ред. Е. В. Дроботушенко]. – Чита : ЗабГУ, 2017. , 2017
В статье рассмотрены проявления сжатия социально-экономического пространства в условиях перехода ... more В статье рассмотрены проявления сжатия социально-экономического пространства в условиях перехода от плана к рынку в наиболее урбанизированной части Приамурья – Амурской области. Как показал анализ динамики изменения демографических показателей городов этого региона, семь из десяти населенных пунктов испытывают устойчивую депопуляцию. Названы основные причины оттока населения: отъезд в более благополучные в экономическом отношении регионы с целью трудоустройства на новом месте (в силу кризисного положения отдельных отраслей, предприятий и моногородов, а также отмены системы снабжения Амурской области после распада Советского Союза); отъезд в связи с передислокацией или расформированием воинских частей; отъезд в связи с экологическими фобиями. Указаны региональные и федеральные проекты, направленные на адаптацию городов Амурской области к рыночным механизмам и наращиванию способности удерживать и привлекать население. На примере демографического роста села Чигири Благовещенского района проиллюстрирована тенденция субурбанизации.
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The paper addresses the issue of social and economic shrinkage in the context of transition economy in the most urbanized part of left-bank area adjacent to the Amur River – Amur Oblast. Analyzing dynamics of the demographic change revealed that seven out of ten cities experience continual depopulation. The main reasons for out-migration are 1) relocation to more economically advanced regions for purpose of employment due to crisis condition in certain economic sectors, enterprises and single-industry towns, as well as due to the abolition of the supply system of Amur Oblast after the demise of the Soviet Union; 2) relocation caused with redeployment or disbandment of military units; 3) relocation triggered with environmental phobias. The authors name regional and federal initiatives aimed at adaptation of Amur Oblast cities to market economy and increasing their capacity to keep population and attract resettlers. By looking at the Chigiri demographic growth the paper indicated the trend of suburbanization.
The suddenness of the migratory flow appearance in the High North, its content as well as the way... more The suddenness of the migratory flow appearance in the High North, its content as well as the way it has been treated and stopped caused significant outcry in international mass media, three countries involved (Russia, Norway and Finland) and world politics. However, the Arctic migrant route was lacking academic reflection. This paper contributes to filling in this gap by contextualizing it, reconstructing its chronology, naming some of its consequences and finding out its perception locally and globally. By using these two scales the author brings evidence to uncontrolled and spontaneous nature of the Arctic migrant route and thus provides yet another counterargument against hybrid warfare hypothesis.
Border studies posit that one of the key inherent traits of twin cities is an aspiration to proac... more Border studies posit that one of the key inherent traits of twin cities is an aspiration to proactively and deliberately dissolve the border and become one entity that fundamentally affects social, economic and political identity of two border communities. While a number of twin cities emerging between European countries and Russia try to follow said pattern, this is not the case in the Russian Far East. Recent claims of twin cities status made by Blagoveshchensk (Russia) and Heihe (China) do not follow the pattern that characterizes the formation of twin cities in Europe. Blago and Heihe have confined their twinning to the spheres of trade and tourism and excluded any changes to the administration of boundaries or national security. Such a narrow understanding stems from a number of significant obstacles to twin city development in the context of Russia and China. These obstacles include nationalism, competition to attain global economic influence, historical border disputes, imbalances in population size and trends, regional economic differences as well as close scrutiny by respective central governments. In spite of these limitations, the two cities regard twinning as a valuable marketing tool and have progressively adopted this brand. It also appears that pursuing the rhetoric of city-twinning allows the officials of the late socialist government of China and the post state socialism government of Russia to advance claims to opportunities in trade and tourism without really tackling the difficult questions of more meaningful cross-border interactions. To conclude, the case of Blago/Heihe is viewed in a broader theoretical and comparative perspective of city-twinning.
В статье предложена классификация проблем осуществления приграничного сотрудничества на уровне му... more В статье предложена классификация проблем осуществления приграничного сотрудничества на уровне муниципальных образований. На основе результатов качественного и количественного контент-анализа материалов интервью с экспертами приграничного сотрудничества и опроса населения пар смежных приграничных городов на российско-норвежской, российско-финляндской и российско-китайской границах сделан вывод о гетерогенности проблем (их содержания и воспринимаемой приоритетности) в осуществлении приграничного сотрудничества на различных участках государственной границы РФ. Общими для трех кейсов определены такие проблемы осуществления приграничного сотрудничества, как ограниченные финансовые возможности, несбалансированность направлений взаимодействия и низкий уровень осведомленности населения о проектах сотрудничества. Выдвинуто предложение о создании Ассоциации приграничных муниципальных образований РФ как площадки для обмена опытом осуществления приграничного сотрудничества с целью изучения и адаптации передовых зарубежных практик.
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The article puts forward a classification of cross-border cooperation challenges relevant for border municipalities. Based on quantitative and qualitative content-analysis of interviews with cross-border cooperation experts and survey of borderlanders from the Russian-Norwegian, Russian-Finnish and Russian-Chinese borders, the author argues that problems of performing trans-frontier collaboration are heterogeneous (in terms of content and their perceived significance) along the Russian border belt. Revealed common challenges to carry out cross-border cooperation include limited financial opportunities, unbalanced character of cooperation and residents' low awareness of collaboration projects. The article suggests establishing the Association of Russian border municipalities as an arena for experience transfer of cross-border cooperation performance including exploring and adapting foreign best practices in this sphere.
The brief prognosis made for 2013 discusses Russia's cross-border cooperation development from th... more The brief prognosis made for 2013 discusses Russia's cross-border cooperation development from the perspective of domestic policy. It touches upon issues of legal framework and cross-border infrastructure and sketches priority areas of cooperation along Russian borders.
Материалы 8-й международной молодежной школы-конференции “Меридиан”. Пространственно-временная изменчивость в природе и обществе, May 30, 2015
В статье рассмотрен процесс формирования трансграничного сообщества на российско-норвежской гра... more В статье рассмотрен процесс формирования трансграничного сообщества на российско-норвежской границе. В числе особенностей трансграничных связей жителей двух сопредельных муниципалитетов - Печенгского района и коммуны Сёр-Варангер - выделены 1) проактивная позиция приграничных муниципалитетов в выстраивании двустороннего взаимодействия; 2) высокая степень поддержки развития российско-норвежского приграничного сотрудничества со стороны национального и 3) регионального уровней управления, а также 4) доминирование досугового и профессионального типа мотиваций жителей приграничья к посещению города-соседа.
В статье рассмотрена специфика празднования 70-летия со дня окончания Второй мировой войны на ази... more В статье рассмотрена специфика празднования 70-летия со дня окончания Второй мировой войны на азиатском участке российской границы. Произведена классификация новых форматов сотрудничества, появившихся в российско-китайском приграничье. Охарактеризованы примеры уникальных мероприятий приграничного сотрудничества, приуроченных к отмечанию годовщины Победы, и новые форматы, имеющие потенциал стать регулярными.
[The article explores what is special in celebrating the 70-th anniversary of World War II in the Asian part of the Russian border. The author classified new formats of cooperation emerged in the Sino-Russian borderlands. The contribution names examples both of unique events dedicated to the Victory celebration and new formats with potential for becoming regular]
Рассмотрены и проанализированы на примере смежных городов, представля-ющих собой единое пространс... more Рассмотрены и проанализированы на примере смежных городов, представля-ющих собой единое пространственно-территориальное образование, но раз-деленных государственной границей, процессы трансформации стихийного возникновения и развития трансграничных сообществ в управляемый про-цесс. Выделены основные движущие факторы, позволяющие развивать межмуниципальный диалог на уровне как физических, так и юридических лиц. Предложена классификация типов мотивации для пересечения границы. Определены меры по улучшению инфраструктуры трансграничного взаимо-действия, такие как договорное закрепление отношений, формирование пла-нового характера сотрудничества, использование проектных форм работы, бюрократическая и процедурная оптимизация процесса пересечения границы.
The paper focuses on the tourism development strategy of the Amur Oblast called “Twin Cities”. Sa... more The paper focuses on the tourism development strategy of the Amur Oblast called “Twin Cities”. Said initiative became the first attempt of the Russian Far Eastern regions to create the hospitality industry towards Chinese tourists in the Sino-Russian borderlands. Bringing together such sub-disciplines as border tourism, urban planning and territorial development helps to find out the peculiarities of Blagoveshchensk and Heihe relations among other adjacent settlements along the Russian-Chinese
border. Detected features give the ground to define “twin-cities” rhetoric around the border city pair under the scrutiny as a touristic brand construction. On the basis on Blagoveshchensk and Heihe investment plans analysis, the author argues that studied initiative might reshape unbalanced onesided structure of current tourist flow across the Russian-Chinese border.
В статье сопоставляется применение понятий «регион» и различных видов субгосударственного сотрудн... more В статье сопоставляется применение понятий «регион» и различных видов субгосударственного сотрудничества в нормативно-правовой базе России, Содружества Независимых Государств и Совета Европы – двух региональных международных организаций общей компетенции, членом которых является Россия. На основе проделанного анализа делается вывод о преемственности и противоречиях в употреблении данных терминов, формулируются рекомендации по гармонизации понятийного аппарата.
The paper provides an overview of theorizing on the cross-border governance concept. Based on the... more The paper provides an overview of theorizing on the cross-border governance concept. Based on the literature review, the author reveals that albeit the determiner of the whole term is “governance”, the managerial remarks on it are few and fragmented while the majority of definitions demonstrate clear Political Science slant. The heterogeneity of interpretations is explained by the complex multidimensional nature of studied phenomenon and attempts to explore it from standpoints of various disciplines. The emergence of the idea of coordinative governance beyond the borders is described as a result of the evolutionary process of understanding the contact function of the borderlands. Border regions and border municipalities are named the chief initiators of project work to implement governance beyond the borders. Taking into consideration peculiarities, advantages and limitations of managerial practices on the sub-national and local level, the author stresses the need for further research and conceptualization of cross-border governance.
В статье рассматривается применимость термина «города-близнецы» к паре городов Благовещенск-Хэйхэ... more В статье рассматривается применимость термина «города-близнецы» к паре городов Благовещенск-Хэйхэ. В качестве альтернативы для их дефиниции предлагается понятие «трансграничное территориальное образование». На основании сравнения взаимодействия пары Благовещенск и Хэйхэ с принятыми в академической среде характеристиками российско-китайского приграничного сотрудничества автор делает вывод о курсе на повышение взаимодополняемости экономик двух городов.
The article examines the appliance of the term “twin-cities” to describe a city pair of Blagoveshensk-Heihe. The concept of transborder territorial unit is introduced as an alternative for their definition. Based on the comparison of collaboration between city pair of Blagoveshensk-Heihe with accepted within academic circles characteristics of Russian-Chinese cross-border cooperation the author concluded that the economical unification and integration between Blagoveshensk and Heihe takes place.
The article is devoted to the city pair of Blagoveshchensk (Russia) and Heihe (People’s Republic ... more The article is devoted to the city pair of Blagoveshchensk (Russia) and Heihe (People’s Republic of China), the only city pair in Russian-Chinese borderland that describes itself with the term “twin-cities”. The current contribution reconstructs the history of appearance of the twin-cities concept in Russian-Chinese agenda. On the basis of interviews and questionnaires collected in the cities in question the paper examines specificity of understanding of “twin-cities” concept and its practical execution in the Asian context. Exploring the extent to which the twin-cities relations model is applicable to Russian-Chinese border cities, the author concludes that cooperation predominantly exists in a form of bilateral annual events in various spheres (culture, education, sport, etc.) and dialog between delegations of region’s/city’s representatives, not in a form of direct people-to-people or institution-to-institution cooperation. The lack of local initiatives to cooperate (almost zero-amount of initiatives not from region’s/city’s administrations) is named as a main drawback of Blagoveshchensk and Heihe relations. While planned character of cooperation makes the calendar of joint events stable and predictable, it also keeps Russian-Chinese cooperation staying on the ritual level and prevents it to become a necessary part of everyday life.
Implementation of territorial development projects often turns into a hostage to the inability of... more Implementation of territorial development projects often turns into a hostage to the inability of reaching consensus among various political actors involved in decision-making process. Using creation of regulatory framework on Russia's cross-border cooperation as an example, the current article brings evidence that even large-scale close-awaited legal initiatives can be halted when a vision of problem-solving is fragmented and heterogeneous.
The paper represents a piece of a doctoral research on four city pairs which name themselves «twi... more The paper represents a piece of a doctoral research on four city pairs which name themselves «twin-cities» and are located near the border of the Russian Federation. The term «twin-cities» is used in a narrow sense, with geographical closeness as an important criterion (on the contrary to sister-cities where the distance between cooperating cities doesn't matter). These cities lie on Russian state border with China (Blagoveshchensk-Heihe), Estonia (Ivangorod-Narva), Finland (Svetogorsk-Imatra) and Norway (Nikel-Kirkenes). The current contribution is devoted to examining the appliance of the twin-cities concept to the Nothernmost and last mentioned city pair.
A review of a book 'The EU-Russia Borderland: New contexts for regional cooperation'