Soviet Rayon (Regional) school of economic geography
Soviet regional (rayon) school of economic geography — science school of social and economic geography, dominating in Soviet Union in 1930-1970th years. One of the most developed and powerful science scholl in economic geography in the world in the first part of XXth century.
History and role in economics of USSR
The first and major stage of formation of the Soviet regional school is the time of creation in 1920 of GOELRO plan in which the territory of the country has been divided into economic regions (rayons = districts) for formation local power, transport and industrial systems on their basis. Plan working out supervised over Gleb Krzhizhanovsky and Ivan Alexandrov.
The founder of the Soviet regional school as a university direction is N. Baranskiy. In 1929 on Geographical faculty of the Moscow State University Department of economic geography of the USSR has been based, and it was the centre of the school throughout all next years. To the middle of 1930th all other directions of social and economic geography have been curtailed in the USSR.
Base concepts of regional school have been borrowed from Marxist political economy: a special case of a public division of labour is the territorial division of labour in which frameworks, accordingly, as subjects of specialisation the countries and their separate areas act. Region specialisation of economy was one of ideas of GOELRO plan.
The conceptual device of the Soviet regional school has been expanded by N.N. Kolosovskiy in 1940-50th years. He entered terms as a power-production cycle (set of the manufactures united by communications on raw materials and energy), a territorial and production complex (set of manufactures from which placing on one platform additional economic benefit is reached) and developed the theory of economic division into districts (rayons). The Soviet regional school has developed the most detailed conceptual base for geography of industry which was its basic direction.
In connection with accent on practical activities, the greatest blossoming the Soviet regional school has reached in days of industrial boom in the USSR in 1958-65th. Its representatives worked in the organisations which are engaged in designing of the new industrial enterprises and infrastructure (including cities), state planning bodies etc.
In 1970th years, in connection with transition from a territorial principle of management of economy to branch, and also with an exit on the foreground of social problems, the methodological device of times of industrialisation with which the Soviet regional school operated, became all less demanded and adequate to a reality. The scientific direction quickly breaks up to a number of the branch blocks which representatives have gradually actually refused an accessory to the Soviet regional school. The similar destiny during the same period has comprehended Anglo-American school of the spatial analysis which made appreciable impact on the Soviet economic geography in 1960-70th years.
History of the Science school
The economic-geographical school Baransky — Kolosovsky is one of the main geographical science schools in Russia (USSR).
The school studied such territorial systems of productive forces as country, economic region, industrial region, agricultural area, city, transport systems, and then has expanded frameworks of research to territorial systems of service sphere in historical, spatial aspect of research with cartographical method of studying.
It was expressed in the doctrine created by Baranskiy about economic-geographical position considered objects (cities, the enterprises, areas, the countries etc.) in relation to sets of other objects, that is in the doctrine about economic-geographical "force fields".
For all school Baransky — Kolosovsky organic unity of territorial social and economic systems and surrounding geographical environment, inclusion of natural resources.
N. Baranskiy (1881—1963) made economic geography a part of geography rather then economics (where it was firstly recognized in Russian science). He has established its strong communication with history, economy and technics, and physical geography. He has entered economic geography into system of geographical sciences in Moscow State University.
Baranskiy has deeply developed a question about territorial (on its terminology — "geographical") a public division of labour. He wrote: 'The geographical division of labour is the basic concept of economic geography'. Studying of this kind of a division of labour, its quantitative measurement, definition and comparison of functions which in connection with it get the different countries, areas and points, have made economic geography the exact science, has allowed it to apply widely economic calculations, to pass to modelling economic (including transport) communications. Baransky has seen that the territorial (geographical) division of labour is a basis of the system analysis in economic geography, serves some kind of "mechanism" in development of social and economic systems: 'Any change — qualitative or quantitative — should be reflected anyhow in each of its parts, and on the other hand, changes in each separate part should affect and the whole. The mechanism transferring these changes, the system of a geographical division of labour'
The great attention Baransky was turned on studying of economic regions of the USSR, the USA and other countries, widely applying comparative and cartographical methods of research. He considered that in revealing of features of areas the establishment of their "skeletons" consisting of a transport network and cities has a main role. Baransky has developed methods of economic-geographical studying of cities, establishments of their hierarchy.
Baransky has written many articles which have been collected in two books: 'Economic geography. Economic cartography'(1960), 'Economic geography in high school'(1957).
N. Kolosovskiy (1891—1954) has well added N.N.Baranskiy.
He has developed ideas of division into districts of Gosplan in 1920th, has created the harmonous theory of economic division into districts having the largest scientific and practical value.
He wrote:« Economic regionalization (rayonization) means manufacture distribution on territory of the country the certain groups according to a natural combination power and a source of raw materials, and also general economic-geographical and transportation systems».
Working out of a question on territorial industrial combinations (complexes)in the Soviet economic geography was his following step. As aterritorial industrial complex' Kolosovskiy understood the certain geographical and technical form of social activities of a socialist society with power and its machine arms with a certain combination of natural resources of area. There was a representation about "power production cycles" ("communities", "chains"), very important concept for modelling economic region and country national economy.
Followers
- The school Baransky — Kolosovsky was strengthened by I. Vitver (1891—1966) who has enriched it with history-geographical approaches at studying of economic geography of the capitalist countries.
- R. Kabo (1887—1957) who have begun works in the field of the Soviet geography of population and economic geography of cities («The City of Western Siberia», 1949) has much made for expansion of borders of a school of thought. In the same direction there were L. Iofa (1908—1974) who has written «Cities of Ural Mountains» (1951) and N. Ljalikov (1900—1961).
- The school Baransky — Kolosovsky is very great, and, practically, includes the majority of Russian economic-geographers:
V.M.Chetyrkin (1892—1958) S.N.Ryazantsev L.A.Valesjan Т. Kalashnikova M.Kolotievskiy J.Nymmik A.Rakitnikov V.Nikolskiy A.Hrushchev A.Minz V. Pokshishevsky E. Pertsik I.Maergojz (1908—1975) M.Polovitskoj V.P.Kovalev I. Mashbits V. Puljarkin
and many others.
Main concepts
- economic-geographical position
- economic rayon (region)
- territorial industrial combination (complexe)
- power production cycle
Links
Followers - modern economic geography in Russia
- Department of Economic And Social Geography of Russia
ru:Экономико-географическая школа Баранского-Колосовского ru:Советская районная школа