The Russian Far East: contemporary problems and prospects of a region at the border with China

Abstract

This article gives a short overview of the population dynamics in the Russian Far East, and of the recent efforts of the Russian government to make the region more attractive for internal and external migrants and capital flows. This paper will also evaluate the role of China, a country sharing more than 3500 kilometres of border with the Far Eastern Federal District, in the region's economy. To unfold the potential of the region, further efforts should be made to invest into the industrial infrastructure, but also into the development of social infrastructure. The latter, together with information on implementation of Target Federal Programmes in mass-media, should create positive stimuli for migration inflows. Higher transparency of legislation related to migration and investment may create pre-requisites for attracting more Chinese (seasonal) manpower and financial resources, without aggravating sovereignity concerns of local population and politicians.