Industry of the Kaliningrad Region in numbers: analysis and development prospects

The Kaliningrad Region’s unique geographic location defines its development. Before Western restrictions, its proximity to industrialized European countries (Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and others), as well as potential markets and investment sources, was considered a competitive advantage for Russia’s westernmost region. This restriction has impacted the Kaliningrad Region’s industrial development; however, despite these challenges, the region is overcoming them, as this article demonstrates. It should be noted that the Kaliningrad Region is currently developing under the very challenging conditions of spatial isolation (remoteness) from the mainland of Russia, influenced by external factors. Thus, the restructuring of the regional economy, which has been underway in recent years, is primarily aimed at leveraging the specific internal factors of regional development, including increasing production capacity. It should be noted that, due to its geographical location, the Kaliningrad Region’s economy is highly dependent on external factors, both geopolitical and geoeconomics. Geopolitical factors include Russia’s international interactions with foreign countries. For the Kaliningrad Oblast, relations with NATO and EU countries located in the Baltic macroregion are particularly important, especially with neighboring Lithuania and Poland. However, these countries are not friendly, so the current focus is on Eastern countries. Geoeconomics factors include global market conditions, which are necessary for import- substitution and export- oriented economic development in the region. This paper analyzes the economy of the Kaliningrad Oblast, including the indices of individual industrial sectors in the region. Promising development areas for the region are also identified.