Cross-Border Trade of Russian Regions in 2013–2019

The article examines the cross-border trade of the Russian regions, taking into account the indicators of its volume and commodity structure, and the level of economic complexity. It is concluded that the cross-border trade in Russian regions has, in general, low intensity. This is due to several factors: most of the border areas are located on the economic periphery, both of Russia and of neighboring countries, there are physical and geographical barriers in many areas, and the development of the border area is low. In some cases, the low economic potential of a neighboring country or the existing geopolitical restrictions prevent the growth of trade. Against this background, two sections of the border area stand out: the Russian-Belarusian and the Russian-Chinese. In the first case, the development of trade is facilitated by the absence of customs barriers, historic ties and ethno-cultural proximity, a high degree of infrastructure development of border areas; in the second – by the huge scale of the economy of the neighboring country and a large potential volume of trade with it. In terms of the commodity structure of cross-border trade and its complexity, Russian border regions are usually suppliers of relatively simple goods: raw materials or products of the first processing stages, and import goods of higher complexity, which generally corresponds to the foreign trade specialization of Russia. In 2013–2019, the volume of cross-border trade in Russian regions significantly decreased, mainly due to a reduction in consumer and investment imports caused by a decrease in demand. The strongest decline occurred in cross-border trade with Ukraine. The volume of cross-border trade increased during this period in the Russian-Finnish and Russian-Estonian sections of the border (due to an increase in the volume of exports of nickel matte and mineral fertilizers). The changes in the commodity structure of cross-border trade that took place in 2013–2019 indicate the consolidation of the existing specialization of Russian border regions as suppliers of raw materials and simple products in trade with neighboring countries (except for the republics of the former USSR)