Аннотация:The European USSR always served as a transition zone between Europe and Asia or between Europe and Russia. Sometimes it was attracted mainly by the Orient and sometimes by the West being a European backyard. Under modern political conditions, a new wave of "Europeanization’ takes place. The pioneers of the process are located, first, along the western belt and, second, in large urban centres. European influence is revealed geographically in: west to east decay gradient of population and transport network densities as well as of social wellbeing; deterioration of connectivity and position quality in general for inner and outer periphery in comparison with the western one or with the large centres which adopt western innovations for the rest of the country; obvious westward shift of the newest innovative cores and eastward orientation of the channels transmitting innovations. At the same time, the above mentioned dualism of innovative positions, which reflects the past, can also become a source of a diverging future for Russia proper and for its western neighbours. -from Authors