The human potential of the border regions of the Asian part of Russia

Russia's development is shifting towards its eastern part. In the Asian border regions there is significant human potential, the reduction of which is fraught with negative consequences, including a slowdown in the development of these territories. The most important challenge to the development of Asian border areas is demographic. Depopulation and unfavorable population trends in the human potential make the development of the eastern territories a priority for the development of Russia. This article focuses on the issues of the human potential of Russian border regions. The article focuses on the current state of the border regions of the Asian part of Russia and their economic and human potential. It compares the potential of the border regions of the Russian-Kazakhstan macro-region with the average Russian level of economic development. Research methods include a thematic review of sources and the statistical and comparative analysis of the Russian-Kazakhstan border regions in terms of economic and human potential. The hypothesis is that in the regions bordering Kazakhstan the accumulation of economic potential is not accompanied by the accumulation of human (demographic and social) capital. The results show that for the period 2013-2022 there was a decline in human potential (population decline; negative growth in the working age population; negative values of migration growth rates; a decline in birth rate, etc.).