Geopolitical Constructs in the Structure of the Image of Russia

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the geopolitical image of Russia, namely the structurally filling elements - constructs. The geopolitical constructs characteristic of the Russian case are considered by the authors, both from the point of view of the geographical and spatial representation of the country, and from the position of the geopolitical processes in which Russia is included. The geographical-spatial component of the geopolitical image is revealed by the authors through the analysis of the classical constructs of geopolitics represented by the theories of X.Mackinder, N.Speakman, G. Vernadsky, Z.Brzezinski. The geo-economic, cultural and civilizational, status-political and conjectural components of the geopolitical image of Russia, which determine the system of representations and the geopolitical identity of the country, are analyzed in the work. The main conclusions of the work are formed from the analysis of the geopolitical image and consideration of its internal elements. The authors indicate the integral nature of the geopolitical image, the complexity of which is analyzed on the basis of each individual component. In the spatial and geographical plane, the idea of Russia's position in the "core" of the Eurasian continent is recognized as the main geopolitical construct. The geo-economic component is revealed through the geopolitical configuration of the core and periphery, in which Russia will only have to take its stable positions, depending on the future structure of the economy. The status component defines the Russian geopolitical image through the available official and unofficial (image component) elements. At the same time, the cultural and civilizational issue is the most ambitious in the context of the multiplicity of geopolitical constructs: for example, the authors consider the idea of Eurasianism in the structure of the geopolitical image.