Regional Hierarchy under Threat: A Spatial Dimension of the Socio-Economic Crisis in the Former Soviet Union and Russia

Abstract

Any transition to a market economy in the former Soviet Union must take into account the legacy from central planning. Part of this legacy is a socio-economic spatial arrangement not at all compatible with a market economy, an arrangement not easily changed, and one that will affect the outcome of the transition for many decades. Using Western approaches in Russia or the other republics will have very different consequences than they have had in the West. To demonstrate this point, the spatial aspects of three socio-economic processes—urbanization, migration, and privatization—are considered. Some special problems of the current situation and of future development of spatial hierarchies in the former republics are also discussed.