The Russian Federation is the largest state. It has more than 1,000 cities and almost 150 million people permanently residing in the country. Research centers have done some work and calculated the largest cities in Russia (the list is current for 2014).
Top 5 in terms of population
The first place, of course, is occupied by Moscow. This is the capital of the Russian Empire. It is home to about 15 million people. The city has a well-developed transport supply, tourism, industry, as well as other areas of activity. Moscow occupies a leading position in the list of major cities in the world.
Second place - St. Petersburg, it is considered the cultural capital of Russia. Population - 5 million people.
Novosibirsk is in third position. Behind the scenes, it is the capital of Siberia, which is clearly shown by the map of Russia. Large cities are always well developed both industrially and culturally. Therefore, many people leave towns and villages, givingcenter preference. According to the results of the latest census, about 1.5 million people live in Novosibirsk.
The next step is Yekaterinburg. It is located in the heart of the Urals with a well-developed cultural, administrative and scientific sphere. Number of permanent residents approximately 1.3 million
Fifth place - Nizhny Novgorod. It has a well-developed aviation, shipping and automotive industry. It is located not far from Moscow (400 km), the population is 1.2 million people.
List of top 10 cities
The sixth place in the list was taken by the capital of Tatarstan - Kazan. The number of people living in it is practically equal to Nizhny Novgorod. Samara is next. This city is located on the Volga River, is the administrative center. The population is 1.16 million. Omsk ranks seventh, it used to be the capital of Russia. Samara, he is inferior in numbers only a few tens of thousands of people. Chelyabinsk, with a population of 1.15 million, is in ninth position. It has a fairly well-developed industry, which allows the city to develop and provide jobs. And in the last tenth place - Rostov-on-Don. It can certainly be called the most significant transport hub, as the region is located on the border with Ukraine and is the connecting center of the two states.
All these administrative centers are in the top 10 largest cities in Russia. These data are reliable and confirmed by many research centers.
However, it is worth noting that there is another list, inwhich the cities are located depending on their area, and it differs significantly from the above.
Top Russian cities by area: top five places
Many mistakenly assume that Moscow is the largest city both in terms of population and area. However, this is not the case at all. An interesting fact is that these cities, even if they do not have regional significance, are much larger. These are mainly industrial centers, most of which are occupied by deposits of natural resources.
So, the largest cities in Russia by area:
- First place, oddly enough, is occupied by the little-known city of Zapolyarny. It is located in the Murmansk region. The population is record-breaking - 20 thousand people, but its area is almost 5 thousand square meters. km.
- The next city is Norilsk. Most of it is ore deposits, but they are completely within the city. Therefore, its total area is 4.5 thousand square meters. km.
- The third position is occupied by the city of Sochi. It is located on the Black Sea coast. It has several fairly large centers. Its area is 3.6 thousand square meters. km.
- Moscow is in fourth place. Its total size is 2.5 thousand square meters. km. However, it is worth noting that until recently the area of Moscow, according to official data, was much smaller. And only after the annexation of the territory outside the Moscow Ring Road such figures were formed.
- Closing the top five, of course, is the cultural capital of the Russian Federation - St. Petersburg. Its area is about 1.5 thousand square meters. km.
However, in order for the information provided to fully discloseall the superiority of cities, let's take a closer look at the largest of them.
Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation
Moscow occupies an honorable leading place in the list of "large cities of Russia by population". And, we can say that it is well deserved. Only officially registered nearly 13 million people. However, as everyone knows, a large percentage of the population of other countries come to Moscow to work. And it is worth noting that not all of them have officially issued documents. Therefore, one can only guess about the exact number of residents of the capital.
Cultural Center of Russia - Saint Petersburg
The beautiful city of St. Petersburg occupies a leading position in the official list of "The Largest Cities of Russia". Of course, in comparison with Moscow, the numbers differ significantly. However, the population density is not so small: per 1 sq. m accounts for 3.5 thousand people. Many visitors live in the city, as a rule, these are representatives of other states, so most of them do not have official documents. It so happened that the countries of the near abroad are economically developed worse than Russia. This is what leads to mass migration.
Pride of Siberia – Novosibirsk
Despite the harsh climate, which at first glance is not very attractive, Novosibirsk, being the northernmost city of the Siberian Territory, is quite densely populated. Its number exceeded 1.5 million people, which is what allows it to be in the top five in the list."The largest cities of Russia". It is quite well developed. There are huge scientific, commercial and cultural centers. Also, the level of infrastructure is brought to a decent level. Thanks to this development, Novosibirsk is considered the capital of Siberia.
Yekaterinburg – the pearl of the Urals
Yekaterinburg is located in the Ural region. Its population is 1.2 million people, which gives it the right to enter the top "Largest cities of Russia". The history of the emergence of Yekaterinburg leads to Peter the Great. It was on his instructions that the construction of the city began. Currently, it is unofficially considered the capital of the Ural Territory. It is worth noting the fact that many satellite cities have accumulated around Yekaterinburg. Based on this, the number of residents, taking into account these settlements, increases significantly, reaching 2.2 million people.
Nizhny Novgorod
The list of "Largest cities of Russia" top five closes Nizhny Novgorod. It is located at the confluence of two large rivers: the Volga and the Oka. Thanks to this, shipbuilding, as well as the aviation and automobile industries, are widely placed in the city. Economic development has contributed to the growth of the total population, at the moment it is 1.27 million people. Recently, however, official data began to show a sharp decline. This is mainly due to the fairly close proximity to Moscow. Young people in the race for prestigious and well-paid jobs seek to leave for the capital.
The data used in the article is current for 2014. However, in 2015 they could have changed dramatically due to the greatly increased migration from Ukraine. Russian cities have received a large number of refugees, so it is currently not possible to make reliable estimates.
