Content №3 от 2001
The economy of Russia's eastern enclave: stance and prospects
The assessments of the present economic and social standing of the Sakhalin oblast, a subject of the Federation that is an enclave in the extreme east of Russia characterize it as a problem region. The prospects of its growth depend largely on the hydrocarbon potential of the Sakhalin island shelf, competitive demand of the geographically adjacent nations for oil and gas and by the presence of a mechanism for attraction of investments (concession in the use of nature) for their development. The initial projects on the development of the shelf deposits have already begun to materialize. The economic development of the enclave will be also determined by the transit role of the Sakhalin island on the way from Japan to the countries of East Asia and Europe after the construction of tunnels (bridge crossing) the Hokkaido island - Sakhalin island and Sakhalin island - the mainland. In the long-run, after the year 2010 all this will permit to make the Sakhalin oblast a type of programmatically developing region with improved living standards and efficient economy.
