Geostrategic Territories of the Far East: A New Theoretical Approach as a Response to “Great Challenges” for Society, State and Science

This article proposes a new approach to the typology of geostrategic territories of the Russian Far East according to the degree of their vulnerability to the most significant economic challenges. From this point of view, the sectoral structure of the gross regional product of the regions mentioned above in 2012–2022 becomes an object of the study. Using the Herfindahl-Hirschman index, the extent of diversification of the regional economy is determined. It was shown that regions of the Far East characterized by a low level of diversification have a high level of gross regional product (GRP) per capita. At the same time, the regions that lag behind in this regard have a fairly balanced structure of GRP. Thus, it was concluded that Far Eastern geostrategic territories should be divided into two groups. The first subgroup should include territories for which the primary task is to increase the gross regional product per capita to the average Russian level. The second one should comprise regions with the insufficient degree of economic diversification. The effectiveness of key economic instruments aimed at the solution of the problem mentioned above was assessed, i.e. the main preferential regimes of doing business. Based on the analysis of statistics of the Federal Service for State Statistics, a conclusion was made about the insufficient effectiveness of these preferential regimes and the need for their further improvement.