East EuropeEast Europe: political : political giant vs. economic giant vs. economic

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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

jeney@caesar.elte.hujeney@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

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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

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Area of Eastern Christianity (orthodoxy)

Centre: from Constantinople (Byzantium) to Moscow

But:– East Balkan

Peninsula too

– Atheism– Religious

minorities

East Europe

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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)

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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)

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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

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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)

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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