Economic and geographical characteristics of economic regions of Russia. EGP is what is included in the country's EGP

As a result of studying this chapter, the student should:

know

• the content of the concept of “economic-geographical location”;
• main types geographical location and the place of economic and geographical position in it;
• the history of the formation of the doctrine of economic and geographical position;
• basic approaches to assessing the economic and political geographic situation;

be able to

• characterize the economic and geographical position of individual countries, regions and localities;
• build graphs railways large economic regions to assess the profitability of the economic and geographical location;
• characterize the macro-, meso- and micro-position of administrative centers

region - subject Russian Federation;

Apply a historical approach to the analysis of the economic and geographical position of various objects;

own

• skills in determining “topological distance”;
• techniques for studying changes in economic and geographical location over time;
• methods of quantitative assessment of economic and geographical position;
• assessment methodology various types economic and geographical location.

Geographical location and economic-geographical location

The concept of “geographical location” is key for the entire system of geographical sciences. Actually, geography originated as the science of methods for determining and recording the location of objects on the earth’s surface relative to each other or in a certain coordinate system. Later it turned out that determining the location of an object not only helps to find it (for example, for a navigator), but also to explain some of the properties of this object and even predict its development. The most important element geographical research is the establishment and analysis of connections between objects located in space, determined precisely by their location.

The position on the earth's surface, determined in a system of geographic coordinates (degrees of latitude and longitude), giving the most accurate address of the object is mathematical-geographical location.

The situation of some natural objects relative to others who have a significant influence on them are called physical and geographical location. This is, for example, the position in relation to the prevailing wind directions of the islands - windward and leeward.

Economic-geographical location(EGP) is the position of objects in economic and social space relative to each other, as well as relative to borders (state, administrative or other). At the same time, the EGP category also includes the position relative to natural objects (non-freezing sea water, a navigable river, a mineral deposit, a forest, an area of ​​natural focal diseases) that have had, are having or may in the future have an impact on the functioning and development of the studied social -geographical objects. The particular importance of the position regarding political (state) borders in the system of interstate and inter-bloc relations emerging in a certain historical period necessitates the use of the category "political-geographical (geopolitical) position" (GGP).

The concepts of “geographical location” and “political-geographical location” were used in the 19th century. Their values ​​were analyzed in general view and on specific examples in the works of K. Marx and F. Engels, among geographers – d). Ratzel. The EGP category was proposed in the USSR at the turn of the 20s and 30s. XX century I. Alkin and later developed in detail N. N. Baransky, I. M. Maergoiz and a number of other authors. But without formalization with a special term, it was used before. So, in the book N. P. Oganovsky “Popular Essays on the Economic Geography of the USSR” (1926) we read: “Geographical location is the proximity of a given country to the seas and oceans, but along which world trade routes pass, as well as to countries with which trade relations are of great benefit.” This definition characterizes only special case EGP - both from the point of view of the object (the country as a whole), and solely from the point of view of the convenience of interstate economic relations.

N.N. Baransky drew attention to the fact that EGP is “the relationship of any place, region or city to external data that has one or another economic significance - no matter whether these data are of a natural order or created in in the process of history..." He wrote: "For economic geography, the position of a given country (or region, city, or area under study in general) to routes, markets, large centers (industrial, commercial, administrative, cultural) is extremely important."

N. N. Baransky believed that EGP has the greatest methodological significance: “The place occupied by any area - whether it be a country, region, city, etc. - in the system geographical division labor is largely determined by the economic-geographical position." And another important position of N. N. Baransky is that the EGP, like other aspects of the economic-geographical order, should be considered in historical terms. In other words, the economic-geographical position , in contrast to the mathematical position and the physical-geographical position, is a historical category, and it must be defined each time in time coordinates. This means that one must reason here from the point of view of a certain era, certain historical conditions.

Of lasting importance are the deep developments of the EGP theory in the works of I.M. Maergoiz (mainly the first half of the 1970s). He wrote: “An economic-geographical location is a complex, genetically interconnected set of territorial relations that are currently important or may become important for the economic development of an object and for the formation of such objects as countries and regions, for their territorial structures... EGP is understood from the very beginning as a system of territorial-temporal relations, and very dynamic ones at that (which makes it difficult to study)... Hence the increasing dynamism of the EGP - an independent concept, although closely related to the cultural-geographical, political-geographical, as well as military-geographical position."

“Modern EGP contains many features of the future, just as in “yesterday’s” position we find the reasons why our object has become this way today,” believed I.M. Maergoiz. “Therefore, studying the current position of an object means to a certain extent determining , what an object can become tomorrow, i.e. find one of the components of the forecast of its development under the influence of external forces."

In its most formalized form, geographic location is the position of objects recorded on a map in the two-dimensional space of the earth's surface. IN physical geography, less often in economics, the third dimension is also assessed - absolute or relative height. On the map, all objects are depicted as point, linear (out-of-scale conventional signs) or areal (contour, occupying a certain area). In fact, of course, both point and linear objects on a small-scale map (a populated area, a multi-lane highway) occupy areas, but with the appropriate scale of study this circumstance can be neglected. Then the following options for the relative position of these categories of objects are possible:

• a point relative to another point: Moscow relative to St. Petersburg;
• point relative to the line (and reverse): Saratov on the Volga;
• point relative to the area - the capital of the state;
• line relative to line: BAM highway relative to the Great Siberian Railway;
• line within the range: the Yana River in the northeast of Yakutia;
• area relative to another area: the republics of Mordovia and Chuvashia.

The following position options are also possible:

• a point on the line or outside it: Tver on the Moscow - St. Petersburg, Novgorod railway - outside it;
• a point within the range, on its border, outside it: Naryan-Mar is in the tundra zone, Kudymkar is outside it; Brest is located on the border of Belarus and Poland, the other Brest is on the French coast of the Atlantic Ocean;
• the lines are located isolated from each other, like the Pechora and Northern Dvina, or intersect, like the BAM with the Lena River;
• the line is located within the range entirely (like the Yana River) or partially (the Lena River) in Yakutia or entirely outside the range (for example, the Dudinka-Norilsk railway has no connection with the country’s railway network);
• the areas are adjacent (Mordovia and Chuvashia) or distant from each other (Mordovia and Tatarstan).

To determine the relative position of objects, indicate the distance between them and the direction (north, southeast).

To determine the position of a point, line, or smaller area within a larger one, the following terms are used: " central ", "deep", "peripheral", "marginal ", "border position." The position of the capital of Brazil was chosen as close to the central one in the country; the position in the city of Rio Grande (in the south) is close to the border; The city of Fortaleza (in the northeast) has a peripheral position, and the city of Manaus (in the Amazon) has a deep position. Some territories, even states, in their names indicate a marginal position - Ukraine, Kraina in the former Yugoslavia.

For quantitative measurement There are several ways to EGP objects: the distances from the object to others that influence or could potentially influence it are measured.

The simplest way is to measure the “aerial” (geodesic) distance on the ground or on a map of the appropriate scale (to avoid distortion) in a straight line. But in most cases, the distance between objects is covered along communication routes that deviate from the straight line, i.e. real distances are subject to measurement (the length of a section of a railway line or a section of a navigable river). In both cases, the distance is measured in kilometers. Sometimes (including in everyday life) distance is measured in time (in hours, minutes) required to cover the distance to an object along the available communication routes. This method is especially often used to determine the location in the accessibility zone (half-hour, hour, two-hour), for example, the center of an urban agglomeration by rail. What matters here is the speed of movement (of electric trains) and the intervals between them. It is believed that the actual travel time (excluding the time needed to approach the station) is the sum of the travel time and half the duration of the interval between trips (this is the waiting time). If different points are served by lines along which trains move at different speeds, then the point located closer to the center (by distance in kilometers) may be at a greater time distance. And even points located on the same line, if not all trains stop there (i.e. the intervals are lengthened), seem to move away from the center.

As you know, “time is money,” so the time dimension is often interpreted as economic distance. More precisely, it is measured by the tariff cost of transporting cargo or traveling for a passenger.

A unique way to determine "topological distance" without exact expression in meters or minutes. An example of such a reference is an assessment of the distance to an object by the number of blocks and public transport stops. The position of objects, for example metro stations, individual cities in urban settlement systems, is depicted in this case using a drawing or graph. Objects - cities, stations - are indicated by dots - these are the vertices of the graph. They are connected by “edges,” which simply show the presence of connections between the vertices. The relative position of the vertices in the drawing is close to the real one. The distance between vertices is measured by the number of edges - by the shortest option. For example, the distance from Moscow - the center of the railway network graph of European Russia - to the tops of regional centers is equal to one edge to Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Tver, and to Vologda, Nizhny Novgorod– two: it’s easy to see from the map that with equal topological distances to Vladimir and Yaroslavl different number kilometers.

Using the graph, you can quantify the centrality and advantageous position, for example, in the system of cities - administrative centers of Western Siberia (located on the railway). The distance is measured by the sum Koenig numbers (i.e. by the number of edges) from one center to all the others. The results are entered into the matrix (Table 6.1).

Table 6.1

Topological distance matrix

How less amount Koenig numbers, the more neutral, the more advantageous the position of the point in the system. In our case, the best situation is in Novosibirsk, the worst is in Tyumen (Fig. 6.1). Gives special advantages transit position on the lines along which communications of large economic objects (centers and areas) are carried out. At the intersection of transit lines, good conditions to develop production even where there are no local resources. The position is very advantageous at the intersection of large navigable rivers and railways (Omsk, Novosibirsk, Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk, Volga region cities), at the confluence of large navigable rivers into the seas along which international routes pass (Arkhangelsk), with combinations of different transit routes (St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl, etc.).

Rice. 6.1.

Deserves great attention" neighbor's " position. Here we distinguish between neighbors of the first (immediate), second (neighbors of neighbors) and subsequent order. Thus, the Leningrad region within the Russian Federation, not counting St. Petersburg, has four first-order neighbors (Karelia, Vologda, Novgorod and Pskov regions) and seven second-order neighbors (Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Kirov, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Tver, Smolensk region). The more neighbors and the larger number transport exits on their territory, the more advantageous the position. Of course, the level of economic development and specialization of neighboring areas matter. You can rely on developed neighbors, cooperating with them, but in a competitive environment they can suppress the development of certain industries of a weaker neighbor, which turns into an agricultural raw materials appendage, a supplier labor resources, into the sales market.

Economic-geographical position (EGP) is the relationship of an object of a city, region, country to external objects that have one or another economic significance - it doesn’t matter whether these objects are of a natural order or created in the process of history (according to N.N. Baransky). In other words, EGP is a position in the economic space, which is determined in relation to natural elements environment, and to man-made elements of the built environment, and to the placement of the population itself.

EGP analysis is carried out according to its following components

• -transport-geographical (position of a city, district (region) or country in relation to transport network, networks transport hubs and streams. It is measured by topological and functional indicators, accessibility. Determined by proximity or distance from the most important neighboring transport hubs and highways. I distinguish between central, peripheral, internal, mainline, transit, profitable and unprofitable, rear (far from transport routes), dead-end, coastal (seaside), foothill.
• -industrial-geographical (the position of the country in relation to the centers of manufacturing industry and scientific and technical bases, etc.)
• - agrogeographical (position relative to food supplies and main centers of consumption of agricultural products)
• - market (position regarding product markets)
• -demographic (situation regarding the concentration of population, labor resources and scientific and technical personnel)
• -recreational-geographical (position regarding places of recreation and tourism)

Types of EGP:

• -central (provides significant benefits, as it promotes the development of connections between individual regions, countries or parts thereof)
• -peripheral (deep)
• -border (neighboring) position can have both positive and negative effects on economic development. This depends on the level of development of states and their relationships.
• -transit;
• -seaside (in fact, at all times it was a favorable feature of the EGP)

The economic and geographical location is a strategic resource of the state, and is characterized by a combination of geographical, economic and historical factors.

It is not just the place of objects, but the relationship between objects.

There are four hierarchical levels of EGP:

• -micro position - position in the immediate surroundings of the city;
• -meso position - position within a large part of the country or a small state;
• -macro position - position within the borders of large states;
• -mega position - a position throughout the world or its regions.

Economic-geographical location is not only a category of space, but even more socio-historical and economic concept, since in terms of content and nature of manifestation (convenient or not, etc.) it completely depends on the conditions of social and economic development of a particular territory.

Any of the elements of the physical-geographical position (position in relation to the prime meridian, equator, sea, altitude above sea level, position in the composition of climatic, soil-vegetative and other zones, etc.) remains almost forever unchanged, and therefore their role in a possible change in the physical-geographical position of any area is absolutely passive. On the contrary, all elements of the economic-geographical position (position in relation to communication routes, distribution points, sources of supply, etc.) are among those that change significantly in time (as well as in space), since they depend on the method of production , the level of development and nature of the economy, science, technology, technology of different places, and therefore affect the economic and geographical position of these places.

The most rapidly changing factor of the economic-geographical position is the transport-geographical position, that is, the location of the area in relation to communication routes (for example, Australia).

Changes in the economic and geographical position may be due to other reasons. For example, the weakening of the role or loss of economic significance of one or another factor of location (raw materials, fuel, energy, work force, consumer, including transport) and, accordingly, their automatic withdrawal from the structure that determines the connections of a given area with other areas (as with sources of raw materials, fuel, energy, labor, or as with areas for selling products) or, conversely, strengthening the role of some or from factors and, accordingly, increasing its influence on this process.

Thus, in the course of historical development, the economic and geographical position of any area of ​​the country or region, settlement, an economic facility may change radically. The reason for this is progress in the development of science, technology, technology, economics, and organization of production, both within a given area and in its surroundings, that is, within the territory of other places associated with it.

The economic and geographical position appears as a set of relations that determine the pace, direction and scale of city development. This is a kind of development potential that he has.

Those living at a specific address also occupy a specific place on the planet. And every person has his own neighbors - rich and poor, friendly or envious; and from each window there is a different view, picturesque or not so picturesque. The same analogies can be used to characterize any country in the world.

The current geographical position of Russia - what is it like? And how profitable is it? We will try to assess the economic and geographical position of Russia in this article.

GP - what is it?

One of the most important concepts Geographical science is the concept of the geographical location of a country or territory. Geographical location (abbreviated as GP) is the location geographical area(or object) relative to other objects and territories. Moreover, in physical geography it is defined on the one hand (the emphasis is on the natural features of the country), but economic geographers characterize it on their part, taking into account socio-economic aspects.

By by and large, geography is precisely the science that determines and evaluates the location of certain objects in space. This distinguishes it from all other scientific disciplines. After all, determining the geographical location, as it turned out, not only provides information about the specific location of an object, but also explains its individual features. In addition, the assessment of GP even makes it possible to predict the development of the territory in the future.

Historians of geography believe that the very concept of “geographical location” appeared around the end of the 18th century. But the first serious work that reveals this concept can be considered the book by L. Guicciardini entitled “Description of the Netherlands” (1567). In it, the Italian author evaluates the role of the sea in the development of the country, which can be considered the first attempt to analyze the geographical location of the territory.

What is the economic-geographical position of a country (EGP)?

One of the types of GP is the economic-geographical position of the country (abbreviated as EGP).

Economic-geographical position is understood as the position of a country or territory in relation to those external objects that have an impact on the development of the economy of a particular state. These objects can be of both natural and anthropogenic origin. These can also be other countries or their unions.

Geographers identify the following components (aspects) of the territory’s EGP:

• transport and geographical location;
• geopolitical;
• agricultural;
• market;
• demographic;
• recreational and tourist, etc.

There are also several types of economic and geographical location. Thus, the EGP of a country or territory can be:

• central;
• peripheral;
• isolated;
• borderline;
• seaside;
• or transit.

Geographical position of Russia - what is it? And what are its strengths and weaknesses? This will be discussed further.

Economic and geographical position of Russia, its brief characteristics

The Russian Federation is the largest state in the world today in terms of area (the country occupies about 17 million square kilometers of land). Therefore, the geographical position of Russia is very advantageous and is distinguished by its versatility.

Russia is located on the Eurasian continent. Moreover, a third of it is located in Europe, and most of- in Asia. The westernmost point of the country is located on the Baltic Sea coast, but the easternmost point is on the Bering Sea, near the border with the United States. Thus, the territory of the state is very elongated from west to east and is divided into ten time zones.

The total length of the Russian border is 60 thousand kilometers, of which 2/3 are maritime borders. This aspect turns our country into one of the most powerful maritime powers on the planet. The territory of Russia is washed by the waters of three oceans of the Earth. Sea corridors connect the Russian Federation with such important countries in the world as China, Japan, the USA and Germany.

On land, Russia borders on 14 independent states of the world. These are Norway, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, North Korea and Mongolia.

Assessment of Russian EGP

In order to assess the EGP of our country, it is necessary to determine its position in relation to external economic centers, raw material bases and transport corridors. This is precisely what the science of geography does.

The geographic location of Russia largely determines the economic level of its development. It is assessed, as a rule, at three different levels. This:

• macro level (global level of assessment) - assesses the position of the state relative to the continents and oceans, the main transport corridors, as well as the leading centers of the world economy;
• meso level - determines the position of the state in relation to historical and geographical regions;
• micro level - assesses the position of the country relative to its immediate neighbors (in this case, these are the 14 states that border the Russian Federation).

An assessment of a country's EGP is usually expressed in the form of a list of its strengths and weaknesses. It is worth noting that the geographical position of European Russia will be somewhat different than the position of its Asian part. This is due to the vast territory of the state and its elongation in the sublatitudinal direction.

EGP of Russia: strengths and weaknesses

The peculiarities of Russia's geographical location are best characterized in terms of its strengths and weaknesses.

So, the positive aspects of Russian EGP include:

• huge area of ​​territory;
• diversity of natural conditions and resources;
• variety of relief forms;
• free access to the World Ocean;
• rich forest resources;
• a large number of neighboring countries;
• the presence of large navigable rivers.

The most important negative aspects of Russian EGP include the following facts:

• huge area;
• about 25% of the territory lies beyond the Polar climate, where a very harsh climate is observed;
• a large number of Russian seas and rivers freeze for long periods of the year, which makes navigation very difficult;
• The territory is too elongated from west to east.

It should be noted that large territory countries are included in the list of both strengths and weaknesses of the EGP. Indeed, on the one hand, the vast territory offers a wide range of natural conditions and resources, which opens up great prospects for industrial development. On the other hand, too large spaces are very difficult to manage. In addition, it is almost impossible to create a comprehensive and high-quality transport infrastructure system in such a territory.

Natural resource potential

The relief of the territory of Russia is very diverse. About 70% of its expanses are occupied by plains, but there are also high mountain ranges - the Caucasus, Altai, Sayan Mountains, Sikhote-Alin, Byrranga Mountains and others. Kamchatka is famous for its numerous volcanoes, among which Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the most high volcano mainland. There are even deserts in Russia. In particular, the Tsimlyansk Sands, with an area of ​​1000 square kilometers, is the largest desert in Russia.

The geographical location of the country is largely determined by its climate. Climatic features Russia is the most diverse, the country's territory lies in four climatic zones. However, most of it is located in the temperate zone, which is characterized by the most favorable conditions for human life and economic activity.

Russia is extremely rich in water, mineral and forest resources. The country has the world's largest reserves fresh water. From minerals global significance has oil, natural gas, coal and non-ferrous metal ores.

The country has enormous forest reserves. However, the geographical location of Russian forests is distinguished by such features that hinder the development of the country's forestry sector. The fact is that most of Russia’s forest resources are located in regions that are difficult to access (in terms of transport), which greatly complicates the process of their development.

Transport and geographical position of Russia

The economic development of any territory largely depends on its transport and geographical location. It is very beneficial for Russia, although after the collapse of the USSR, the country’s external transport links have become much narrower. On this moment The northern basin is the most promising for the development of maritime transport links in Russia. Although there are problems and difficulties here, primarily related to the fact that most of the waters of the northern seas freeze for a long period of the year.

The possibility of full use of railways remains limited. Today, the country's railway network requires complete reorganization and modernization.

Geopolitical situation

Russia borders on 14 countries of the world. At the same time, the lack of proper border demarcation with many of the neighboring countries remains a very serious problem.

The geopolitical position of a state is determined by the nature of its relationships with its immediate neighbors. Unfortunately, Russia does not have good neighborly relations with all neighboring countries. Thus, a number of countries (officially or unofficially) have territorial claims against Russia. These are Japan, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. Russia's relations with countries such as Georgia and Ukraine have become no less tense.

In general, experts note that Russia’s geopolitical environment has noticeably worsened over the past five years.

Economic zoning

The territory of the Russian Federation is divided into 12 economic regions (they should not be confused with federal districts):

• Central.
• Central Black Earth.
• East Siberian.
• Far Eastern.
• Northern.
• North Caucasian.
• Northwestern.
• Povolzhsky.
• Ural.
• Volgo-Vyatsky.
• West Siberian.
• Kaliningrad.

Geographical location of Central Russia

This area is the most densely populated in the country. About 30 million inhabitants live here. In addition, the most developed industry is typical for Central region Russia. The geographical position of this economic region is very favorable and has several features.

The central economic region is located at the intersection of the most important transport arteries (land and water). It is here that the Volga river system is located - a river that has always played an important role in the life of Russia. Even despite the absence of significant mineral deposits in the region, several sectors of the national economy are successfully developing here: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, chemical industry, construction industry and agro-industrial complex. And it was the convenient and advantageous geographical location of Central Russia that became the basis for the rapid economic development of this region.

Conclusion

Thus, the geographical location of Russia is distinguished by both its strengths and weaknesses. The Russian Federation is a huge country with extensive access to the World Ocean. The presence of the richest natural resource potential, as well as the possibility of cooperation with many countries of the world, opens up wide opportunities for Russia for its own successful economic development.

N.N.Baransky

Definition.

The term "position" is widely used. Most often, position is understood as: so many degrees of east or west longitude and so many degrees of north or south latitude. The most popular understanding of this term occurs when the concept of “position” includes the relationship of a given point or section of territory to some neighboring ridges, mountains, sea, etc.

In economic geography, the position of a territory has to be determined not only in relation to physical-geographical data, but also in relation to the conditions created by human hands in the process of history. For economic geography, the position of a given country (and indeed the area under study) to routes, markets, and large centers (industrial, commercial, administrative, cultural) is extremely important.

Thus, position is the relationship of a given point or area to some geographical locations taken outside this point or area. Economic geography understands by position the relationship of a place, region or city to external data that has one or another economic significance - no matter whether these data are of a natural order or created in the process of history.

The importance of the position.

How can we be sure that the country's situation really has great economic significance? The best way to verify this is from examples, namely, if we take for comparison countries that, in their own way, natural conditions They come close to each other, but differ in their position.

Let's take Sweden and the Urals. On the one hand, you have a ridge lying along the sea coast, near the sea, facing the countries of Europe, which have long been developed, and on the other, a ridge lying on the border of Europe and Asia and very far hidden from the sea. Sweden, having connections by sea with already developed countries, could have developed much earlier than the Urals; The Urals had to wait for railroads and much more before it could really begin to develop.

Let's compare Siberia and Canada. You can see that the distances of most of Siberia and Canada from the seashore are very different. No matter how big Canada is, it is much smaller compared to Siberia. Canada has ice-free ports on both sides - Vancouver on Pacific Ocean and Halifax on the Atlantic Ocean; Besides, in summer time Sea communication is also possible along Hudson Bay (ports of Churchill and Nelson). Considering all this, it should not be surprising that Canada was noticeably ahead of Siberia in development for some period of time.

Finally, let's take Switzerland and the Caucasus. These are mountainous countries with sharply rugged terrain, with pronounced vertical zonality, with extremely great originality and diversity of nature. Switzerland lies in the center of Western Europe and is surrounded on all sides by countries that had the opportunity to develop quickly and easily; The Caucasus lies on the isthmus that connects Europe and Asia and is a zone where clashes of different cultures took place. Due to the difference in situation, the conditions for the development of the Caucasus turned out to be completely different than the conditions for the development of Switzerland.

As can be seen from the examples, the position of the country in relation to world routes, largest markets, industrial centers, etc. is especially important for economic geography.

"Neighborhood" position.

Particular attention is paid to the so-called “neighborhood” situation, in other words, the nature of the immediate environment. Particularly interesting combinations are obtained in the conditions of a capitalist society in the vicinity of contrasting, opposite areas.

Let's look at the situation in our West. In conditions Tsarist Russia this territory was extremely poorly industrialized and at the same time characterized by intensive agriculture. Both of these features of the West were largely explained by the very position of this territory. The West ended up in such a situation that industries oriented towards external raw materials and the external market “slided” towards St. Petersburg, Riga, Warsaw, and industries oriented towards external raw materials and the domestic market towards Moscow. Within the West, as a result of competition between neighbors, a place was left empty of industry. Thus, the indicated features of the situation, together with a number of other factors in capitalist conditions, significantly contributed to the formation of the economy of the western provinces in the direction indicated above.

Position in relation to the centers of war.

In general, it is impossible to limit oneself in economic geography to just one bare economy, isolating oneself and fencing oneself off from everything else. Let's take, for example, the country's attitude towards hotbeds of war. As is known, Western Europe historically became and until recently remained a hotbed of war; Because of this, it is impossible not to take into account the situation in relation to such a hotbed of war.

The USA, with its rapid economic growth in the second half of the 19th century. also owe to a large extent to their position away from the centers of war. This provision allowed the United States to invest the 1-1.5 billion gold rubles that the major imperialist powers of Europe annually spent on armaments for a number of decades, right up to the First World War, in the construction of cities, mines, factories, railways, etc. In addition Moreover, from time to time the European powers had to suffer heavy losses from military actions. It is clear that it is impossible not to take into account the country’s position in relation to the hotbeds of war.

Position in relation to cultural centers

It is absolutely necessary to take into account the position of the country in relation to the centers of primitive human culture. In the Old World, ancient centers of culture arose in ancient Egypt, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in India and China. Then two civilizations: Egyptian and Mesopotamian - entered the Mediterranean Sea, successively creating the Phoenician, Greek and Roman cultures. Further, Greco-Roman culture spread to the entire west of Europe... And one must take into account the country’s position in relation to this route of culture, which history has drawn on the map.

To summarize, we can say that we must take into account the economic and geographical location quite broadly, meaning not just the economy, but also politics, strategy and culture.

Position of cities.

The object of study of economic geography is not only entire countries, but also individual cities. And in relation to cities, the position plays no less important role than in relation to countries and regions, and perhaps even more important. When an economic geographer approaches the study of a city, the first question that arises in his mind is the question of why the city was formed and developed here and not elsewhere. Let's take a bunch of examples again.

Saint Petersburg. On the one hand, here Atlantic Ocean extends deepest into the territory of the Russian plain; on the other hand, internal waterways, which are easily improved by connecting the rivers of the lake basin with the Volga through canals, and then... The importance for our country of access to the Baltic Sea was fully realized even under Ivan the Terrible. All these benefits of the situation were revealed very quickly from the moment when the mouth of the Neva with the entire Baltic coast became part of Russian state; The capital was moved here at the mouth of the Neva, and this capital began to develop rapidly.

Let's take Volgograd. this city is located exactly where the Volga and Don come closest to each other. The situation determined not only the creation of a city in this place in ancient times (Archaeological excavations showed that there was a Big city back in ancient times, before the Russians came here), but also its further development and its modern industrial structure.

Such a historically important center as Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, owes its growth to the intersection of trade routes - sea routes from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and land routes from Western Asia to Europe. The historical fate of Constantinople as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and then the Turkish Empire is entirely connected with its position and the significance of the routes at the crossroads of which it is located.

Micro and macro position.

When analyzing the position of cities, it is useful to emphasize the position in relation to the immediate surroundings, a position that can be studied on a large scale topographic map, so to speak, the micro-position and position in relation to more distant data, which must be studied on a small-scale map - an entire country, or a continent, or even the world - is, so to speak, a macro-position. One can also distinguish between them a third one - mesoposition.

When applied to Moscow in its micro-position, the most important: the position of its core - on the Kremlin bank of the Moskva River between the mouths of the Neglinka and Yauza and its position at the place of the closest convergence of the Moscow and Klyazma rivers; the meso position should include the position of Moscow in the center of the interfluve of the Oka and Volga and, finally, the macro position - its central position on the East European Plain.

Benefits of a central position.

The central position within a certain state territory has great importance not only for Moscow, but also for a number of other capitals. Examples include Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Prague. The center here, of course, must be understood not in the strictly mathematical, geometric sense of the word. The central position is convenient due to its comparative proximity to different parts state territory, roads inevitably intersect in the center, connecting peripheral points of the territory.

From the moment a given city becomes the capital, everything that benefits its state benefits its benefit, including benefits in the position of not only the city itself, but the entire state.

Meaning of minerals.

At economic assessment mineral deposits, it is necessary to take into account not only their reserves and quality, but also the position of the deposits in relation to each other (especially iron and coking coal), as well as their position in relation to industrial centers and historical centers of population.

Change in EGP over time.

Using the example of London, one can see that in the historical process the significance of individual moments influencing the economic and geographical position changes quite significantly. This circumstance is very important. The economic-geographical position, like other aspects of the economic-geographical order, should be considered with a historical approach. Particularly obvious are the changes brought about by improved transport and the construction of new roads.

And although the position of the country in the sense of mathematical and physical geography remains the same, in the process of historical development its economic and geographical position changes radically. From a position “at the edge of the world” a position “between two oceans” was created - this is how the position of the United States changed dramatically.

The harm caused by the inconvenience of a geographical position can be mitigated not by some small means, but by a socialist revolution, then it is clear that Marx attached quite a lot of importance to the situation.

EGP and FGP

In many cases, the economic-geographical position is based on very specific physical-geographical factors. On the other hand, it is absolutely clear, firstly, that this physical-geographical situation, which forms the basis for the economic-geographical position, creates only opportunities, and the question of using these opportunities remains open and, secondly, that in different historical eras one and the same physical-geographical position can be used very differently and can have completely different meanings.

EGP meaning.

From all of the above, it is clear that the economic-geographical location has the greatest methodological significance. The place occupied by any area - be it a country, a region or a city - in the system of geographical division of labor is largely determined by the economic-geographical location. Since the economic-geographical location largely determines the connections of a given area in the system of geographical division of labor, it cannot but influence the economic zoning of the territory.