Mesoregions: Problems of Partnership and Clash of Civilizations on the Example of the Russian Far East

The purpose of this article is to reveal the investment development trends that distinguish the Russian Far East from all-Russian trends and to show the connectivity of the FEFD-ATR system both in the periods of investment boom and during the crisis caused by COVID constraints. The peculiarity of the research methodology is the study of economic spatial gaps, which represent the main feature of the mesoregion. The article summarizes scientific ideas about the mesoregion as a special phenomenon of spatial economics and examines the processes leading to the formation within mesoregions of both formalized, institutionally fixed integration associations in cross-border territories and informal, spontaneously emerging practices of interactions between economic agents. The interests of the state and national regions have a dominant impact on the interests of private integrated communities in cross-border territories. The latter is explained by complementary effects that are formed in cross-border territories in the process of cooperation in production, socio-economic, and cultural potentials, always consisting of the potentials of the subjects involved in cooperation, increased by the incremental complementary cooperation potential. New economic spaces are emerging in cross-border territories. This allows us to deepen our understanding of the general theory of world trade. Both philosophical foundations of modern scientific ideas about mesoregions and their projection on modern financial knowledge have been studied, and the understanding of trends in the formation and destruction of mesoregions in modern conditions in their connection with the world financial and economic system has been presented. On the basis of the analysis, the conclusions and recommendations for improving the state policy of the Far East development are formed, taking into account its unique role as a part of the North Asian mesoregion.