ABSTRACT
Economic globalization, the rise of Asian markets, and unstable centerperiphery power relations stemming from post-Soviet reform inside Russia are fundamentally reshaping the economic structure of the Russian Far East (RFE), the vast eastern third of the Russian Federation (see Map 12.1). A great shift is taking place for the RFE – away from its traditional role as raw materials supplier to Russia’s European core toward becoming a resource periphery for Northeast Asia. The RFE’s links to the Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean markets already eclipse the region’s economic ties to European Russia, and their importance will continue to grow.1
