Th e article presents a review of the new geopolitics approach that developed in the West in the last two decades — the critical geopolitics. Th e article analyzes its methodological and thematic innovations, the contradictions between classical and critical geopolitics, and regards possible future cooperation of the opposing approaches as post-critical shift in geopolitics research paradigm.

G.Ó. Tuathail’s fi gure is quite notable and prominent among researchers in geopolitics. His fundamental and multi-faceted contribution to the theory of geopolitics and analysis of concrete
geopolitical cases are interesting. However, although his works and views on geopolitics are not absolutely unknown in Russia’s academic community, they have probably received much less attention than they deserve. Th is article’s aim is to re-actualize G.Ó. Tuathail’s works, which could facilitate the identifying points of coincidence between his conceptual vision and the issues raised by Russian geopolitical tradition.

Quite recently in Great Britain “post-giddensian” sociology has been mentioned as one of the latest development trends of contemporary sociological theory. Nevertheless, the spread of contemporary British post-structuralist theories is rather limited in Russia. Nowadays geopolitics has retreated from outdated sociological theories such as naturalistic reductionism, but the tendency to employ sociological theories in geopolitics exists. Th is article seeks to understand the possible ways of implementing contemporary British post-structuralism in geopolitical research.

Nowadays biopolitics is high on the current political as well as academic agendas. According to Michel Foucault’s biopolitical conception, space loses its previous function as an attribute of power and might and acquires the new one — an encouragement to a human. Space evolves from the location of symbolic authorities’ presence, demonstrated by majestic objects, to the place implementing biopolitical safety technique. Space is a location of threats and benefi ts.

Russia’s case demonstrates that huge territory, the biggest number of neighbouring countries in the world, numerous ethnic groups and suffi cient reserves of natural resources have been historically used by elites to cultivate the idea of Russian state’s exclusiveness. Over the various epochs it has determined the authorities’ thinking style as an imperial one on the level of tacit knowledge, which has practically turned into extending the spheres of infl uence as well as into expansionism.

Th e article focuses on space identity in Astrakhan, Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, Tomsk, Tula and Cheboksary. Th ese cities were chosen due to the approximately equal population as well as principal diff erences in geopolitical location and cultural and historical context of development. Not only toponyms, but symbols were taken into account as an indication of the region. Th e proportion of names in Latin characters or with transliteration of foreign words was also calculated.

Th roughout history, myth has always been an inherent part of any culture, as well as an instrument of socialization of any society’s representatives. Political myths play a specifi c role within the hole complex of myths as a part of political culture. To a great extent, the state image transforms due to the infl uence of the struggle between myths and counter-myths. Political image could not remain unchangeable in same manner as political myth is being modernized under the infl uence of changes in political culture.

«Great Albania» project is an idea of the Albanians to create a state with the Albanian ethnic group prevailing. Th e idea was announced for a fi rst time in 1878 by Prizren League of the Albanian Nation, which called for autonomy within the Ottoman Empire with the Albanians’ ethnic majority. Th e project was realized in practice during fascist occupation in 1939–1944. Nowadays it is being implemented diff erently in various countries. Government authorities, who urge to annex territories with the dominant Albanian population, support this project. Th e Macedonian Albanians live in the north-west of the country and actively participate in the state’s political life. Following the development in Kosovo they have received de facto autonomy. In Montenegro and Greece the Albanians live peacefully, only protesting for extending
their rights. 

Shaping multilevel centre of metropolization in Caucasian Mineralnye Vody region, which geopolitical importance has signifi cantly increased following the creation of North Caucasian Federal District. If million-plus cities Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don remain the main centers of growth, attracting the people, innovations and capital, in this macro-region, as a result of the integration of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody region’s cities into the political unity integrated all inhabited localities into the single urban space, there would take place the formation of the higher level regional metropole, which would become a de facto economic, political and ideological center of North Caucasus and could seek the status of the main Russian South’s city.

Th e article analyses 5 publications focused on Siberia’s development. It touches upon the problems of resource course, spatial reorganization of Russian economy, Siberia’s small or, on the contrary, huge population

Information space as a new (geo)political space exerts an increasingly higher infl uence on the global processes. Despite its specifi c nature, its connection with physical space is growing, furthermore, the states describe themselves as leading actors of information space more actively. Although the approaches diff er from one another, information space is being generally perceived in the traditional categories of sovereignty, borders and territory. Th e states serve as accelerators of interrelated processes of militarization, securitization and diplomatization of information space, which are typical for other spaces. Strengthening such tendencies and including a greater number of countries lead to new forms of cooperation and confl icts.

Social media emerging has led to shaping contemporary forms of foreign policy communication, transforming the contemporary system of international relations. It impacts the activity of state institutions, shapes state image and attitudes to a country in general. Social media
as an instrument of foreign policy communication make possible not only informing about state’s successes and achievements, but public opinion concealed manipulating to press on the government bodies or to organize various presentations.

Th e role of information in shaping geopolitical situation needs a greater academic attention, because the infl uence of external actors in favour of theor political preferences forms the vectors of state development. Modern world’s turbulence is based on technologies of managing social reality. It requires a principally new methodology in evaluating and forecasting geopolitical processes. Nowadays it makes sense to speak of information factor of geopolitical dynamics, which shapes a new quality of geopolitical space.

Th e article analyzes the situation in the information space of Ukraine and indicates problems in the protection of national information security. First of all, it concerns the asymmetry of information flow: a large part of national information space is fi lled with the non-Ukrainian information products and the adequate information fl ows from Ukraine to the foreign community are absent.

Th e study shows how diff erent images of space on the same territory act as intermediate variables between objective territorial characteristics and citizens’ identities. As the geographical position at the border of Russia provides the citizens with geopolitical alternatives to identify their location as a fortress defending the nation (as in the case of Kronstadt) or a bridge between cultures, the given study allows us to compare reasons for these geopolitical choices of inhabitants.

Th e quantitative analysis of an opinion poll conducted in October 2013 in three Russian cities located near Finnish border (St-Petersburg, Kronstadt and Vyborg) explores European identity of their citizens. Th is area was chosen to illustrate the crucial importance of space interpretation in spatial identity formation by using critical geopolitical approach. Th e study shows how diff erent images of space on the same territory act as intermediate variables between objective territorial characteristics and citizens’ identities. As the geographical position at the border of Russia provides the citizens with geopolitical alternatives to identify their location as a fortress defending the nation (as in the case of Kronstadt) or a bridge between cultures, the given study allows us to compare reasons for these geopolitical choices of inhabitants. Furthermore, the research aims at bridging the gap in the studies of European and multiple identity in Russian regions and provides Northwest Russian perspective on the perpetual discussion about subjective Eastern border of Europe.

Th e article demonstrates the results of research of formed space myths in verbal sources by conducting polls and in-depth interviews with the citizens of Kronstadt town. Th ere is a diff usion of two space perceptions among the inhabitants: as an isolated fortress with its own temper and rules and as the suburbs of the big center. Given that the permanent connection with the “continent” has become possible quite recently, one can follow the dynamical infl uence of new transport routes on the myths and attributes of Kronstadt’s space.

Among the unique meanings and images which form the Vyborg space by the citizens one can distinguish at least the images — an European town, a multicultural town and a town with the special exclusiveness, moreover so, they coexist successfully. In other words, although local identity prevails in Vyborg, its space is unique because there are several types of identity. Over the recent decades the space has been re-interpreted: defense functions of the town (or solely of the fortress town) have evolved into connecting, contact, which is demonstrated by the fact that Vyborg represents a borderzone between cultures, traditions and values.

St. Petersburg was founded in 1703 on Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Staying on the numerous islands of Neva delta, the city is the biggest transportation hub of North-Western Russia. Having been Russia’s capital for more than 200 years, it has witnessed a lot of triumphs and crises, which resulted in the formation of specifi c citizen’s mentality. Th is mentality has created a unique geopolitical identity as a unique agglomeration — “internal overseas”. From the beginning the city, built during opening a ‘window to Europe’, was predetermined to have the special destiny. In order to analyze the space identity of St.Petersburg inhabitants there were conducted polls and in-depth interview with the citizens, including inhabitants, as well as experts in local history and cultural studies

As a matter of fact, Kronstadt is a unique space: geographically situated on the watershed between Russia and Europe, it mostly preserves “internal” orientation — in other words, aimed at its insulation, than external. Such historically formed space perception impacts the immunity of the bases of local identity among the citizens. Despite the loss of a forbidden city status in 1996, the features of isolatedness and peculiarity are still typical for Kronstadt. It is possible to follow these characteristics on the level of written sources, which clearly demonstrate the markers of this city’s «uniqueness».

Th e names of streets and food services mostly refl ect the peculiarities of geostrategic location of Vyborg. Government-appointed street names remind the citizens of the military past and its belonging to Russia, and the names of cafes and restaurants refer to Europe, which indicates that European identity is the most preferable for inhabitants.

Th is article is focused on space identity by analyzing informal sources such as the names of streets, cafes and restaurants. Th e research reveals unconscientious self-identifi cation of Kronstadt. Despite the fact that the town has the status of an opened city, it has not changed its self-perception as a separated territorial unit, distinct from others and secured from the contacts with the external world.