Cross-Border Trade Of Russian Regions In 2013–2019

— The article examines the cross-border trade of Russian regions, taking into account the indicators of its volume and commodity structure and the level of economic complexity. The paper identifies the main forms of cross-border trade interaction and types of border regions in terms of the strength and characteristics of trade relations with a neighboring country. A conclusion is made about the low intensity of cross-border trade in Russian regions. This is due to several factors: most of the border areas are located on the economic periphery, both for Russia and for neighboring countries; there are physical and geographical barriers in many areas; and the development of the border area is small. In some cases, the low economic potential of a neighboring country or existing geopolitical restrictions prevent the growth of trade volumes. 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, historical ties, and ethnocultural proximity and a high degree of infrastructure development in border areas; in the second case, by the huge scale of the economy of the neighboring country and large potential volume of trade with it. In 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 importers of higher-complexity goods, which generally corresponds to the foreign trade specialization of Russia as a whole. 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, where the deterioration of political relations was also supplemented by the country-wide factors. 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 export volume of nickel matte and mineral fertilizers). The changes in the commodity structure of cross-border trade that took place in 2013–2019 indicate 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).