Regional Economic Security: Some Theoretical Issues and Specifics of External Threats for the Russian Northwest

Abstract

Currently, the organization of an economic war against Russia is becoming a key element of European policy. The Baltic region is teetering on the brink of open conflict, and the West's actions are aimed at undermining Russian sovereignty in the region without a direct military clash. The purpose of the research in this article is to analyze the nature of the risks of confrontation in non-military, i. e. non-classical economic security formats. Geographically, the object of research partly belongs to the eastern part of the Baltic Sea, partly to the Baltic - tending part of the Northwestern Federal District - St. Petersburg, Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions, the Republic of Karelia.The research methodology is based on the scientific approaches of integrated regional studies combined with the approaches of researchers in the field of regional economics. The authors consider the Baltic region as a zone of increased confrontation between Russia and the collective West (NATO - EU) in the context of the concepts of the “gray zone” - a space where traditional military threats are combined with hybrid methods of warfare. The key factors of the escalation of tension in the region are analyzed, and key attention is paid not to militarization in the narrow sense, but to the economic aspects of regional security. Some theoretical issues and the nature of threats in the Baltic Sea region are considered. Based on the analysis, the authors point out that significant risks remain for the eastern part of the Baltic Sea, the role of which will nevertheless decrease in favor of both studied and new economic security risks.