Russia is one of the ten largest countries in the world in terms of population. The latest census, which was conducted in 2010, shows that more than 142 million people live in the country.
Organized compact living of people forms settlements. Their main types, represented in Russia, are a city, an urban-type settlement, a village, a village, a village, a farm, and an aul. The formation of settlements is due to many reasons. Initially, settlements appear in territories with the most favorable climatic and relief conditions, industrial and economic potential.
Russia is a country with rather harsh climatic conditions, which, of course, primarily affects the formation of a system of settlements. The most densely populated territory of the Russian Federation is the central part.
Another factor influencing the resettlement is the industrial potential of the territories. Considering that the main deposits of minerals in Russia are located in its northern territory, it is this part of the country that is the most industrialized region with a fairly high population density.
Let's consider the types of settlements in Russia.
Cities and villages
What types of settlements are there? All settlements in the Russian Federation are divided into urban and rural, which reflects the main type of employment of people.
The dominant population of the Russian Federation lives in the city. This fact can be explained by both social and material reasons. Cities are predominantly centers of civilization with a developed infrastructure, the presence of cultural and social facilities, and more comfortable living conditions compared to rural ones. It is these reasons that cause the outflow of the rural population from the hinterland and the virtual extinction of small rural settlements.
This process of domination of cities over villages is called urbanization. Primarily, cities in Russia were industrial centers that allowed the starving peasants to survive. The development of these centers led to their growth and, as a result, an increase in the number of people living in them. Today, three-quarters of the country's population lives in cities.
The main classification reflecting the types of settlements is the classification related to population.
Characteristics of cities by population
The total number of cities and urban-type settlements in Russia exceeds 2 thousand names, of which one thousand one hundred cities and over two thousand urban-type settlements. For Russia, cities are considered settlements, the number of people living in which is not less than twelve thousand people, of which more than 90percent are employed in manufacturing, social services and services.
Moscow is the main city of the Russian Federation, its capital, where more than 10 million people live.
Population allows us to subdivide cities into the following types of settlements:
- Super-large cities, or cities with a population of over three million. There are 2 such cities in Russia - Moscow and St. Petersburg.
- The largest cities, with a population of one to three million. There are 13 cities in Russia with a population in the announced range, among them Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Rostov-on-Don, Ufa.
- Large cities with a population of two hundred and fifty thousand to one million. There are more than forty such cities in Russia.
- Large cities where the number of people living varies between one hundred and two hundred and fifty thousand. In the country, their number has exceeded nine dozen.
- Medium-sized cities with a population of fifty to one hundred thousand. Their number has exceeded one and a half hundred.
- Small cities and towns with a population of less than fifty thousand people.
The most intensive population growth occurs in large and largest cities, due to their industrial and economic progress.
City agglomerations
Speaking of urban types of settlements in Russia, it is also necessary to dwell on the concept of "urban agglomeration". This term refers to cooperationmedium-sized cities located close to a large city, which are united by labor, infrastructural, industrial and other types of ties.
Such medium-sized cities are called satellite cities. Satellite cities reduce population density in large ones.
The most important factor contributing to the emergence of agglomerations is the developed transport links between cities. In Russia, satellite towns have been formed near Kuibyshev, Moscow, St. Petersburg.
When agglomerations merge, megacities are formed. There are no megacities in Russia today.
Characteristics of cities by structural features
The territorial structure of Russia makes it possible to single out the following types of urban settlements: federal, regional (oblast, krai, republican, etc.) and district.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation defines the cities of federal significance as Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sevastopol.
Cities of regional significance are settlements that perform the functions of an economic and cultural center, characterized by a developed industry and a population of more than thirty thousand people.
However, the quantitative indicators of the population in such cities are not exceptional, they are rather a priority. A more significant criterion for classifying cities as cities of regional significance can be considered their social, economic indicators, achievements in social,cultural sphere, historical uniqueness, long-term plans for increasing population growth and economic development. In addition to the above criteria, in order to classify cities as cities of regional significance, cities with a regional structure should also be taken into account.
Requirements for the number of residents in cities of district significance are individual in each subject of the Russian Federation. As a rule, they include urban settlements with a population of less than fifty thousand. Industry operates on the territory of such cities, the public utilities are developed, educational, medical and commercial institutions, as well as cultural institutions provide services.
Characteristics of cities by function
The following typological classification into types of settlements involves their division, which is based on the functions performed by cities. Those functions include: political and administrative, industrial, transport, trade, scientific, military, recreational (improving) functions. Depending on the number of functions performed by the city, they are divided into monofunctional and polyfunctional.
Characteristics of cities by economic and geographical location
There is also a gradation of cities into types of settlements according to their economic and geographical location:
- located near a mineral deposit;
- related to railway infrastructure;
- port;
- industrial and transport.
Urban settlementtype
An intermediate link between the city and the countryside in Russia is an urban-type settlement. This intermediateness has an impact on the quantitative composition of such settlements, as well as on the scope of employment.
The total number of urban-type settlements in the Russian Federation exceeds 1200 units. The number of people living in such settlements can vary from a few dozen people to several thousand. The largest urban-type settlement in Russia is the settlement of Ordzhonikidzevskaya, where more than 64 thousand people live.
There are several subspecies of urban-type settlements, which are located outside the city. Such settlements are considered: workers' settlements where industrial facilities are located (population up to three thousand people); resort villages (population up to two thousand people); holiday villages.
Rural settlements are the most widely represented in Russia. Their total number exceeds 150 thousand. A quarter of these settlements can be classified as sparsely populated, with less than 10 people living in them.
Despite the significant number of rural settlements, the number of people living in them is slightly more than twenty percent of the total population of Russia.
This state of affairs is due to the low standard of living in the village, its poor technological equipment, which, in turn, leads to migration of the population to cities.
Types of settlements in rural areas, depending on their population, can be divided as followsway:
- Large with a population exceeding five thousand.
- Large with a population of up to five thousand.
- Average with a population of between two hundred and one thousand people.
- Small with a population of up to two hundred people.
Main types of rural settlements present in Russia
- Village - a large settlement in which there is or used to be a church. It functions as a local centre.
- A village is a small settlement that historically did not have a church.
- Poselok is a new type of rural settlement that arose during the Soviet Union.
- Aul is a settlement in which the ethnic population is represented: Adyghe, Abaza and Nogai.
- A farm is a settlement with an individual farm, consisting of outbuildings, the number of which does not exceed 10.
- The village is a settlement formed by the Cossacks. The largest village of the country is Kanevskaya in the Krasnodar Territory, its population is about 45 thousand people.
Types of settlements in Russia have been formed over the years. The organization of settlements is greatly influenced by natural and climatic factors. Agriculture is the main type of employment for people living in villages today. Favorable weather conditions play a major role here.
Given that in the vast majority of cases villages are monofunctional, today the main types of settlements are cities.
Summarize
Having considered the topic "What types of populationssettlements are formed on the territory of the Russian Federation", it can be concluded that rural settlements quantitatively prevail, but the population density in urban areas is much higher.
