Uniting Values and Boundaries of Greater Eurasia (Refl ections on the Book “Russia in the Emerging Greater Eurasia”)

Abstract

This article analyzes the key ideas and thematic approaches presented in the collective study “Россия в формирующейся Большой Евразии” (“Russia in the Emerging Greater Eurasia”). This volume was prepared by a team of geographers, economists, political scientists, historians and specialists in international relations representing various regions of Russia. The article analyzes the ideas and arguments of the authors of the collection as they assess the prospects of strengthening the eastern vector of Russian politics. The author emphasizes the importance of a position that links the activation of Russia’s policy in Greater Eurasia with the need for accelerated development of the Siberian region. Also signifi cant here is the reliance of a number of contributors on the economic ideas of the Eurasianists. That said, some of the theses and methodological guidelines on display in the collection need to be critically clarifi ed and developed, the author maintains. In particular, for a holistic understanding of integrative processes in Greater Eurasia, it is necessary to bring to bear the civilizational approach developed by the Eurasianists. This makes it possible to objectively and critically assess China’s international integration potential and to fi nd Russia’s fi rm geopolitical allies in the expanses of Greater Eurasia — primarily India and Mongolia. On balance, the author concludes that this interdisciplinary analytical work, prepared by a large team of authors, deserves high praise.

References

1. Alekseev, N. N. Russkii narod i gosudarstvo. Moscow: Agraf, 1998. 
   
2. Bezrukov, L. A. “Evraziiskaia kontinental’naia integratsiia v ekonomiko-geografi cheskom izmerenii: predposylki, trudnosti, novye vozmozhnosti,” Voprosy geografi i, Vol. 148: Rossiia v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii, eds. V. M. Kotliakov, and V. A. Shupper. Moscow: Kodeks, 2019, pp. 228–262. 
3. Ivanov, A. V., and Fotieva, I. V. (eds.) Altai i Gimalai kak unikal’nye kul’turnye i biosfernye regiony Evrazii. Barnaul: RIO Altaiskogo GAU, 2017. 
4. Ivanov, A. V., Gupta, P. M., Popkov, Iu. V., and Fotieva, I. V. “Transevraziiskie transportnye megaproekty: proektnye zamysly,” Region: ekonomika i sotsiologiia, No. 4, 2017, pp. 267–284. 
5. Kolosov, V. A., and Zotova, M. V. “Kitai i rossiisko-kitaiskie otnosheniia v zerkale rossiiskogo diskursa,” Voprosy geografi i, Vol. 148: Rossiia v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii, eds. V. M. Kotliakov, and V. A. Shupper. Moscow: Kodeks, 2019, pp. 281–308. 
6. Kortunov, A. V. “Vernetsia li Rossiia v Evropu?” Voprosy geografi i, Vol. 148: Rossiia v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii, eds. V. M. Kotliakov, and V. A. Shupper. Moscow: Kodeks, 2019, pp. 54–70. 
7. Kozhinov, V. V. O russkom natsional’nom soznanii. Moscow: Algoritm, 2002. 
8. Likhacheva, A. B. “Mutnye vody Bol’shoi Evrazii: vozmozhnoe mesto Rossii na rynke vodoemkoi produktsii,” Voprosy geografi i, Vol. 148: Rossiia v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii, eds. V. M. Kotliakov, and V. A. Shupper. Moscow: Kodeks, 2019, pp. 328–343. 
9. Lisovolik, Ia. D., Sutyrin, V. V., and Ivanova, K. S. “Aktual’nye aspekty naslediia evraziitsev dlia rossiiskogo ekonomicheskogo razvitiia,” Voprosy geografi i, Vol. 148: Rossiia v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii, eds. V. M. Kotliakov, and V. A. Shupper. Moscow: Kodeks, 2019, pp. 309–327. 
10. Malov, V. Iu. “Sibir’: mesto dlia zhizni ili tol’ko most mezhdu Aziei i Evropoi,” Voprosy geografi i, Vol. 148: Rossiia v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii, eds. V. M. Kotliakov, and V. A. Shupper. Moscow: Kodeks, 2019, pp. 263–280. 
11. Popkov, Iu. V., and Amarsany, Zh. (eds.) Mongol’skii mir: mezhdu Vostokom i Zapadom. Novosibirsk: Avtograf, 2014. 
12. Savitskii, P. N. Kontinent Evraziia. Moscow: Agraf, 1997. 
13. Startsev, A. V., and Rezun, D. Ia. (eds.) Sibirskii kupets A. D. Vasenev: Dokumenty i pis’ma, Vol. 2. Barnaul: Izdatel’stvo Altaiskogo universiteta, 1994. 
14. Suslov, D. V., and Piatachkova, A. S. “Bol’shaia Evraziia: kontseptualizatsiia poniatiia i mesto vo vneshnei politike Rossii,” Voprosy geografi i, Vol. 148: Rossiia v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii, eds. V. M. Kotliakov, and V. A. Shupper. Moscow: Kodeks, 2019, pp. 16–53. 
15. Vardomskii, L. B. “Mezhdu Evropoi i Aziei: o nekotorykh regional’nykh osobennostiakh uchastiia Rossii v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii,” Voprosy geografi i, Vol. 148: Rossiia v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii, eds. V. M. Kotliakov, and V. A. Shupper. Moscow: Kodeks, 2019, pp. 144–166. 
16. Voprosy geografi i, Vol. 148: Rossiia v formiruiushcheisia Bol’shoi Evrazii, eds. V. M. Kotliakov, and V. A. Shupper. Moscow: Kodeks, 2019.