B.N. Zimin and Russian Socio-Economic Geography: to the 90th Anniversary of the Birth

Abstract

In the works of B.N. Zimin laid the basic principles and approaches to geo-graphical world economic analysis. One of the key ones is the complementarity of sectoral and territorial approaches. He identified the key patterns of industry placement in a mature market environment, the influence of integration processes on shifts in industry placement. He considered European integration as a periodic, cyclical phenomenon and as a process having rational dimensions and finite values of functioning efficiency. Based on clearly formulated criteria (GDP volume, excess of GNP over domestic demand by more than 1/3, narrow sectoral structure of the economy focused primarily on foreign markets, increased share of non-domestic production), B.N. Zimin developed the theory of “Small countries”. From his work on the geography of the “black market” grew a fullfledged direction of economic and geographical research. Assessing the prospects of post-socialist transformation of the Russian economy Zimin proved that it will not take place in an autarkic way, but in the context of reintegration in world economic system and will be determined by the situation in world markets in the global economy.