Assessment of socio-ecological-economic features of the current state of the steppe areas of the Trans-Urals and the south of Western Siberia

To identify the prospects for expanding interstate cooperation with the Republic of Kazakhstan, it is necessary to assess the socio-ecological and economic state of the border regions of the Trans-Urals and the south of Western Siberia. First of all, conditions should be created in the Russian Federation that will favour development of human capital and stop the outflow of population from the border territories of the country, which is possible provided that the socio-ecological and economic indicators of the regions of the country are superior to neighboring foreign territories. To assess the prospects for interstate cooperation in the regions under consideration, it is necessary to analyze the indicators characterizing the state of their economy, social sphere and environmental situation. To achieve this goal, the article uses statistical and mathematical-statistical (principal component method, iterative cluster method) methods. The analysis showed that the border regions of the Trans-Urals and the south of Western Siberia are characterized by a flow of the working-age population to cities, which is connected with the growth of manufacturing industries. Even with a low rural population density, these regions make a significant contribution to the food supply of the subjects of the Russian Federation and adjacent territories of the Republic of Kazakhstan that increases the value of the human capital of these regions. To comprehensively display the socio-ecological-economic state on the basis of 13 indicators, three integral indicators have been developed that characterize regions according to the level of socio-ecological and economic development. The analysis showed that in terms of socio-economic potential for interregional and interstate cooperation, the most promising are Tyumen, Novosibirsk oblasts and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The most depressed among the regions under consideration is Kurgan Oblast, where it is necessary to adjust measures to improve the demographic condition, economic development and social sphere. The results of the study can be used to develop a program for sustainable development of territories, both at the regional and federal levels.