Russia's neighbors of the first and second orders. Russia's neighbors in the north, east, south and west

At different times, Russia's neighbors were different. The largest country in the world has the largest number of states bordering it: 18 countries - poor and rich, weak and powerful, friendly and not very much.

Unlike each other

The total length of the border with them is close to 70 thousand kilometers. History changed, some states became part of Russia, others left its structure. This is an obligatory process when changing the political system.

Such neighbors of Russia, as Abkhazia and South Ossetia, are unrecognized republics; The United States and Japan have only water borders with a great power. 38 out of 85 subjects of the Russian Federation located along its borders are neighbors with one, two, or three states. Such rich in foreign neighbors include the Altai Territory (Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia) and the Pskov Region (neighbors Estonia, Latvia, Belarus).

Neighbors with a common border

All states located in close proximity are divided into neighbors of the first and second order. Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Abkhazia, Georgia, South Ossetia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, North Korea and two countries with maritime borders - the USA and Japan - all refer to the concept of "Russia's first-order neighbors "Very few synonyms for a word denoting a state bordering on the country. And these names have a subjective character - interak, accomplice, scraper. During the Warsaw Pact, the countries that entered it could be called twin cities. The same applied to China and North Korea. It is not easy to explain which countries are Russia's neighbors of the second order. Without fear of tautology, we can say that this is the neighbors of the first, the above-mentioned states. Land borders in this case are 22, and 2 are marine.

The world's longest maritime borders

The largest country has the world's longest sea borders. The distance of almost 20,000 kilometers is the northern outskirts of Russia, stretching along the shores of the seas of the Arctic Ocean. The second longest sea border runs in the east, being washed by the Pacific Ocean.

Neighbors in the South

Southern neighbors of Russia are Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, as well as Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In the south, there is the longest land border with Kazakhstan, which is difficult to overestimate for our country. The Republic occupies the 9th place in the world in territory, and the first among large countries that do not have access to the World Ocean. The capital is the newly built city of Astana. On the territory of the republic there is a border between Europe and Asia. Situated at the junction of two worlds, rich in fertile lands and minerals, the country absorbs all the best and rapidly develops. Kazakhstan is part of the Customs Union, and in the full sense of the word justifies the notion of "Russia's close neighbors".

Partner countries

A special neighbor for Russia, of course, is China, and, not only because the economy of this country is projected to be the first in the world by the end of 2014. The country ranks first in the list of "Neighbors of Russia" in Asia and is a strategic partner of our country. Good-neighborly relations between Beijing and Moscow, without exaggeration, play a major role in the world arena and contribute to the establishment of a new world order. These two powers have many internal contradictions and problems, and it is also better to overcome them, using mutual experience.

Good relations with neighbors - the policy of the state

It is very important for the Russian Federation to have good relations with all border countries. Their establishment and strengthening is a state policy. Unfortunately, Russia's southern neighbors, such as Azerbaijan and Georgia, are not entirely peaceful. For a thousand years Mongolia and Russia have been living side by side in friendship and harmony. The picture to this relationship can serve as a remarkable film by N. Mikhalkov "Urga - the territory of love." China and Russia are not just close relations of this country, they are its only neighbors. Therefore, peace and mutual understanding are so important in this triune alliance. It is no less important in relations with the self-proclaimed South Ossetia and Abkhazia, in which the whole future is connected only with Russia.

Northern neighbors

As noted above, the longest border of our state passes along the shores of the northern seas - Laptev, Kara, East-Siberian, White and Barents. The outer sea of the Arctic Ocean lies between Russia and Alaska, a semi-enclave of the United States. Thus, Russia's northern neighbors are countries located along the shores of the Arctic. These include Iceland, Norway, Denmark (Greenland), the United States of America and Canada.

The Arctic Ocean had a lot of names. At different times it was called Northern, Scythian, Tatar. On Russian maps of the XVII-XVIII centuries he also had several notation - the Sea-Ocean, the Arctic, the Polar Sea, etc. He was named Hyperborean in 1650 by the geographer Warenius. The Far North has long been considered the birthplace of the god of the cold winds of Boreas, therefore the name of the ocean has been appropriated. The prefix "hyper" refers to its size. It's on its banks that all the northern neighbors of Russia are located. Even on the North Pole, which is located in the center of the Arctic Ocean (this name was taken in 1935), the flag of Russia is established. And Norway is both a northern and a western border state.

Neighbors in the West

Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Belarus are the western neighbors of Russia. Two of them, namely Lithuania and Poland, are bordered by a semi-enclosure (a territory that does not have a common border with the country, but which faces the sea) - the Kaliningrad Region. With all the countries on this list, except for Belarus, which is part of the Customs Union and is a good close neighbor, Russia was at war in different periods of time. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, its former Baltic republics, despite their more than modest in all spheres of opportunity, are unfriendly. But only income from tourists from Russia can significantly replenish their budget.

Russia is a good profitable neighbor

It is with regret to note that not all of Russia's geographically close neighbors are her friends. History does not teach anything ... If people did not fill their foreheads, stepping on the same rake, they still forget that "a thin peace is better than a good war"; That the clear benefits of peaceful coexistence are lost; That the post-war complexes are terrible, and then whole nations are cured from them for a very long time; That it is worth listening to the advice of your own visionaries. Russia is a great, original, rich country, and good relations with it can carry priceless dividends to reasonable neighbors.

Summing up

So, the first-order western neighbors of Russia are Norway and Finland, Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. The second order is Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

Southern neighbors of the first order are represented by the following countries: China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The neighboring countries of the second order are Moldova, Turkey and Iran. These include the four former Soviet republics - Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. And also Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and the Republic of Korea.

In the east, Russia has two neighbors of the first order in the extreme northern and southern points, the border with which passes by sea, the USA and Japan.

The north remains. Here, the neighbor of the first order is Canada, and the second order is Mexico.

It turns out that Denmark and Iceland, although they are located on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, are not at all neighbors of Russia.