Where is the geographic location. Features of the geographical position of Russia

5.1. Definition of rp

Geographic location is one of the few deeply developed categories of economic and social geography of its own. Baransky pointed out that

"geographical position is of the greatest methodological significance. The place occupied by any area, be it a country, district, city, etc., in the system of the geographical division of labor is largely determined by the geographical position" [Baransky, 1980, p. 157].

In the context of globalization, the theory of geographical location acquires the status of an interdisciplinary theory due to the fact that it allows you to see the world in all its diversity, determined by many regional, country and local features.

The socio-economic space is heterogeneous. Objects spatially do not match the conditions necessary for their existence in the system. Properties of socio-economic space that reflect spatial discrepancy between the studied object and the necessary conditions for its existence(functioning and development) can be defined as the geographical location of the object.

"Attitude" - the basis of geographical location

other economic value. Later we turn to the refinement of the concept of EGP.

The main idea of ​​geographical location as a concept lies in the disclosure territorial relations:

AT physical-geographical position is the relationship: 1) in the geographic coordinate grid, i.e. in geodesic space, which uses the concepts of orthodromy - the shortest distance on the geoid between two points, and loxodromy - the shortest path crossing the meridians at a constant angle; 2) in real physical and geographical space with its natural zones, regions, orography, distribution of land and sea, etc.

AT economic and geographical position is the relationship to economically significant objects.

AT socio-geographical position - to socially significant objects.

AT political and geographical position - to political givens (within the countries it is determined, for example, by the territorial section of the alignment of political forces, and on the world stage - by the centers of action of international political forces). In methodological terms, this means fixing and predicting the action of "force fields" of a different nature: military, international political, world economic (geo-economic), environmental and cultural.

AT ecological-geographical position - to ecologically significant objects, in particular, to countries and regions that determine the ecological situation, or to countries and regions, the ecological state of which can be influenced by a given country.

So, N. N. Klyuev identified five groups of features that reflect the ecologically important properties of space for assessing the ecological and geographical position of the country: 1) environmental (meaning the natural role of this territory in the functioning of the Earth) functions of the country, region in the global geosystem ( in the biosphere): 2) sustainability of the natural environment of the country, region, its vulnerability to anthropogenic impacts; 3) spatial distribution in the country, region of the recipients of the impact - the population, material and cultural values, valuable natural landscapes; 4) sources of environmental hazard, external in relation to the given country, region; 5) natural and anthropogenic "channels" and "barriers" for the spread of environmental hazards [Klyuev, 1996].

To clarify the concept of GP, it is necessary to emphasize the essential distinction between geographic location and location. To characterize the first is to answer the question: in relation to what! The location of the object has a different meaning, which is to answer the questions: where and what it is a part of! Thus, location reveals localization or ownership, while position reflects the relationships in the system.

The characteristic of the location means, first of all, the answer to the question where the object is located. Ratzel defined geographical location as his belonging. This is actually a definition not of a geographical location, but of a location. Belonging does not characterize the geographical location of the object, since it does not reveal its external relations. The distinction between these concepts is important from a methodological point of view.

So, When studying GP, it is necessary to determine exactly which objects are outside and which are inside. The amount of extraneous data depends both on objective conditions, for example, mosaicity, diversity of the environment, and on the degree of fragmentation of the study of GP.

In other words, geographic location is characterized by the relationship of an object with its external environment.

An object can have a variety of relationships with elements of the external environment. It can be both highly significant and non-essential relationships. The task of the researcher is to introduce a criterion of significance and highlight the significant ones. In real (i.e., already implemented relations) - this will be repeatedly (cyclically, periodically) repeating relations. Thus, when studying the GP, the main attention is drawn to the system of essential and recurring relations, based on a deep knowledge of the object whose GP is being studied. GP is a multicomponent concept, and the way to study it, therefore, lies primarily through the analysis of its components. Before dismemberment and deep analysis, it is illegal to use such concepts as "convenient", "advantageous" position.

When studying the GP, one has to start from the results of the influence of the GP on the development of a given object, i.e. from the analysis of connections, although the GP is by no means the connections themselves, but their prerequisite.

Another difficulty stems from the fact that the links (economic and non-economic) of an object are affected by more than one GP. Eliminating the influence of other factors and isolating the influence of HP on the object is one of the methodological problems that are difficult to solve.

When analyzing relationships, the problem is that the researcher "weighs" real and potential relationships. Real relations are revealed empirically. Among the potential ones, those that can be realized (really possible connections) are distinguished. But the researcher must go further and establish theoretically possible connections. Thus, when analyzing GPs, relations cannot be understood only as actual economic and other ties. A complete and comprehensive study of GP means taking into account real, potential and theoretically possible connections.

At the same time, the approaches also depend on the problem statement, i.e. on what specific issues are being addressed. In solving practical problems, it is hardly expedient to digress excessively from specific geographical, economic, political and social conditions.

(GP) - the position of a geographical object relative to the surface of the Earth, in relation to other geographical objects with which it is in interaction. The physical position is distinguished - the position in relation to the prime meridian, continents, oceans and. Economic-geographical - position in relation to the main regions and centers of the economy, world routes and - this is an assessment of the place of a country or region on, their position in relation to various states, military and economic unions, to various regional conflicts.

Geographical position of Russia

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world by area. Its area is 17.1 million km2. In terms of area, it is comparable to the whole mainland - (17.4 million km2). located in three hemispheres - the northern, most in the eastern and only the extreme eastern points in the western, in the northeast of the mainland. It is washed by the waters of three oceans: in the north -, in the east -. In the west and southwest it has access to the seas. The extreme northern point of the country is Cape Fligeli on about. Rudolf, on the mainland Cape Chelyuskin. South - Mount Bazardyuzyu (in Dagestan). The extreme western one is Cape Sandy Spit near the city, and the eastern one is in the western hemisphere on about. Ratmanov in the strait, mainland Cape Dezhnev.

The distance between the northern and southern points is more than 4 thousand km, and between the western and eastern points is about 10 thousand km. Thus, most of Russia is located in latitudes, although the northern part of the country is in the harsh Arctic, and a small section of the coast is in subtropical latitudes. The geographical position of our country determines the significant severity of natural conditions: it is distributed over more than 64% of the country's territory.

The total length of the borders is almost 60 thousand km, of which 14.5 are land and 44.5 are sea. In the west, Russia borders on Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,. In the southwest - with; in the south - with and, and; in the east, maritime borders with and . In the north, the Russian sector stands out, the boundaries of which are drawn along the meridians of Ratmanov Island and the northern point of the border with Norway to the north pole.

After the collapse of the USSR, the geopolitical position of Russia changed significantly.

Along the entire perimeter of the land borders of Russia, sovereign states have formed from among the former Soviet republics, and the borders with them in most cases are not properly equipped. The USSR existed in a bipolar world, in the conditions of confrontation between two economic and military blocs -

concept "geographical position"(GP) is the key to the entire system of geographical sciences. Actually, geography was born as a science of methods for determining and fixing the location of objects on the earth's surface relative to each other or in a certain coordinate system. Later it turned out that determining the location of an object not only helps to find it (for example, to a navigator), but also to explain some of the properties of this object and even predict its development. The most important element of geographical research is the establishment and analysis of links between objects located in space, determined precisely by their location. The ability to characterize in all essential respects the position of the object under study is necessary for a geographer-researcher. GP is usually interpreted as the position of any point or area of ​​the earth's surface in relation to territories or objects located outside this point or area. GP is considered as a kind of external condition for the existence, functioning and development of objects, a characteristic of a given object, expressing its relationship to any geographical objects outside it.

Often the term "position" is understood as the internal state of the object (by analogy with the international position, economic position, etc.). But HP is always an attitude to external circumstances. And this is a position in two-dimensional space, because it is determined on the basis of a geographical map. On it, all objects are represented either as points (as if having no dimension on a given scale), or linear, having only one dimension, or areal (areal) - with two dimensions. On a small-scale map, a city is a point object, a river or a railway is a linear object. Therefore, we can talk about the position of the object relative to points, lines and areas.

The concept of "geographical location" was used in the 19th century, its meaning was analyzed in general terms and on specific examples in the works of K. Marx and F. Engels, among geographers - by F. Ratzel. The GP category was proposed in the USSR at the turn of the 20-30s of the 20th century. I. Alkin and later developed in detail by N.N. Baransky, I.M. Maergoiz and a number of other authors. N.N. Baransky, highlighting the essence of the GP, emphasized that the position is the relationship of a given point or area to some geographical data taken outside this point or area. THEM. Maergois wrote that the question is not so much where there is an object (it goes without saying), how much in that, how it lies relative to what is beyond it. These ideas have enduring value many years after they were expressed.

Through the system of relations of a given object (areal) with other objects (areas), the GP substantively reveals the individual features and properties of any territory. It determines many of the most important features of countries, regions, cities, highlights the properties of their originality and individuality.

In its most formalized form, geographic location is the position of objects recorded on a map in a two-dimensional space of the earth's surface. In physical geography, less often in economic geography, the third dimension is also estimated - absolute or relative height. On the map, all objects are depicted as point, linear (with off-scale conventional signs) or areal (contour, occupying a certain area). In fact, of course, both point and line objects on a small-scale map (settlement, multi-lane highway) occupy areas, but with an appropriate scale of study, this circumstance can be neglected. Then the following options for the mutual arrangement of these categories of objects are possible:

• a) a point relative to another point: Moscow relative to St. Petersburg;
• b) point relative to the line (and vice versa): Saratov on the Volga;
• c) a point relative to the area - the capital in the state;
• d) line relative to the line: BAM route relative to the Great Siberian Railway;
• e) line within the range: the Yana River in the northeast of Yakutia;
• f) area relative to another area: the Republic of Mordovia and Chuvashia.

Other position options are also possible:

• 1. Point on the line or outside it: Tver on the Moscow-St. Petersburg railway, Nvgorod - outside it.
• 2. A point within the range, on its border, outside it: Naryan-Mar is located in the tundra zone, Kudymkar is outside it; Brest is located on the border of Belarus and Poland, another Brest is on the French coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
• 3. The lines are located in isolation from each other, like the Pechora and the Northern Dvina, or intersect, like the BAM with the Lena River.
• 4. The line is completely within the range (like the Yana River) or partially (the Lena River) in Yakutia, or entirely outside the range (for example, the Dudinka-Norilsk railway has no connection with the country's railway network).
• 5. The ranges are adjacent (Mordovia and Chuvashia) or remote from each other (Mordovia and Tatarstan).

To determine the relative position of objects, indicate the distance between them and the direction (north, southeast). To determine the position of a point, line, smaller

range as part of a larger one, the following terms are used: central, deep, peripheral, marginal, border position. The position of the capital of Brazil was chosen as close to the central one in the country; the position of the city of Rio Grande (in the south) is close to the border; The city of Fortaleza (in the northeast) has a peripheral position, and the city of Manaus (in the Amazon) has a deep position. Some territories, even states, in their names carry an indication of a marginal position (Ukraine, Krayna in the former Yugoslavia).

Investigating the GP, it is necessary to determine the main thing both in its essence and in its impact on the most important aspects of the development of the territory.

And first of all, it is necessary to identify and understand its most characteristic features.

First, GP - it is a complex system of concepts, including:

• a) mathematical and geographical location(position in the system of geographical coordinates);
• b) physical and geographical location(position relative to natural objects that affect the nature of a given place - seas, rivers, forests, natural zones, etc.; while the object itself can be both within the range and outside it);
• in) economic and geographical position(EGP) - provision: 1) regarding the elements of social production;
• 2) in relation to the district, region, country; EGP is one of the most important factors determining the location, nature, and dynamics of the development of productive forces;
• G) political and geographical position(position on the political map - relative to the centers and areas of concentration of social, class and political forces);
• e) military geographical position(the position of any point or any area relative to the centers and countries of military power or creating the danger of military conflicts, as well as in relation to the territories of various military blocs);
• e) geopolitical position: closely related to the two above-mentioned types of GP, it reflects the position regarding the "centers of power", centers of economic and military power, various political, economic and military alliances, religious associations;
• g) ecological and geographical position(the position of a particular territory relative to regions of ecologically unfavorable or even ecological disasters, relative to the movement of air masses and other flows that carry massive amounts of pollution;
• h) cultural and geographic location- regarding the most important centers and regions for the development of spiritual culture, cultural and geographical formations of different territorial rank and significance.

Each of the named types of HP is a multifaceted, synthetic phenomenon, and therefore it is necessary to analyze not only these types “individually”, but especially their combinations in complex interaction and “interweaving” of various sides of HP. So, in the EGP system, the transport-geographical, industrial-geographical, demogeographical, market (or marketing-geographical) position and its other components are distinguished, and each of them, in turn, also has a certain structure.

A particularly important role is played by the transport and geographical position, the quality of which is determined by the following circumstances: 1) the economic potential of neighboring territories; 2) the density of economic development of the environment;

3) the presence (quantity and quality) of direct transport access to neighbors, their frequency.

Second, GP - historical category. It should be borne in mind that if the physical and geographical position changes relatively slowly, with the development of the geographical environment, as well as as a result of human activity, then all other types of HP are very dynamic, changeable and their significance (and the consequences of influence) in various historical conditions ambiguously.

N.N. Baransky gives an example of characterizing the historical variability of the US GP. Their germ was the English colonies located on the east coast of North America between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains. Everything that lay to the west of these colonies was not known to the Europeans, and when the English kings gave some lord or some joint-stock company a piece of the coast, they called only the southern and northern borders along the parallels, and to the west it became possible to go , anywhere. Thus, these colonies were "at the end of the world." Subsequently, the areas lying to the west of the Appalachians were explored, settled and generally mastered, and from the position "at the end of the world" the position "between two oceans" was created. That's how dramatically the situation in the US has changed. Ya.G. Mashbitz, considering the example of the Ancient

Russia, emphasizes that the Tatar-Mongol yoke, feudal disunity and the shift of the center of gravity of world development to Western Europe largely negated the exceptional favorable geographical position of Ancient Russia. Medieval Russia found itself on the periphery of European socio-economic development.

Thirdly, GP has a potential character. Certain favorable aspects of the GP are far from being realized in all cases. Only with a combination of relevant factors of the historical and socio-economic development of a given territory (country), these favorable aspects are realized. Thus, it is known that many features of the development of Japan are due to its oceanic position. But this GP could be realized only thanks to the buildup of Japan's industrial and financial potential.

Fourthly, as a geographical category, GP has a certain mechanism of influence, the study of which requires a transition from “simple”, qualitative, subjective characteristics to quantitative assessments. Noting the need for a theoretical deepening of understanding of the EGP, I.M. Maergois emphasized that the EGP is always concrete and to some extent contradictory, that it is necessary to analyze the probabilistic nature of the GP, the distance factor (the study of the distance, or distance, between geographical objects as one of the properties of space), as well as the interaction of objects, their specific subordination.

In this regard, it is important to distinguish between macro-, meso- and micropositions. The first of these corresponds to a more or less extensive territory; mesoposition - a line that cuts it in important directions, and microposition - a point on this line. These types of GPs interact with each other, but their reflection on the development of certain objects can be very different. In rare cases, they are all equally favorable. It is believed that cities with outstanding macro- and meso-locations, located in foci of connections that hold together large territories, in the centers of rapidly developing industrial and agricultural areas... at the points of contact of various zones, differences in economic potentials, in support nodes areas of new development.

For St. Petersburg, for example, the macro location is described as being in the North-West of the European part of the Russian

Federation, near the border with Finland, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland; mesolocation - approximately in the center of the Leningrad region, at the mouth of the Neva; microlocation - on the islands of the Neva delta and adjacent territories. By analogy, it is possible to determine the rank of the position of an object within an urban area by detailing it. Red Square is located in Moscow near the walls of the Kremlin (microlocation), in the city center - within the Garden Ring (mesolocation).

For some objects, the most important is the micro-, for others, the meso- or macro-position. For example, the size of the differential rent in agriculture is very sensitive to the micro- and meso-location of the site. The same can be said about the position of the store, consumer service point in the city in relation to public transport stops and transfer points. When deciding on the development of fuel and energy and metallurgical bases, an assessment of the macro situation comes to the fore.

Fifth, the GP has close links with the configuration of the territory and its boundaries. which has a great influence on many aspects of the development of a given territory (country) as a whole and its individual parts. Thus, the configuration of the territory of Russia had a great impact on its historical and geographical development. The latitudinal extent of the vast territory of Russia in Eastern Europe and Asia is combined with its continentality and depth. This is the reason for the remoteness of most of the territories from sea coasts and borders. These factors hampered the economic development of the territories east of the Urals, the external economic relations of most regions of Russia.

Plays a big role border position regions of the country, the relationship between their configuration and the borders of the country. So, in modern Russia, this often creates complex problems for them (border regions) (for example, ethnic conflicts, an influx of refugees, the impact of socio-political tensions in neighboring states, etc.).

) and determines its relationship with the external environment. Usually reflects the geospatial relationship of a particular object to the environment, the elements of which have or may have a significant impact on it. In public geography, location is usually defined in two-dimensional space (displayed on a map). In physical geography, the third change is certainly taken into account - the absolute or relative height of the location of objects.

concept geographical position is the key to the entire system of geographical sciences. Actually, geography was born as a science of methods for determining and fixing the location of objects on the earth's surface relative to each other or in a certain coordinate system. Later it turned out that determining the location of an object not only helps to find it ... but also explains some of the properties of this object and even predicts its development. The most important element of geographical research is the establishment and analysis of relationships between objects located in space, determined precisely by their location.

Thus the geographical position :

• is an individualizing factor, since it determines many properties of a geographical object;
• is historical in nature, as it changes over time;
• has a potential character, since the position alone is not a sufficient condition for the corresponding development of the object;
• has close ties with the configuration of the territory and its boundaries.

There are the following types of geographic location:

• mathematical and geographical (geodesic, astronomical, "absolute")
• physical and geographical;
• political and geographical;
• geopolitical;
• military geographical;
• ecological and geographical;
• cultural and geographical;

other.

By scale they distinguish:

• macro position
• mesolocation
• microposition

According to the coordinate system, they distinguish:

• absolute (geodesic, astronomical);
• relative;
  • math ("3 miles north of Seattle");
  • functional (economic-geographical, physical-geographical, etc.).

In an extended interpretation, the geographical location may also include the ratio of the areal object as a whole (area, district, territory) to the data underlying inside him (to the elements of the internal environment). Such a geographical location may be referred to, for example, " introspective"(from lat. introspectus, intro- inside + spicere- look). For example, when assessing the role of internal border regions in the priority of foreign policy directions, when assessing the geocriminogenic position of the territory, when analyzing the transport and geographical position, when studying the changing area in relation to stations of experience, the linguistic area in relation to the dialect center, etc. Such the approach allows to resolve the collision with the determination of the mutual geographical position of intersecting objects.

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Historical outline

The concept of "geographical location" has been known since the end of the 18th century, when the paradigm of geographical determinism dominated. Ideas about the conditionality of the life of people and society by the geographical environment were put forward by ancient thinkers, such as Democritus, Herodotus, Strabo, etc. The sources of geographical information during this period were descriptions of individual countries and peoples, characteristics of inhabited and remote lands. For the purposes of navigation and trade, special descriptions of the seas, ports, trade centers were compiled, in which there was information about the features of the geographical position of the country through which the trade route passed. Historical geographer V. K. Yatsunsky believed that the work of the Italian scientist Ludovico Guicciardini “Description of the Netherlands”, which was published in 1567, was the first in the history of economic and geographical work, where the first part of the book analyzes the geographical position of the country and assessment of the role of the sea. In 1650, in the same Netherlands, the work of Varenius (Varenius) "General Geography" was published, which is considered the first theoretical work on geography. S. P. Krasheninnikov in his Description of the Land of Kamchatka (1756) gave a detailed description of its geographical position. The search for regularities in the spatial distribution of settlements and the creation of models of urban geography began in the first half of the 20th century. One of the first scientists who approached the creation of models of urban geography was

Geographical position is a characteristic geographical feature and is a description of it positions on the earth's surface and in relation to other geographic features with which he interacts in one way or another. Any geographic feature has its geographic location. That is, the geographical location can be described for a country, region, natural complex, mainland, park, etc.

Every country has borders with other countries. The number of neighboring countries, the length of borders with them, the type of border (land, sea, river) are an important component of describing the geographical position of the country. In addition, not only directly bordering neighboring countries are considered, but also countries located through one or more states. Therefore, neighbors of the 1st order, 2nd order, 3rd order are distinguished.

For example, Russia directly borders on 16 states. The longest border we have with Kazakhstan. Next come China, Mongolia, Ukraine, Finland, Belarus and others. With Japan and the United States, Russia has only maritime borders.

The more neighbors a country has, the better it is for its development, since this allows for the establishment of various socio-economic ties.

Geographic location is a rather capacious characteristic. Therefore, there are different types of geographical location. In each form, emphasis is given to a specific feature.

Physical location describes the position of the country relative to natural objects (continents, oceans, mountains, etc.). So, for example, Russia is located on the territory of Eurasia, has access to the oceans.

Economic and geographical position describes economic ties with other countries, evaluates their level and development prospects.

Geopolitical position is an assessment of relations with other countries, mainly security. The description of the geopolitical position answers the question whether relations with other countries are friendly or hostile.

Transport and geographical position describes the features of transport links with other countries, as well as within the country.

Ecological and geographical position countries determines the environmental hazard and its level from neighboring countries. So, for example, harmful emissions from industries in some countries can enter the territory of other countries.

When describing a certain type of geographical location, another can also be partially described, since they can influence each other. For example, the physical-geographical position directly influences the economic-geographical one. Therefore, when describing the economic-geographical position, the physical-geographical one is also partially described.

The assessment of a number of types of geographical position of countries is not constant. Countries change and develop. Consequently, their geographical position is changing.