Maritime and Continental Contours of the Geopolitical Status of Modern Russia

Abstract

The positioning of modern Russia, which occupies most of the Eurasian continent (Northern Eurasia), is characterized by periodic rapprochement with Europe, which began in the era of Peter the Great, as well as a cooling of rel ations with the latter, as evidenced by wars, including two world wars, and military conflicts of varying intensity in the past period. At the same time, Russia’s development as a major continental power with a huge coastline and virtually unlimited access to three oceans is facing opposition from an equally important maritime power, in particular, the United States. Therefore, a mental problem arises — in Eurasia, as the core of continental civilization, is there more European or Asian? And on the other hand — to what extent are the Arctic Ocean and the Arctic seas Eurasian, associated with Eurasia as a continent or a continent? Aim. The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the positioning of Eurasia, as a continent, in the dynamics of world development in the coordinates of Europe-Asia and the contours of the formula “ocean-vis-continent”. Tasks. To achieve the goal, the following tasks are solved: to substantiate the independent position of Eurasia in the dynamics of world development, as a continent, and to identify the maritime component in the logic of Eurasian architecture. Methods. The work uses a methodological approach of strategic planning in combination with the tools of spatial economics and the Western version of the latter, known as the theory of new economic geography. This allows us to build the main contours of the Eurasian architecture. Conclusions. Modern Russia, as an original state-civilization, a vast Eurasian and Euro-Pacific power, creates the logic and geographical configuration of Eurasia as a continent with an integral maritime component in the space of three oceans - the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic.