GEOGRAPHICAL CONTENT OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS REGULATING THE MODERN MARITIME POLICY OF RUSSIA

Abstract

The article aims to identify and analyze the geographic content of official documents that regulate regional priorities of Russia's foreign maritime policy. For this purpose, the author has analyzed all versions of the ‘Maritime Doctrine o f the Russian Federation’, ‘Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea’, ‘Strategy for the Development of Maritime Activities of the Russian Federation until 2030’, ‘Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation’, ‘Military Doctrine of the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation’, and the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation ‘On the Military-Administrative Division of the Russian Federation’. On this basis, the argumentation behind Russia's status as a ‘maritime power’ and ‘world power’ is considered, and the national interests of Russia implemented within the framework of Russia's maritime policy at several territorial levels are highlighted: at the global level – vital areas, important areas, other areas; at the macroregional level – the Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic (Baltic, Azov-Black-Sea, Mediterranean), Caspian, Indian-Ocean, and Antarctic directions of the maritime national policy; at the regional level – regional unions of countries (ASEAN, APEC, member states of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, and member states of the Antarctic Treaty system); at the national level – India, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria; at the local level – Russian seaports, foreign permanent logistics support bases of the Russian Navy. A comparative geographical analysis of the documents’ evolution showed a rapid ‘geographization’ of their content. This is due to a change in the geopolitical vector of the country's development under the influence of the increasing conflict in Russia's relations with the countries of the collective West and, as a result, the emergence of a need for geographical knowledge that would help solve the problems encountered by Russia in both foreign policy and international trade. The potential nature of the regional priorities declared in the documents is noted and substantiated.