Einzelhandel in Grenzstädten der russischen Exklave Kaliningrad

Abstract

Since 1991, the Russian oblast district of Kaliningrad has been located between Lithuania and Poland as a small, Russian exclave. During the course of the system transformation in eastern central Europe, regional asymmetries have occurred here in cramped surroundings. With mounting success, Poland and Lithuania are seeking to be included in the development of the European Union. In its attempts at transformation, the Russian exclave is bound to the framework conditions of the Russian Federation. Their successes at transformation towards a form of market economy order have up until now been less successful than those of Poland and Lithuania. This is also true of the retail trade sector, which in all three states was one of the first areas of business to be affected by price liberalisation and privatisation. The analysis deals with the retail trade structures in the two most important border cities of the oblast - Sovetsk on the border to Lithuania and Bagrationovsk on the border to Poland. In September of 1996, the potential of the retail trade sector in both cities was examined. In addition to this, passers-by were interviewed with regard to the local purchasing power and their movement. With the help of this data, light was cast on the role of both cities as central locations in each of their border areas. The retail trade structure in each of the examined areas continues to reveal numerous signs which would be expected in an early stage of transformation under conditions of extreme capital scarcity and weak demand as a resu lt of poor purchasing power: dominance of small tiny sales areas for each sales outlet, importance of kiosks and ambulatory form of selling (including markets which are located in one place), dominance of the food sector in the range of goods on offer, lack of modern forms of presentation, lack of foreign direct investment, lack of willingness among local actors to invest and innovate. The analysis of the purchasing power and its movement revealed in both cities pronounced net losses to the neighbouring states, and in the case of the city Bagrationovsk also to the near major centre Kaliningrad. There is only a weak inflow to the cities of pur chasing power from the environmental regions, thus meaning that these are insufficiently able to fulfil their function as central locations.