Attractiveness of the Sakhalin Region: Structure and Place among the Russian Regions

Abstract

The attractiveness of the region should be considered not only in relation to certain categories of interested parties (investors, tourists, migrants, the region’s population), but also as a complex phenomenon. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between attractiveness itself as a socio-psychological phenomenon and the factors influencing it. The article is devoted to the integral assessment of the Russian regions’ attractiveness and the analysis of the Sakhalin Region’s place among other regions. The goal of the article is to identify the degree of Sakhalin region’s attractiveness compared to the other regions and analyze the components of its attractiveness. The main methods are integral ranking and assessment of the region’s features influence on attractiveness. The author compiled an integral ranking of Russian regions by attractiveness (as of 2020), performed a brief analysis of the first and last 10 regions in the ranking, analyzed the integral rank of the Sakhalin region, and assessed the influence of certain features of the Sakhalin region in the all-Russian ranking (according to 4 main aspects of attractiveness). Based on well-known ratings and rankings with some additions, it is possible to calculate a comprehensive ranking of regions’ attractiveness relative to each other. The Sakhalin Region occupies the 24th place in the integral ranking primarily due to the island’s location and the uniqueness of its nature. To a lesser extent it is influenced by the development of natural resources, such as oil, natural gas, and fish. Attractiveness for tourists contributes to the overall rank the most. The attractiveness of the Sakhalin Region is noticeably one-sided, which must be taken into account in the development of measures to improve it.