Dynamics and determinants of Russia’s geoeconomic strength in relation to the Central and Eastern European region

Abstract

The aim of the article is to examine the dynamics and the determinants of the geoeconomic strength of Russia in relation to Central and Eastern European countries (CEE-11) belonging to the European Union. The article confirms the research hypotheses that: (i) since 2014, the geoeconomic balance of power in Central and Eastern Europe began to change significantly in favor of the CEE-11 region, (ii) the economic sanctions imposed on Russia after 2014 negatively influenced its geoeconomic strength in relation to the CEE-11 region by reducing the export and import flows, as well as FDI net inflows in Russia compared to the CEE-11 countries. Panel regression analysis (ordinary least squares and fully modified ordinary least squares) was used to test the second hypothesis. All data used in the article comes from the World Bank database and covers the period from 2004 to 2020.

Keywords

• geoeconomics
• Central and Eastern European countries
• CEE-11
• Russia
• economic sanctions
• geoeconomic strength