Below Average
The National Territories of Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Russian Federation is divided into national territories and non-nationally defined federal subjects. The titular nation represents an absolute majority of the population in only ten of the 27 territories. The peripheral location of many national territories as well as difficult physiographic and transport-geographical conditions mean that many of the inhabitants there are significantly poorer than average among Russia’s population. Apart from the regions rich in raw materials, most national territories run a budget deficit. They therefore receive considerable financial allocations from Moscow. The social situation, and not ethnicity, explains why in some national republics willing-ness to serve in the military is greater than the national average – and with that the casualty rate in the war against Ukraine.
(Osteuropa 1-3/2024, pp. 135–154)