108 research outputs found

    Rural areas of Eastern Germany: modern challenges

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    After the German reunification the agricultural development of eastern territories seemed to have picked up its pace. Yet the main problems those territories are facing today hatched already in the mid-1990s. In our study we address the problems and challenges that hinder sustainable development of East German rural areas. We analyse agricultural statistics and describe the structure of agricultural enterprises, land-use, and other critical dimensions of agriculture. We discuss pros and cons of modern rural areas spatial planning policy and take a critical look at the current status of rural areas. We also put forward a number of concrete proposals aimed at the development of the area and counteracting the negative trends it is now experiencing. Even taking into account all ‘positive’ development trends that are postulated to have occurred since the unification, we underline the crucial necessity of diversification of labour forces and of changing the spatial planning policies in the rural areas of East Germany

    Transcarpathian Region Issue in Relations between the Countries of the Visegrad Group and Ukraine in the Late XX - Early XXI Centuries

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    The question of the impact of socio-economic and ethnic development of Transcarpathian region on relations between Ukraine and neighboring countries of the Visegrad group in the late XX - early XXI centuries is considered. The relevance of the study of this plot is due to the geographical and historical-cultural specifics of the Transcarpathian region. It is shown that its diverse ethnic and linguistic map was in the focus of attention of a number of states - Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, etc. in the period under review, both in the context of addressing the integration of the region into the economic and transport and logistics infrastructure of the large Carpathian macroregion, and periodically escalating relations between representatives of national minorities - supporters of Transcarpathian autonomy and adherents of the unitary model of Ukrainian statehood. The author pays special attention to the influence of these aspects on the eastern direction of the foreign policy of the Visegrad countries in relation to Ukraine, in particular, in connection with the implementation of the EU “Eastern Partnership” initiative. It is concluded that the most acute and negatively affecting the development of interstate cooperation between Ukraine and the neighboring countries of the Visegrad Four turned out to be the status and position of national minorities, especially the Hungarian one, which enjoys active support from Budapest. The policy of Kiev, aimed at strengthening the position of the Ukrainian language to the detriment of the languages of national minorities, caused an increase in tension in relations with Hungary, which was aggravated by the lack of an effective program of socio-economic development of the region based on interested external partners

    The Spatial Development of the Rural Settlement of East Prussia: Kaliningrad Region

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    The present system of displacement of the Kaliningrad region's population results from a complicated historical process, during which the socio-economic, geopolitical and cultural conditions were repeatedly changed in which it was established. An analysis of the changes taking place at that time and now provides the basis for the preparation of forecasts of further transformation of the region's spatial environment, one of the most important tasks for specialists of the contemporary geographical science. In the publication, the authors examine the key historical stages of the creation of the modern system of displacement of the region's population and identify the key economic, political and social factors that had an impact on the process at various historical stages of development of East Prussia until 1945 and the contemporary Kaliningrad region. The so-called Nizhnenemanskaya lowland area was chosen as a local example of the transformation processes of the modern part of the Slavsk municipal district (north of the Kaliningrad region). The research results were obtained in the analysis of the cartographic material on the status of the area related to the study of three time stages, 1834-1960, 1914-1939 and 2010-2012. It became possible to compare the cartographic material featuring such a broad time horizon due to the project of the Russian Geographical Society ‘Post-War Changes in the Kaliningrad Region (based on Topographic Maps)'. Based on the performed analysis, at the end of the article the authors formulated the key forward-looking trends in the development of the Kaliningrad region's rural settlement taking into account the historical features of its foundation as well as the forecast of the social and economic development of the Russian exclave. Keywords: Kaliningrad region, East Prussia, settlement system, spatial organisation JEL Classifications: R00; R

    On a linear differential game of optimal approach of many pursuers with one evader

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    We consider a differential game of approach of many pursuers and one evader. The motions of all players are described by linear systems of the same type. Control functions of players are subject to integral constraints. The duration of the game is fixed. The payoff functional of the differential game is the minimum of the distances between the evader and the pursuers when the game terminates. The pursuers try to minimize the payoff functional, and the evader tries to maximize it. We obtain estimates for the payoff functional of the game, which can be guaranteed by players and explicitly describe the strategies of the players. From here we obtain that in some specific cases the value of the game exists, and optimal strategies can be constructed. An illustrative example is considered
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