Post-Soviet City: Worldviews, Social Systems and Language. The post-Soviet space is everything that was once Soviet

Socialist Republics (USSR). As a rule, it is understood literally geographically - this is the territory on which the former Soviet Union was located. Although many politicians, culturologists and economists invest much more in it.

Let's try and figure it out. Post-Soviet space - what is it?

Geography

Probably the main point in understanding the term. The post-Soviet space is all the former union republics, and now independent states that emerged after the disappearance of the USSR. Let's name them all by region: Baltic - Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia; Europe - Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova (Moldova); Transcaucasia - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia; Central Asia - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan), Turkmenistan (Turkmenistan), Tajikistan.

To complete the picture, perhaps complicating it, we will name unrecognized or partially recognized state entities, the appearance of which is caused by problems in the post-Soviet space (we will return to them below). So, Europe - Transnistrian Republic of Moldova, Donetsk people's republic, Lugansk People's Republic; Transcaucasia - the Republic of Abkhazia, the Republic of South Ossetia, the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). As a synonym that unites them all, the phrase "countries of the near abroad" is also used.

In the geographical sense, the post-Soviet space is made up of them. However, the post-Soviet space is not only geography.

Geopolitics

Political scientists do not limit the "territory" of the USSR to only square kilometers. The Union was a strong state that had huge spheres of influence, in fact being the ideological, and very often the economic backbone of the states that announced the socialist path of development. The Soviet Union often controlled the political situation in these countries, sometimes resorting to military intervention. The scope of the "wide" post-Soviet space included such countries as: in Europe - Poland, East Germany (GDR), Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania; in Asia - Vietnam, North Korea(DPRK); V Latin America- Cuba.

This, however, does not mean that all the countries of the socialist bloc were subordinate to the USSR. Therefore, the list of countries in the zones of influence of the USSR does not include seemingly socialist China, Yugoslavia and Albania, which had chronic, up to military, conflicts and disagreements. Nor do we name the numerous African and Asian countries that periodically changed their political course, trying to extract useful "energy" from the geopolitical struggle between the giants - the USSR and the USA. Like the first president of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud, once said: "I feel happy when I can light my American cigarettes with Soviet matches."

The disappearance of the USSR brought great changes to various spheres of life in these states, which speaks in favor of the justification for the existence of a broader understanding of the term "post-Soviet space". That's not all he means.

Cultural studies and sociology

The vast majority of the population was born and raised in the USSR. Studied in Soviet schools and universities, spoke the state language Soviet Union- Russian, lived according to the "code of the builder of communism", one way or another shared the cultural Soviet values. In addition, the existence of the republics was more of an administrative nature: although the movement of the population within the country was controlled, it was not forbidden, and even encouraged. As a result, the ethnic homogeneity of the territories was eroded, mixed marriages appeared, and residents of regions far from each other had family ties.

The legal disappearance of the Soviet Union, the change in the system of values and guidelines cannot instantly change people and cancel their family ties. That is why even the conflicting republics are still former USSR Whether they like it or not, they feel an undeniable commonality. To a lesser extent, this applies to the socialist countries of the far abroad.

It is the above-described culturologists, sociologists and historians who also call the post-Soviet space. And it is not located on square kilometers but in the hearts and minds of people.

Unfortunately, change is not without problems. Sometimes hard and hard. In the post-Soviet space in all its dimensions, even a quarter of a century later, there are plenty of them. Let's name the most difficult.

Territorial disputes

What to whom? The most pressing issue in divorce is also very hot in the division of the country. And although the new state de facto guaranteed the inviolability of borders, according to their Soviet contours, these disputes have arisen, are arising and will continue to arise.

Firstly, the borders of the former Soviet republics were mostly administrative in nature and were not coordinated with the interests of the population, historical features, and no one in the leadership of the USSR thought that the country would someday disappear.
Secondly, the mobility of administrative boundaries. For example, the fact that the annexation of Abkhazia to Soviet Georgia took place against the wishes of the indigenous people.
Thirdly, the Soviet Union froze many interethnic conflicts, which "melted away", giving rise to the division of territories along national and religious lines. These facts give justified and not very reasons to arrange territorial disputes or declare independence. Well, if they are resolved peacefully. Unfortunately, the option of a protracted military conflict is the most common.

This aspect for the countries of the socialist camp is relevant only for Yugoslavia, which is still continuing the division.

Nationalism

New states are looking in every possible way for reasons to put forward their historical significance and strength. Everything would be fine, but at the same time it comes to limiting the functioning of non-native languages for the titular population, even if in a number of regions of the country they are more traditional in every sense.

Imposed restrictions on the rights of people of non-indigenous nationality. Political movements and public organizations that promote nationalism up to extreme forms of extremism, from which one step to fascism, are not banned, and even supported. Part of all this is Russophobia. It so happened historically that in the imperial space and in the Soviet Union, the Russians were the state-forming people.

Moreover, the principles of internationalism were promoted in the USSR and, although the leadership of the Russians was de facto recognized, it was always emphasized: yes, there are backward peoples, but this is only due to historical circumstances, with proper development and attention, people of all nations are equal. Unfortunately, as a reaction to such actions, the ideas of nationalism have ground for development in Russia as well.

Rampant Russophobia is also observed in many countries of the former socialist camp. True, in many ways it is connected, rather, with a long historical past (in the case of Poland). However, nationalism in catalysis with a territorial dispute led to a terrible Serbo-Croat war.

Severing economic ties

The regulated economy of the Soviet Union was destroyed, having already at the start brought down the economies of young states and "provided" a low standard of living, unemployment, crime and other similar "joys".

Countries with great economic potential (Russia and Kazakhstan) managed to get on their feet over time. The course of Belarus in the post-Soviet space inspires respect. It is one of the very few countries that has been able to avoid the main problems of the commonality of the former USSR countries.

It was hard for the socialist countries. Within the framework of the socialist CMEA (Commonwealth for Mutual Economic Assistance), their economies interacted with the Soviet one and with each other. In the new reality, within the framework of the European Union, they experienced shock and awe, feeling their uselessness. The search for its place in the global economy is still ongoing.

CIS for problem solving

The Commonwealth of Independent States was created precisely to solve problems within the framework of one community and pursue a coordinated policy in the post-Soviet space. On a voluntary basis, it includes the former republics of the USSR. The CIS bodies are in charge of economic, cultural and security issues. Unfortunately, not all states are included in its composition. Some of them have already come out. Although the Commonwealth good playground for mutual understanding. However, other forms are also possible. Similar, for example, to the initiative of Belarus to create the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

After all, the main thing is that we all live, if not together, then still side by side: good neighbors are better than bad ones.

Republic of Belarus. The territory is 208 thousand square meters. km, occupies the western part of the East European Plain and is a combination of low moraine ridges and swampy lowlands in places. Has no access to the sea.

Population - 9.5 million people. (2014), the average annual growth rate is negative. External migration is insignificant. Most of the inhabitants are Belarusians (83.7%), other large ethnic groups are Russians (8.26%), Poles (3.1%), Ukrainians (1.7%). The official languages are Belarusian and Russian. About 80% of the population professes Orthodoxy, 20% are adherents of other religions. The capital is Minsk (1.9 million people), the only city with a millionaires. The adult literacy rate is over 99%. There are 57 higher education institutions in the republic educational institutions. Belarus does not participate in the Bologna process. Life expectancy exceeds 72.2 years (men - 67 years, women - 78 years). The healthcare system is well developed, the number of doctors remained low, but stable - 51 per 10,000 population. HDI is high (0.793 in 2013 - 50th place, 1st among the CIS countries). The volume of GDP at PPP is 147 billion dollars, per capita - 15.6 thousand dollars. The official unemployment rate is underestimated, but nevertheless one of the lowest in Europe - 0.5%. I made a transcript on the first application p.64

Having successfully overcome the transformational recession of the early 1990s. Belarus - the only country in the post-Soviet space, which has almost completely preserved all industries. The rate of gross capital formation exceeds 20%. The main sources of investment are private national capital and the state.

Despite the market transformations carried out, the state largely retains its influence in pricing and management of the largest enterprises, most enterprises remain state-owned. The process of privatization was mainly carried out by trade and service enterprises. The main direction of economic policy is to strengthen economic and political ties with Russia within the framework of the Union State, the Customs Unionand the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

The national currency is the Belarusian ruble (10 thousand rubles = 1 US dollar), inflation is one of the highest in Europe (16.5% in 2013). The banking system is dominated by the state, it has 26 commercial banks.

Fiscal sphere during the 19th years. was rebuilt. The main taxes are value added tax, income tax of enterprises and organizations and income tax. During the period from 2008 to 2011, the share of government spending in GDP dropped significantly from 49% to 36%. The state budget is executed with a small deficit.

Sectoral structure of the economy: in 2011, the share of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in GDP production was 9.5%, industry and construction - 46.2% and services - 44.4% (which practically coincided with the structure of the employed).

The country has rich reserves of potassium salts, peat, natural building materials and insignificant oil reserves.

The basis of the fuel and energy complex is the production of electricity at thermal power plants (99.9% of the total output), processing and transportation of Russian oil and gas. The main branch of the economy is mechanical engineering. Belarus produces trucks and road trains, super-heavy dump trucks, tractors, bulldozers, agricultural machinery, motorcycles, televisions, household refrigerators. The chemical industry produces synthetic fiber (Novopolotsk), polyethylene, organic acids, and high-quality edible salt (Salihorsk). The production of fertilizers based on local potash salts is large. Agriculture specializes in dairy and beef cattle breeding, pig breeding, flax and potato growing. There are significant crops of cereals and sugar beets.

The structure of freight turnover is dominated by rail transport. Due to the nature of the relief and the peculiarities of economic development, the railway crossings of Belarus are the most convenient corridor connecting the countries of Europe and Russia. There are 33 airports in the country. For the Belarusian economy, transit functions play an important role.

The country has modern communication systems; the Ministry of Telecommunications - Beltelecom is the monopolist in providing telephone and fiber-optic communication services.

Belarus is pursuing a balanced policy to protect the interests of national producers in the domestic market. The priority of foreign economic policy is the creation of a single union state of Belarus and Russia.

The volume of exports in 2011 amounted to about 41.4 billion dollars. It is based on products of light industry, tractor building and automotive industry. The most important export partners are Russia - 33%, the Netherlands (15%), Latvia (7.7%), Ukraine (10%), Germany (4.5%).

The volume of imports in 2011 amounted to 45.1 billion dollars. Belarus imports energy, machinery, equipment and spare parts for them, vehicles, and products of the chemical industry. About 55% of imports come from Russia, 5.6% from Germany, 4.4% from Ukraine.

The amount of foreign direct investment accumulated in the country is small. The largest investors in the Belarusian economy are Russian and German companies. The sectoral structure of foreign investment is dominated by enterprises of the chemical and woodworking industries. The balance of payments is regarded as healthy. The size of the external debt of Belarus is 13 billion dollars (2012), i.e. about 9% of GDP.

Economic relations with Russia are traditionally stable. Russia and Belarus are helping to deepen economic integration and are making efforts to create conditions for the formation of a single economic space.

Ukrainian Republic. Country with a total area of 578 thousand square meters. km, most of which is located on the outskirts of the East European Plain. In the southwest lie Ukrainian Carpathians with the Volyn-Podolsk and Dnieper uplands. The climate is temperate, predominantly continental, in the west of the country - humid, in the south - dry, steppe.

Population - 42.8 million people. (2014), the average annual growth rate is negative, while in the eastern regions the birth rate is much lower than in the western ones. External migration to Russia, Israel, the USA and Germany is great. Most of the inhabitants are Ukrainians (77%), other large ethnic groups are Russians (17%), Moldovans, Belarusians, Jews, Poles. Official language- Ukrainian. The religious composition of the population: Orthodoxy is professed by 76% of the population, among believers there are also Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Muslims. The capital is Kyiv (2.8 million people), other millionaire cities are Odessa, Kharkov.

Competently more than 99% of the adult population. Secondary education is compulsory. There are 350 universities in the country, including 9 universities.

The healthcare system is gradually deteriorating. Life expectancy - 69 years (men - 66 years, women - 72 years). The number of doctors remains consistently high - 224 people. per 10 thousand, the number of hospital beds in the 1990s. decreased from 700 to 445 per 10 thousand people.

HDI in 2013 was 0.74 (rank 78), i.е. slightly above the global average. Volume of GDP according to PPP - 338 . dollars, per capita - 7421 dollars (2012).

Economic growth rates in 1990 were negative, at the beginning of the new century, economic growth was observed, but pre-reform indicators have not yet been achieved. The rate of gross capital formation is 19%.

It is difficult to characterize the economic policy in the light of the events of 2014, since it was highly politicized and aimed at rapprochement with European Union. Meanwhile, a critical dependence on the supply of Russian energy carriers remains, and a significant part of the output is oriented to the Russian markets.

The national currency is the hryvnia (13 hryvnia = 1 US dollar). The credit system is underdeveloped. Inflation rate in 2012― 2013 amounted to less than 1%. Fiscal sphere of Ukraine during the 19th years. was rebuilt. The main taxes are value added tax, income tax of enterprises and organizations and income tax from individuals. In recent years, the state budget of Ukraine has been running with a deficit.

In the current structure of GDP, the share of agriculture, forestry and fisheries accounts for 9.9% (share in the employment structure - 5.6%), industry and construction - 29.6% (26.1%), the share of the service sector is 60.5% (68.4%). In the structure of industrial production, the leading role belongs to the fuel and energy complex - 24.2%, ferrous metallurgy - 22%, mechanical engineering - 16%, food industry - 15%, chemical and petrochemical industries - 7.4%. Highly energy-intensive production existed thanks to subsidized energy prices, and now the severing of economic ties with Russia is hitting the Ukrainian economy.

Ukraine has rich reserves of hard and brown coal (Donbass), insignificant reserves of oil and natural gas (Shebelinka, Rechitsa), deposits of iron and manganese ores (Krivoy Rog, Kerch, Nikopol), as well as ores of non-ferrous and rare metals (mercury, zinc, lead, titanium, magnesium, aluminum, zirconium, etc.).

The fuel and energy complex is based on: the processing and use of Russian gas and oil, the use of own coal, the production of which is gradually declining, and the generation of electricity at nuclear power plants (about 40% of production).

Despite the overall decline in steel production, it is significant not only for domestic consumption, but also for export (Krivoy Rog, Mariupol, Dnepropetrovsk, Dneprodzerzhinsk, Zaporozhye, Donetsk, Makeevka). Non-ferrous metallurgy is less developed. There is the production of aluminum, titanium, magnesium, mercury, zinc. Mechanical engineering in Ukraine is in a deep crisis. The chemical industry includes the production of mineral fertilizers, sulfuric acid, soda, plastics, chemical fibers, and rubber products. At the moment, the industry is also experiencing serious problems due to lack of raw materials and lack of sales. The food industry is represented by almost all sectors, of which sugar, oil and fat, meat, milk and canning and butter-cheese-making, fruit and vegetable canning and wine-making stand out.

Agriculture provides over 45% of the gross agricultural output. The main agricultural crops are cereals (50% of crops): winter wheat, corn for grain, rice, as well as barley, millet, buckwheat, legumes, sugar beet, sunflower, flax fiber, potatoes, hops, hemp, tobacco, fodder crops. Vegetable growing, fruit growing, melon growing, viticulture are developed. The most important branches of animal husbandry - cattle breeding and pig breeding - are developed almost everywhere. However, after joining the WTO in 2008, agriculture is experiencing serious difficulties.

In the structure of freight and passenger turnover, the leading place belongs to railway transport - about 42% of freight turnover. Length railways is 22.3 thousand km. The most important seaports- Ilyichevsk, Kherson, Nikolaev, Odessa. For the Ukrainian economy, transit functions play an extremely important role. Among other branches of the service sector, health resort services and tourism stand out.

The scientific potential of Ukraine continues to degrade. The share of scientific research in GDP is about 1.3― 1.5% and tends to decrease.

The social sphere is going through a deep crisis. According to various estimates, about 35% of the population lives below the poverty line. The registered unemployment rate in 2013 was almost 9%.

Foreign economic relations are highly likely to develop along the path of "European integration". However, there are still few real prerequisites for this. The volume of Ukrainian exports in 2013 amounted to about 712 billion USD. 9%. About 26% of Ukraine's exports go to Russia, 5.4% to Turkey, 4.6% to Italy, 4.5% to China, and 4.2% to Egypt.

Imports are concentrated on energy carriers, machinery and equipment, and chemicals. Russia also dominates in its structure - 32.4%, China― 9.3%, Germany - 8.1%, Belarus - 6.1%, Poland - 4.2%.

The largest investors in the economy of Ukraine are companies from Russia, Germany and Poland. In the sectoral structure of foreign investments in the economy of Ukraine, investments in oil refining, metallurgy and food industry enterprises prevail. The size of the country's external debt is estimated at 80% of GDP.

The Republic of Moldova. A country located between Ukraine and Romania, with a total area of 34 thousand square meters. km. The relief is a slightly hilly plain intersected by river valleys and gullies. The main natural wealth of the country is agro-climatic resources and arable land, which occupies about half of its territory.

Population - 3.557 million people. (2014), the average annual growth rate is negative. External migration is insignificant. Most residents are Moldovans (76%), other major ethnic groups are Ukrainians - 8%, Russians - 6%, as well as Gagauz and Bulgarians. The official language is Moldovan, Romanian. The overwhelming majority of the population professes Orthodoxy. Life expectancy in 2013 - 69 years (men - 66 years, women - 72 years). Capital - Chisinau (804 thousand people), others big cities- Tiraspol, Dubossary, Ungheni.

Literate 92% of the adult population, secondary education is compulsory. There are 47 universities in the country, including the University of Chisinau.

The volume of GDP at PPP is $12 billion (2012), per capita is $4,200. Over the years of reforms, GDP has almost halved. One of the poorest countries in Europe.

Before the collapse of the USSR, the Moldovan economy specialized in the supply of agricultural products to Russia in exchange for energy resources. After 1991, when energy prices quickly approached world prices, the products of the agricultural sector, which is the basis of the Moldovan economy, became uncompetitive, which led to a sharp decline in the standard of living of the population.

The problem is the territory of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), which is actually not controlled by the Moldovan authorities and is an unrecognized state. Russia is trying to take a neutral position in this conflict.

The national currency, the leu, has depreciated more than 30,000 times since its introduction. The exchange rate of the Moldovan leu is 13.7 lei per 1 US dollar (2014). Banking sector loans account for only 25% of GDP. The rate of gross capital formation is 18%, inflation is 4.5%. Through the deficit public national budget, 20% of GDP is redistributed.

Sectoral structure of the economy: agriculture, forestry and fisheries account for 21.8% of GDP, industry and construction - 17.6% and services - 60.6%. The core of the Moldovan economy is the agro-industrial complex, which produces almost all foodstuffs, sugar, vegetable oil, fruits, as well as a variety of agricultural machinery, refrigeration and conservation equipment. The production of fabrics, clothing, and footwear has been established. Almost all industrial potential is concentrated in the PMR, and all agricultural land - in the rest of Moldova. Mechanical engineering is concentrated in Chisinau, Tiraspol, and partly in Balti and Bendery.

The type of transport system is determined by the transit geographical location. The total length of railways is 1300 km, highways- 12.6 thousand km, of which 11 thousand km are hard-surfaced roads (most have not been repaired since the times of the USSR). Railroads, highways, gas and oil pipelines and power lines pass through the country.

The volume of exports in 2011 amounted to 2.2 billion dollars, imports - 5.2 billion dollars. The most important export commodities are food, wine and tobacco - up to 66% of exports, fabrics and clothing, as well as agricultural engineering products. Moldovan goods are delivered primarily to Russia (35% of exports), Romania (5.7%), Ukraine (8%), Germany and Belarus. The structure of imports includes: raw materials and energy carriers - 31%, machinery and equipment, products of the chemical and food industries. In the geographical structure of imports, Russia stands out - 23%, Ukraine - 13.4%, Romania - 12%, Belarus and Germany. The main problem of Moldova's foreign trade remains the limited export potential.

HDI average - 0.66 (113th place). Up to 40% of GDP is generated by remittances from those working abroad (Italy, Russia, Germany, etc.).

Moldova's external debt exceeded $6 billion (50%). The largest investors in Moldova are Russian, German and Romanian companies.

The Republic of Azerbaijan. A country with an area of 86.6 thousand square meters. km, including the enclave of Nakhichevan on the border between Armenia and Turkey. The north and south of the country are covered with mountains, central part flat, formed by the valleys of the largest rivers of the country, the Araks and Kura, in the extreme south - the vast Lankaran lowland. 20% of the territory is in economic circulation, more than half of the cultivated areas have artificial irrigation.

Population - 9.5 million people. (2014), the average annual growth rate is positive - 0.9%, about half of the population lives in rural areas. The proportion of Azerbaijanis is 92%. Most of the Armenians who used to live here left the country (their share decreased from 6 to 1.35%), part of the Russians (currently 1.3%). There are Lezgins, Avars, Kurds, Talyshs, Tatars, Ukrainians, and others. Outside the republic (primarily in neighboring Iran), according to expert estimates, more than 30 million Azerbaijanis live (including more than 1 million in Russia). The state language is Azerbaijani (a group of Turkic languages), Russian is widely spoken. The traditional religion of most locals is Shia Islam. Life expectancy is 67.5 years (63 years for men and 71 years for women).

Competently 98% of the population, school (eight-year) education is compulsory. Universities are available in almost all cities of the country. The largest cities are the capital Baku (2.15 million inhabitants), Ganj (300 thousand people), Sumgayit (300 thousand people). The autonomy of Nagorno-Karabakh, populated mainly by Armenians, was abolished in 1991, which provoked an armed conflict supported by Armenia with local population. In 1994, a ceasefire agreement was signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As a result, by not recognizing the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, the country's authorities do not control approximately 2/5 of the territory and are forced to deal with the problem of 750,000 Azerbaijani refugees from Armenia and Karabakh.

The volume of GDP is 99 billion dollars at PPP (2012), per capita - 10,600 dollars. Currency unit- manat, the rate of which is 0.78 manat per 1 US dollar. The transformational recession was overcome, and in terms of growth rates in the early 2000s. Azerbaijan was one of the leaders in the post-Soviet space.

The share of industry and construction in 2012 accounted for 67% of GDP (11.5% of employees), agriculture, forestry and fisheries - 9% (40% of employees), services - 24% (48% of employees). The basis of the industrial base is the oil and gas complex created back in the Soviet period. In the mining industry, this is oil and gas production; in the manufacturing industry, oil refineries, petrochemicals, oil engineering, and a pipe rolling plant. Agriculture is based on the cultivation of cereals (wheat, barley, rice), cotton, tobacco, vegetables and fruits are cultivated everywhere, as well as grapes and winemaking based on it.

The transport complex includes about 3,000 km of railways and over 29,000 km of roads (hard-surfaced), the port facilities of Baku and 84 ships assigned to it, as well as air transportation. A special place in it is occupied by pipelines - more than 2.4 thousand km of oil, 3.2 thousand km of gas and 630 km of product pipelines. The communication system has been developed in recent years.

HDI is high - 0.734 (82nd place), unemployed - according to official statistics - less than 1%.

Foreign economic relations primarily serve the oil complex, ensuring the export and sale of oil and oil products on the foreign market, the purchase of the necessary equipment for the needs of mining and processing enterprises, and the attraction of foreign investment, which provides more than 80% of all investments in the economy.

In 2012, the volume of merchandise exports amounted to 36.9 billion dollars (75% of its value fell on oil and gas, the rest - oil and gas equipment, cotton and food). Import purchases amounted to 17.6 billion dollars (machinery and equipment, food, metals, chemicals; it is a net importer of natural gas). The main trading partners are Turkey, Russia, Iran, Italy. External debt is less than 8% of GDP.

Republic of Armenia. Country with a total area of 29.8 thousand square meters. km is located on the Armenian Highlands, only 17% of the territory is suitable for agriculture, mainly in the Ararat valley, irrigated by the Araks and Hrazdan rivers. The climate is arid, continental. Water resources mountain rivers are used for land irrigation and power generation (hydroelectric cascade on the Hrazdan River). Among the country's mountain lakes, Lake Sevan stands out for its size (90% of the republic's fresh water reserves are concentrated in it).

Population - 3.0 million people (for 2013), its number decreased over the 1990s. due to emigration, the population decreased by an average of 0.4% per year. Ethnically quite homogeneous: Armenians 98%, Russians 0.5%, other nationalities - 1.5%. In the 90s. the second largest ethnic group, Azerbaijanis, almost completely left the country. Official language Armenian. In cities where 2/3 of the population lives, the Russian language is used. Life expectancy - 72 years (2011): men - 68 years, women - 76 years. The majority of the population professes Orthodoxy.

Competently 98% of the adult population. Mandatory 8 years of schooling. There are over 20 universities.

GDP calculated at PPP in 2013 was estimated at $25 billion ($8,416 per capita). In 2014, the national monetary unit of the dram was equal to the dollar at the rate of 410 drams = 1 US dollar.

According to 2006 data, the share of agriculture and forestry accounted for 20.6% of GDP, industry and construction - 37.3%, services - 42.1% (respectively 44, 17 and 39% of the employed).

Manufacturing enterprises dominate (machinery and instrumentation, electrical, chemical, which were part of the military-industrial complex of the former USSR), but they are idle due to a lack of raw materials, components and parts, and most importantly, orders from abroad. There are mainly food enterprises (products of local winemaking) and light industry, as well as products for export with high added value - cut diamonds, jewelry, microelectronics, computer programs. Mining (gold, bauxite) is limited. The acute problem of energy supply was alleviated in 1995 by the launch of the only Armenian nuclear power plant in Transcaucasia, which was stopped after an earthquake in 1988.

Agriculture experienced in the 1990s. boom caused by the need to replace food imports. As a result of the privatization of land and the disaggregation of the former agro-industrial complexes, an optimal structure of agricultural production, justified in local conditions, has developed. In 2013, the cost of its products amounted to 137% of the 1991 level.

The transport complex of Armenia (852 km of railways and over 8 thousand km of highways, 2 thousand km of gas pipelines, 13 airports) plays a very important role, but its efficiency is low due to the transport blockade by neighbors (Azerbaijan and Turkey).

The HDI is high - 0.729 (87th place), but 35% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Foreign trade is sharply unbalanced: in 2012, the value of exports amounted to 1.6 billion dollars, and imports - 3.5 billion dollars. Diamonds, scrap metal, certain types of cars, cognac, copper ore are exported. Gas and oil products, tobacco products, foodstuffs and diamonds are imported. The main partners are Russia (about 20% of export-import operations), Germany, Bulgaria, Belgium.

External debt is 50% of GDP.

The Republic of Kazakhstan. In terms of territory (2717.3 thousand sq. km), the country ranks ninth in the world and second in the CIS. Most the territory (44%) is occupied by deserts, 14% by semi-deserts and 26% by steppes. The climate is sharply continental, arid. Of the more than 8 thousand rivers available, only some have a length exceeding 100 km - the Urals, Emba, Syrdarya, Tobol, Irtysh, Ishim, Ili. Out of almost 50 thousand large and small lakes, the Aral (sea), Balkhash, Zaisan, Alakol, Tengiz stand out.

Population - 17.16 million people. Migration losses in the 1990s were offset by positive natural growth. As a result of external migration and the traditionally higher birth rate among Kazakhs, the proportion of Russians in the total population decreased from 36.5% (1989) to 21% (2014), while Kazakhs increased from 39 to 65%. Other ethnic groups are Ukrainians (3.7%), Uzbeks (2.5%), Germans (2.4%), Uighurs (1.4%). The state language is Kazakh. Ethnic division corresponds to confessional. Life expectancy in Kazakhstan was 67 years, including 61 years for men and 72 years for women. 54% of the population lives in cities.

As a result of poor provision of budget financing for education and medical care in the 1990s their decline is observed: a decrease in the completeness of coverage of children with compulsory school education, an increase in child and general mortality.

The largest cities are Astana, which has become the new capital since 1997 (825 thousand people); former capital Alma-Ata (1.6 million people); numbering 300― 700 thousand inhabitants of Karaganda, Chimkent, Pavlodar, Taraz, Semey, Ust-Kamenogorsk.

The volume of Kazakhstan's GDP at PPP in 2013 amounted to 265 billion dollars, i.e. $15,500 per capita. The recession in the economy experienced until 1996 led to a total decline in GDP compared to 1991 by 40%. The stabilization that followed was followed by an upswing in 2000, the rate of which, on an average annual basis, was in 2000― 2006 10.1%.

The standard of living of the population cannot be called high, but the HDI is 0.754 (69th in the world).

54% of GDP (2006) falls on the service sector, 39% - on the share of industry and construction, 7% - on agriculture and forestry and fisheries. The structure of employment is similar (50%, 30% and 20%).

Kazakhstan has carried out large-scale privatization. As a result, out of more than 138 thousand enterprises, 17% remained state-owned. Even among large enterprises, 60% are private. Kazakhstan is the only one of the CIS countries where about 60 vital enterprises have been transferred to management and ownership by foreign firms - in the field of oil production and processing, non-ferrous metals, energy, energy supply. At the same time, the level of oligarchization of the economy is high (the 10 largest financial and industrial groups control more than 70% of industrial production). Among unresolved issues Unemployment remains (approximately 8% of the total working-age population), degradation of a number of industries, including traditional animal husbandry, which was badly affected by the agrarian reform carried out in a hurry.

State budget expenditures in 2013 amounted to 15.1% of GDP. In recent years, the budget deficit has been virtually eliminated. The leading taxes in terms of volume are corporate income tax and value added tax.

National currency - tenge (182 tenge = 1 US dollar). The credit system headed by the National Bank is developing dynamically.

The basis of the industrial base of the country is the extraction and primary processing of fossil raw materials - oil, coal, nickel, phosphates, gold, silver, bauxite. In 2012, the share of extractive industries exceeded (50.9%) the share of the manufacturing industry. Kazakhstan, with the help of foreign companies, is increasing oil and gas production both onshore (the largest field is Tengiz) and offshore. Coal mining, primarily open-pit mining in the Ekibastuz basin, has declined compared to the Soviet period. Large volumes of smelting of ferrous (4 million tons of steel) and especially non-ferrous metals remain. Metallurgical and metalworking, processing of agricultural raw materials, oil refining, and the chemical industry stand out among the manufacturing industries. The existing machine-building enterprises mainly produce mining and agricultural machinery. Set up TV sets. The production of textiles and footwear has almost ceased.

Natural conditions of Kazakhstan and development in the 1950s. virgin and fallow lands determined the orientation of the republic's economy towards agriculture with a predominance of wheat crops. Rice, cotton, and sugar beets are cultivated on irrigated lands. Commercial horticulture and viticulture are developed. Traditionally, the leading industry is grazing (large and small cattle, horse breeding, camel breeding). However, the efficiency of the agricultural sector, which has great potential, remains low. Of the 45 million hectares of arable land, which once yielded almost 2 tons of high-quality grain per inhabitant, about 1/3 remained in circulation (16 million hectares). Accordingly, the gross grain harvest fell by almost half, meat production - by half, wool - by four times.

All types of transport are developed in the republic, but the main role in the transportation of goods is played by roads (over 80% of cargo transportation). The length of roads is more than 90 thousand km, of which 18 thousand km are of republican significance. Maritime navigation is carried out on the Caspian Sea (ports of Aktau and Atyrau). Out of 150 airports, 67 have runways hard coated. An important role is played by the system of oil pipelines (10,338 km), product pipelines (1,500 km) and gas pipelines (11,019 km). The length of railways is about 13.7 thousand km.

Foreign economic relations are characterized by instability and one-sided servicing of the raw material sector of the economy (in 2013, 80 billion dollars accounted for exports and 44 billion dollars for imports). Thus, over 90% of Kazakhstan's export earnings come from the export of oil, coal, concentrate of non-ferrous and precious metals, grain, wool, and meat. At the same time, 3/4 of the volume of imports are machinery and equipment, industrial materials coming from a large number of countries. Russia remains the largest foreign economic partner of Kazakhstan, followed by China, Italy, the Netherlands, and France. The importance of Russian investments in the local economy is growing, including through such large projects as energy (Ekibastuz GRES), the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, the development of the Karachagan gas condensate field, oil fields, including those on the Caspian shelf. External debt - 58% of GDP.

Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The total area is 198.5 thousand square meters. km, a third of the territory is located at an altitude of over 3 thousand meters above sea level. Thanks to numerous mountain rivers the country has a large hydropower potential, and the vast fertile Fergana, Chui and Talas valleys, high mountain pastures make about 60% of the territory suitable for economic development. The unique mountain lake Issyk-Kul is a resort and tourist area.

Population - 5.8 million people. (2007). Kyrgyz make up 73%, the rest are Russians (6.4%), Uzbeks (14.5%), Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars and other nationalities. The average annual population growth rate is positive - 0.9%. 75% of the population professes Islam, 20% - Orthodoxy. Two languages are officially recognized in the country - Kyrgyz and Russian. The education system is traditionally developed - literacy among the adult population is 98%.

In administrative-territorial terms, the country is divided into seven regions and the capital district - Bishkek (about 902 thousand inhabitants). Other large cities - centers of regions: Osh, Talas, Jalal-Abad, Naryn.

The volume of GDP in terms of PPP in 2006 amounted to about 13.2 billion dollars, per capita - 2409 dollars. The maximum decline in GDP compared to 1991 was 47%. Since the mid 1990s. managed to overcome the recession in the economy and maintain an average annual rate of 3.8%. The HDI level is average (0.622, 125 in the world), a significant part of the population lives below the poverty level, the amount of pensions and social support is insignificant.

The loss of significant subsidies from the union budget, with which Kyrgyzstan provided up to 20% of its GDP in the Soviet years, along with the collapse of production oriented to the all-union market, forced to carry out in the 1990s. radical reforms aimed at financial stabilization, stimulating economic growth and privatization of state-owned enterprises. Kyrgyzstan is in the group of countries with low incomes, over 40% of the population is below the poverty line.

The monetary sphere includes 23 commercial banks and a number of state financial institutions headed by the National Bank. The national currency is the som, the rate of which in 2014 was 52 soms per 1 US dollar.

Sectoral structure of the economy. The leading sectors remained agriculture and forestry (2006) - 20.1%, industry - 28.8%, service sector - 51.1% of the value of GDP. The main branch of agriculture is animal husbandry, in agriculture a significant place is occupied by the cultivation of fodder, as well as industrial crops (sugar beet, cotton, tobacco). Kyrgyzstan is fully self-sufficient in food grains. Over 90% of production is produced in households. The basis of the mining industry is formed by enterprises that export non-ferrous ore concentrates, rare earth metals (antimony, mercury), gold (provides 10% of GDP). Other industrial enterprises ensure the production of textiles, the processing of food raw materials, other consumer products, as well as the production of certain types of machine tools, refrigeration equipment, electric motors, furniture, lumber. More than 90% of electricity is produced by hydroelectric power plants, almost half is exported.

The country has 470 km of railways, 18.5 thousand km of highways, 37 airports, 254 km of gas pipelines, about 500 thousand telephone subscribers, over 6 million mobile users.

In 2011, the foreign trade turnover exceeded 8.5 billion dollars (3.4 million dollars - exports and 5.1 billion dollars - imports). For export, in addition to gold and electricity, cotton, wool, meat, tobacco, mercury, antimony, uranium, garments, shoes are supplied (buyers: Switzerland - 27.2%, Russia― 19.2%, Uzbekistan - 14.3%, Kazakhstan - 11.4%, France - 6.7%). The main import items are energy carriers (oil and gas), machinery and equipment, chemicals, and food (Russia - 36.6%, China― 17.9%, Kazakhstan - 9.2%, Germany - 8.2%). External debt of Kyrgyzstan in 2014 - 68% of GDP.

Russia is considered by Kyrgyzstan as a strategic partner, from which large loans come, with which production cooperation has been established since Soviet times (including in the military-technical field), which owns large property in Kyrgyzstan, primarily state property.

The Republic of Tajikistan. Country with a total area of 142.1 thousand square meters. km with a predominance of high-mountain relief (including the Pamirs, called the "roof of the world"). No more than 10% of the area is suitable for economic use (part of the Fergana, Kofarnikhon and Vakhsh valleys). Numerous and powerful mountain rivers have great hydropower potential.

The population is 8.2 million people, the average annual growth rate is 1.6%. The high natural increase (about 2.5%) is held back by the large scale of labor emigration and the exodus of Russian-speaking residents. A feature of the population structure is the increased in the 1990s. by almost 25% the number of rural residents (about 70% of the total number - the highest figure among the CIS countries) and a high proportion of the younger (under 16) age group - 43%. Life expectancy - 66 years (62 years - men, 70 - women) - one of the lowest in the CIS. Ethnic composition: 80% are Tajiks, 15% - Uzbeks, 1.5% - Russians, 3.5% - representatives of other nationalities. 90% of the population professes Islam, including 5% of Shiites (Ismailis in Gorno-Badakhshan). The official language is Tajik.

According to the data for 1989, the literacy of the population was 98%, but in the 1990s. Due to economic devastation and the raging civil war, the education system was severely damaged, which sharply reduced the prosperous rates of literacy and enrollment in higher education of past years.

Administrative-territorial division: two regions - northern Sogd and southern Khatlon, as well as the autonomous Gorno-Badakhshan region. The capital of the country is Dushanbe (about 0.779 million inhabitants).

The volume of GDP in 2012 amounted to 17.5 billion dollars at PPP, i.e. $2,250 per capita. The poorest state in the post-Soviet space, 64% of the population continues to remain below the poverty line. HDI average - 0.622 (125th place). More than 1 million people work in other countries, primarily in Russia.

The economic policy is aimed at restoring the economy destroyed by the civil war. The public finance system is characterized by a narrow base of sources of formation (95% is provided by taxes) and a large amount of resources accumulated by the budget (48% of GDP in 2012).

The credit system is formed by the State National (Central) Bank and 18 commercial banks. National currency- somoni (5 somoni = 1 US dollar).

The share of industry and construction in GDP amounted to about 26%, slightly exceeding the contribution of agriculture (24%), however, given the low marketability of the agricultural sector, which employs more than 66% of the workforce, the economy of Tajikistan continues to be agro-industrial and is not able to get away from raw material orientation, acquired in Soviet times. The flagship of the national industry is the aluminum plant in the city of Tursun-Zade. In addition to aluminum produced from imported raw materials, the local mining industry produces zinc, lead, while the processing industry produces fertilizers, chemicals, cement, processes part of local agricultural products, manufactures metalworking machines, and certain types of household appliances. The agrarian sector suffering from land shortage (0.1 hectares of arable land per capita) is a priority object of the economic policy of the state, which supplies peasants with high-quality seeds, maintains an irrigation system, and provides soft loans. This sector produces traditional products: cotton, grain, fruits, vegetables, etc.

480 km of railways and over 27 thousand km of highways, 549 km of pipeline supplying gas from neighboring Uzbekistan. Cellular subscribers - 9.9 million people.

In 2012, the value of Tajik exports amounted to about 2.0 billion dollars. 83% of the income came from two commodities - aluminum and cotton. The main buyers are the Netherlands (37%), Turkey (26%), Russia (9%), Iran (7%), China (7%) for aluminum production, food, machinery and equipment). The largest suppliers are Russia (32%), China (12%), Kazakhstan (9%), Uzbekistan (5%). The total volume of foreign investments is estimated at $500 million; they are invested mainly in several dozen joint ventures operating in the country. The relatively low external debt (28% of GDP) is explained by the fact that Tajikistan receives the bulk of economic assistance free of charge.

Economic relations with Russia are based on trade, cash receipts from Tajik citizens working in Russia, as well as from Russian military personnel stationed in the republic, and the implementation of joint projects in the field of aluminum production and energy.

Republic of Turkmenistan. Country with a total area of 491 thousand square meters. km is located in the western part of Central Asia, occupying almost half of the territory of this region. The relief is mostly flat, the climate is subtropical, desert: the Karakum desert occupies more than 80% of the territory.

The population is 5.16 million people, concentrated mainly in riverine oases and the foothills of the Kopetdag. Average density- 10 people per 1 sq. km. The average annual growth is positive - 1.4%. Life expectancy is about 63 years (men - 59, women - 67). 85% of the population are Turkmens, 5% - Uzbeks, 4% - Russians, 2% - Kazakhs. The official language is Turkmen. 89% of the population are Muslims. According to official data, 98% of the adult population is literate.

Administrative-territorial division - five regions (velayats). The capital is Ashgabat (900 thousand people), other large cities (Turkmenbashi, Nebit-Dag, Chardzhou). 45% of the population lives in cities.

The volume of GDP at PPP is $55.1 billion (2012), which is $9,500 per capita. HDI - 0.698, average, 102nd place. The transformational recession was compensated by the export deliveries of hydrocarbons, the value of which on the world market increased significantly.

The official exchange rate of the national currency (manat) in 2014 was 2.85 manats per 1 US dollar, unofficially - much lower.

In the 1990s the state did not abandon its leading role in the economy in favor of the private sector, but accelerated its investment and economic activity in general, primarily through capital-intensive industrial construction, the development of economic infrastructure, and foreign economic relations. In social policy, the course has been taken towards state paternalism, which was expressed by the measures taken in 1993 to support citizens - the gratuitous provision of electricity, water, and gas. In 1999, these measures were declared indefinite, becoming a kind of Turkmen “voucher” that every resident of the country received. Meanwhile, the Turkmen economy is characterized by some isolation

According to official data, 70% of GDP is formed in the service sector, 21% - in industry, 9% - in agriculture (according to experts - 40%, 40%, 20%). At the same time, from total number 49% of the employed were in agriculture, 14% in industry and 37% in service industries. Despite the persisting raw material one-sidedness of the economy (gas production dominates in industry, in terms of the reserves of which the country ranks 4th in the world, due to which up to 60% of GDP is provided, and cotton cultivation in agriculture), its sectoral structure has diversified. In industry, this was expressed in the creation of industries for deeper processing of raw materials (cotton, gas, oil). In agriculture, it was possible to create a grain economy, conditions for the intensification of animal husbandry, the development of industrial processing of agricultural raw materials, and the achievement of food independence. At the same time, the traditional occupations of rural residents are supported - animal husbandry, breeding of Karakul sheep, horses of the Akhal-Teke breed, camels.

The development of transport infrastructure (primarily gas pipelines - 8,000 km) is a decisive factor in the economic development of Turkmenistan.

Exports in 2012 amounted to 25 billion dollars. Most of it was accounted for by China (40%), Turkey (15%), Italy (7%), Russia (5.6%). The narrow range of Turkmen exports, 80% of which comes from gas and oil, makes the country dependent on world energy prices, leads to sharp fluctuations in export volumes in certain years and, consequently, the formation of either a positive or a negative trade balance. In 2012, imports amounted to $15 billion and accounted for mainly Turkey (24%), Russia (16%), China (11%), Iran (9%).

The country's external debt amounted to 31% of GDP. Turkey is especially active among foreign investors. Russia's purchases of Turkmen gas on the basis of long-term contacts remain a traditional area of cooperation. Russian companies are also involved in the development of oil fields in the Turkmen part of the Caspian shelf.

The Republic of Uzbekistan. Country with a total area of 447 thousand square meters. km in the central part Central Asia, has a common border with all the states of this region, as well as with Kazakhstan. Occupying about 80% of the country's territory, the Turan lowland gives the relief a mostly flat character. The climate is sharply continental, dry. A significant part of the territory is occupied by the Kyzylkum desert. Rivers (Syr Darya, Amu Darya, Zeravshan, etc.) originate in the mountains far beyond the borders of the republic.

Population - 30.5 million people. (2013), is growing at an average annual rate of 1.2%. 80% of it are Uzbeks, 4% - Russians, 4% - Tajiks, 3% - Kazakhs, 1.7% - Karakalpaks, 1.0% - Tatars. Almost half of the population is young people under the age of 18. On urban population(the largest cities are Tashkent, Samarkand, Andijan, Bukhara, Ferghana, Kokand) account for about 40% of the total. The state language is Uzbek. The main traditional religion is Islam (Sunni).

The literacy rate of the population, according to estimates in 2007, remains extremely high (99.4%), but in fact it is lower, especially among rural residents, who make up 60% of the population. Life expectancy is 67 years (63 years for men and 70 years for women). HDI average 0.654, 114 in the world.

Administrative-territorial division― 12 vilayats and one autonomous republic (Karakalpakstan).

The volume of GDP at PPP - 123 billion dollars (2013), i.е. $4,100 per capita. The decline in GDP in Uzbekistan was the smallest among the CIS countries (11% by 1995), but its recovery was slow.

The economic policy assumes taking into account local peculiarities and the creation (under strict state control) of joint ventures with the attraction of funds from large foreign investors. This model was possible thanks to the rich domestic raw materials (cotton, gold, uranium).

The monetary sphere functions under strict state control, which does not save the national currency - the soum from depreciation (in 1996, 1 US dollar was exchanged for 41 soums, in 2014 - for 2318 soums). Out of 30 commercial banks, 14 are state-owned or with state participation, owning more than 80% of all banking assets. Freely convertible currencies circulate more on the black market

During the Soviet period, Uzbekistan constantly needed subsidies to form the budget. In 2006, the budget revenues ($4.1 billion) almost completely covered the costs ($4.2 billion).

Agriculture and forestry account for 18.5% of GDP, industry and construction - 36.4%, services - 45.1%. The number of people employed in these sectors is 26, 13 and 61%, respectively.

The industry is represented by a fairly wide range of industries, among which the leading ones are oil and gas, as well as gold mining, chemical industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering and electric power industry. Mechanical engineering has historically evolved from the cotton complex service industries (specialized agricultural machinery, textile equipment). The chemical industry is based on the processing of natural gas into chemical fiber and nitrogen fertilizers. In non-ferrous metallurgy (smelting of copper, tungsten, molybdenum, polymetals), the extraction and processing of gold (90 tons in 2000, second place in the CIS after Russia) is of particular importance. In the 1990s new industries were created: car assembly (together with the South Korean company Daewoo), assembly of consumer electronics, and petrochemicals. Decreased, but continues to be significant production of fabrics.

Agriculture - one of the leading sectors of the economy, consistently provides a significant part of foreign exchange earnings (cotton) and about 70% of domestic trade. The branch of specialization is cotton growing (first place in the CIS). Cereals (including rice) are grown everywhere. Uzbekistan accounts for more than 50% of the collection of silkworm cocoons in the CIS and over 30% of astrakhan harvesting. Gardening is widespread. 10% of the territory is used for agriculture, 3/4 of all arable land is irrigated, served by a powerful irrigation system. Individual small-land farms, left after the disbanded collective farms, predominate. Therefore, production remains inefficient, and the yield of cotton and grain crops is low even in the most favorable years.

Transport infrastructure in the 1990s developed poorly, the main highways (3.9 thousand km of railways, about 82 thousand km of highways (with hard surface - 71 thousand km), 868 km of oil and about 9.5 thousand during the Soviet period, are in poor technical condition and overloaded. The number of mobile communication users exceeds 19 million people.

In 2012, the foreign trade turnover exceeded 27.1 billion dollars. The commodity structure of exports (16.6 billion) is dominated by cotton, gold, natural gas, mineral fertilizers, non-ferrous metals, textiles, foodstuffs, cars; imports (10.5 billion) - machinery and equipment, chemicals, hardware, food. Goods are exported mainly to Russia (more than 20%), Turkey (17%), China (15%), Kazakhstan (10%), Bangladesh (8.7%), imported from Russia (21%), South Korea (19 %), China (16%), Germany (7.4%), Kazakhstan (5.6).

The amount of external debt in 2011 amounted to 11% of GDP.

Thus, the states of the post-Soviet space, despite the rupture of economic ties, some political contradictions, remain significant economic partners. Most countries also have developed close relations with European countries, China and Turkey. The common history, proximity of cultures and mentality, geographical proximity significantly contribute to the development of cooperative and integration processes.

Questions for self-examination

What is the HDI and how is it calculated?

What is the structure of expenses of the consolidated budget of Russia, what does it indicate?

Which common features characteristic of the states of the post-Soviet space?

Rank the countries studied by the level of GDP per capita, what conclusions can be drawn from the results obtained?

Which states of the considered region are best integrated into the world economy? Why?

POST-SOVIET SPACE: SOVEREIGNIZATION AND INTEGRATION. ETHNOSOCIOLOGICAL ESSAYS- (Moscow, 1997) work by Zh.T. Toshchenko devoted to the sociological analysis of ethnopolitical problems as the epicenter of public life. The events of the last decade in this area have reached a dramatic scale, expressed in the military, political ... ... Sociology: Encyclopedia

Space is a concept used (directly or in phrases) in everyday speech, as well as in various sections of knowledge. Space at the level of everyday perception Mathematics Three-dimensional space Banach's affine space ... ... Wikipedia

Common Economic Space ... Wikipedia

History of Russia ... Wikipedia

"bUSSR" redirects here. For the term BSSR, see Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. The post-Soviet space, also known as the republics of the former USSR, the CIS and Baltic countries, or the new independent states, is ... ... Wikipedia

The population of the USSR, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Contents 1 Background 2 Number 3 Goskomstat data ... Wikipedia

Books

Post-Soviet space. Alternatives to Integration, E. I. Pivovar. The monograph is devoted to one of the most interesting and urgent problems of the development of the post-Soviet space - the integration of countries that were previously part of the USSR as union republics. ...
Post-Soviet space. Integration Strategies and New Challenges of Globalization, Bykov Alexander Naumovich. The monograph examines the difficult process of forming an integrated community within the framework of the CIS and the role of Russia in its development and failures along the way, overcoming disintegration…

A foreign citizen who makes a short tour of the cities of the countries of the former Soviet Union will almost immediately be able to identify something in common in them. And this feature is familiar to each of us: this is a typical development of quarters "Khrushchev", in some places the preserved Lenin streets and an indispensable city administration with large area downtown. Officials perform on it on holidays and festivities are held with balls and fireworks.

However, the city is not only streets, houses and squares. Modern city- it is also its inhabitants, and its own unique culture. The latter, by the way, in many respects in the countries of the former USSR is similar in terms of participation, or rather non-participation of citizens in the life of the city. Why is it that people are not interested in managing the place where they live? Why does someone strive to put a fence around their multi-storey building, while businessmen are eager to become deputies of city meetings?

These questions were discussed at the International Congress of Architects in Astana by the Russian urbanist, social engineer and philosopher Svyatoslav Murunov. the site gives the main theses of his speech at the round table "Synthesizing values".

Three city layers

Svyatoslav Murunov used the term "model" to describe the scheme of the city. And by the scheme, we mean not a map of streets and driveways, but a scheme as a connection between the elements of the city, where its parts are marked: residents, material things and culture. They make up layers, of which there are three in the post-Soviet city model:

The first one is physical space, that is, everything that was created by nature or man: landscape, climate, infrastructure and buildings.
The second one is social layer, social systems and activities different people who live in the city and do something.
The third one is intangible space cities, so-called cultural codes and urban culture, the experience that the city accumulates and fixes in the form of language, names and events.

Within the framework of this model, the problem of the post-Soviet approach to urban planning is noticeable. According to Svyatoslav Murunov, most often the participants in the dialogue on urban development discuss the physical space: "what will we build." They rarely discuss "for whom we will build." At the same time, city residents are considered as a kind of whole - without division into social groups. And almost never discuss the culture of the city and the impact of urban plans on it.

Four urban mindsets

The urban population itself is also heterogeneous. The whole mass of inhabitants can, depending on the criterion, be divided into different groups, for example, according to well-being - into the poor and the prosperous. If we draw a dividing line on the worldview and perception of the city as a system, then, according to Murunov, four types of people can be distinguished here:

Peasant worldview
factory outlook
Soviet worldview
Modern outlook.

The first type - peasant worldview - remains basic for a large number of post-Soviet cities. At the same time, the bearers of such a worldview are usually not interested in city management.

As an example of the peasant way of life, Svyatoslav Murunov cited the arrangement of the territory around apartment buildings. Around them, you can still find flowerbeds or beds, which are looked after by the inhabitants of the same houses. You can also find summer residents who plant seedlings on balconies.

Another example - a large number of fences and various fences in the yards. Murunov notes that a "peasant" sets boundaries to mark his property or territory. In this case, the script "my site", "my house", "our village" turns on in people's heads, so it is surrounded by barriers or high fences.

In the spring of 2017, the Almaty akimat decided to demolish the fences that take away space from the citizens / Photo by the press service of the akim of Almaty

The second type of worldview is also one of the most common - factory. This approach is typical for single-industry towns and industrial cities, where a lot is connected with industrial enterprises.

The picture of the world of such a person, according to Svyatoslav Murunov, is arranged as a scheme. A person places himself on this diagram in one of the squares. But he did not choose this place himself, but chose it for him: his parents or at school said. Therefore, such a person sees his task in simply working.

Because of this, the “factory man” is characterized by “functioning”. It doesn't matter what to do, the main thing is to do it. The history of management in the post-Soviet countries often shows that the factory worldview was the prevailing one: there was continuous activity for the sake of activity. Such a person also does not really think about the city. He considers himself and those around him not as residents of the city, but as a kind of resource for his work. And he says: "We must, we must..."

The third type of worldview - Soviet. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has not disappeared anywhere and shows itself in places. A prime example it could be city holidays. And now their scheme has not changed: central square a stage is set up in front of the city administration. Children's groups perform, followed by officials giving festive speeches, then musical groups perform, everything ends with a salute.

Tram stop in Pavlodar / Photo site

Wu" Soviet man"There is also no position of a city dweller. The fact is that in the USSR he was immediately a citizen. According to Svyatoslav Murunov, with the help of various ideological tools, he instilled love for the whole country or party. He might not know the location of the street in his city, but know where Kamchatka or the Caspian Sea is.

This thinking has given rise to two phenomena. The first is global thinking: it’s easier to think about what happened in Syria or somewhere else abroad than to think about why the entrance looks bad and smells strange in there. The phenomenon of "local globalism" is connected with this. IN post-Soviet country state or regional projects often begin with numbers. For example, 10 football pitches. They decide to build more than one site, but a good one, namely 10 sites, and already this year. Or they decide to lay a few kilometers of roads or build so many square meters of housing. Quantity prevails over quality.

Playground / Photo of Almaty akimat

The second phenomenon is a simple but effective control scheme called "Hero". These are different personalized stories that should be examples for others. The manifestation of this is seen when there are still no working institutions in activism or entrepreneurship, but there are strong personalities. "There is a person - there is a project, no person - there is no project." Used the hero model to more plain language show people how they should act: "Do like Chapaev, do like Gagarin."

The new generation of citizens is characterized by the fourth worldview - contemporary. This is the mindset of choice. Now people have more possibilities to choose their own profession, city for life, goods for purchase, social roles. This is also manifested in urban planning: 10 years ago, no one discussed the topics of identity and meanings in cities. Everyone thought about which foreign architect to call to design new neighborhood or an object.

According to Svyatoslav Murunov, the language of names shows the cultural environment in which the city lives. It can also speak of changes in society itself.

For example, in the 1990s and 2000s, global names appeared in large numbers in post-Soviet cities: "Empire of Glasses", "World of Wallpapers", "Universe of Toilets". At that moment, Soviet thinking, with its inherent globalism, touched on toponymy.

Following was the copying of the European style with the prefixes "luxury", "mega", "nano", "euro" or "super". And only now, young entrepreneurs who open establishments in our time are returning to simpler names, such as "Hearth", "Heat" or "Sunset".

Three social systems

One of the important layers in the city model is social systems. These are the groups of residents that can be united by common occupations.

The first major group is administration cities. In the post-Soviet space, this concept is very different from European municipalities. These are not managers that the city community hired to work, but people who saved cities from collapse in the 1990s. The officials of those years are anti-crisis managers who actually did not allow big catastrophes. The Soviet school of management helped with its principle of "die, but do it." Due to the human resource, the system worked.

However, now city administrations are in crisis. There are two important problems they need to solve. The first is control, a function best handled by the administration. But now everything appears more people uncontrollable: businessmen, creative class, activists, tourists. What to do with them?

The second problem is how to make money? Previously, administrations replenished their budget quite simply. The main work was to beg from a higher entity for resources, subsidies and funding. The domestic economy was built on the sale of land to businesses.

Akimat of Pavlodar region / Photo from wikipedia.org

However, now the situation is changing. To get money from the "center", you need to show quality development - interesting and important projects, and not kilometers of roads or square meters of housing introduced.

The second group - entrepreneurs. Private entrepreneurship in the countries of the former USSR has been developing for just over a quarter of a century. It differs from the European one, for example, in that entrepreneurs started their business on fear. At that time, it was not clear what to do: in Soviet times, one could get a prison term for entrepreneurship, but then a window of opportunity opened up. But everyone was afraid that this window would close, so they did everything very quickly.

From here a business model arose: to buy something somewhere and bring it in order to sell it. Instead of creating, copying and making quickly. However, Svyatoslav Murunov emphasized that by copying the best world practices, entrepreneurs in the local market were killing the technology and analysis market. On the example of urban planning, it looked like this: each time, customers demanded that master plans be prepared easier and faster. As a result, it turned into a printing press of documents that are not related to reality and are absolutely inapplicable.

Another problem is that the business received the cities relatively quickly. An analysis of the composition of city dumas in Russia showed that about 90% of the deputies in them are connected in one way or another with business. These are either entrepreneurs themselves or their creatures. So the business could somehow control the situation and manage their risks when working on their investment projects.

However, now there is a trend towards the withdrawal of business from politics. Now he wants to play a new role in the cities and unites in unions, associations and foundations to realize his ideas. Entrepreneurs come to experts with questions of urban development: how to solve the problem of the outflow of young people or how to launch a new economy in the city?

Another large group is creative class, people who are trying to work for themselves and at the same time with their heads - in creativity, science, education. They rarely settle for permanent job, they live by project logic - from project to project. Their driving force is self-development.

According to Svyatoslav Murunov, this is a group that lives in its own world: they have their own lofts, coworking spaces, coffee houses, workshops, and studios. They were able to existing city"grow" new town and use it.

At the same time, the creative class has its own important questions for it. For example, he sees public spaces differently. He looks at parks not as a place where people walk, but as an economic space. Such a person thinks: who can I meet while walking in the park, and what project can I join? The creative class needs economic public spaces and, moreover, wants to participate in their creation.

Another topic is modern education. The creative class, in fact, earns not thanks to the education system, but in spite of it. Someone left the first year of a boring university, and someone, while studying at a university, went to practice or work in an existing company for real skills. Such people in post-Soviet cities have already created their own education system: they organize TEDx, PechaKucha, hackathons, lectures and workshops, trying to educate themselves. And this can be seen from the festivals that activists make. They are always permeated with education.