Currently, about one thousand cities are located on the territory of the largest state in the world . All of them differ from each other in terms of population and area.
The smallest city is Chekalin, which is in the Suvorov district of the Tula region. It was formed at the end of the nineteenth century. According to 2010 data, 994 people live in it.
And what is the largest city in Russia? If, when compiling the rating, the population is taken into account, then in the first place, of course, is the capital of the state.
Moscow
This populous metropolis is home to a huge number of people. A lot more inhabitants live in it than in some countries of Europe. For example, there are twice as many Muscovites than Finns and Norwegians combined, and about the same as Belgians and Czechs.
The number of the largest cities in Russia is simply amazing. For example, fifteen million people live in Moscow (the same number as in the whole of Kazakhstan). According to experts, 10 million citizens can boast of a metropolitan registration; another 1 million have temporary registration. What about the remaining four million? These are labor migrants, students, foreigners and illegal immigrants.
A continuous flow of residents of other regions in search of decent income seeks to Moscow. Indeed, the largest city in Russia provides opportunities for rapid career growth.
St. Petersburg
The list of the largest cities in Russia is supplemented by the Northern capital. Five million people live in the country's cultural center, with a five millionth resident born in 2012, in September. St. Petersburg is the fourth largest European city. Almost 100% of its population is Russian (by the way, in Moscow, 90% of representatives of this nationality).
Other largest cities in Russia
2013 was marked by the compilation of an updated rating of large settlements of the Russian Federation. The third place on this list is Novosibirsk. Just a little over a hundred years ago this city was not on the map of the country. Currently, it is home to one and a half million people. Novosibirsk is called the real champion in the transformation from a small town into a metropolis. Initially, the city was called Novonikolaevsky. It is characterized by a multinational composition of the population. So, at present, representatives of more than eighty different nationalities live in Novosibirsk - these are Germans, Tatars, Poles, Kazakhs, Finns, and Koreans.
Ekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is rightfully included in the list of “10 largest cities of Russia”. By the way, he has every chance to rise one line higher, since in 2012 one million four hundred thousand people already lived there. So the capital of the Urals may soon switch places with Novosibirsk.
The city attracts many tourists with its interesting location right on the border of Asia and Europe. From 1924 to 1991 he was called Sverdlovsk. Almost ninety percent of Yekaterinburg residents are Russians. In addition, the city is inhabited by Tatars, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, Azerbaijanis, Tajiks, Armenians. A small percentage is Belarusians, Chuvashs, Jews, Uzbeks and Udmurts.
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod closes the top five in the rating “The Largest City of Russia” with 1.3 million people. The administrative center of the Nizhny Novgorod region is the largest in the Volga Federal District.
Among other million-plus cities are Volgograd, Ufa, Omsk, Rostov-on-Don, Chelyabinsk, Kazan and Samara.
Until recently, Perm was also in their ranks, however, at present, unfortunately, its population is declining.
Territorial rating
You might be surprised, but the largest city in Russia is not Moscow. This proud title bears Mr. Zapolyarny, in the Murmansk region. In the town, located on the Kola Peninsula, less than twenty thousand people live, but its territory is several times larger than the capital. Zapolyarny's area is 4620 square kilometers. It is followed by Norilsk with 4410 square meters. km How are such unexpected positions explained? Everything turns out to be simple: both Zapolyarny and Norilsk are large centers of metallurgical production. The lion's share of their territories is occupied by deposits of the most valuable natural resources. They also enter the city limits.
Sochi, another record holder, is in third place in the ranking. The area of this resort city is 3605 square meters. km In addition, it is the longest city in Russia. It extends one hundred and forty-five kilometers along the Black Sea coast. The lion's share of this distance is sandy beaches - one hundred and eighteen kilometers. The resort capital is represented by the Khostinsky, Central, Lazarevsky and Adlerovsky districts.
Until 2012, St. Petersburg was the fourth largest territorial giants with an area of 1,432 km. sq. Everything changed when the territory of Moscow replenished with lands beyond the Moscow Ring Road. Now the capital boasts an area of 2510 square kilometers. On July 1, 2012, the megalopolis increased by 148 thousand ha. The capital increased almost two and a half times and took on the balance of twenty-one municipal formation.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question of which is the largest city in Russia. It all depends on the parameter, which is taken as a basis, whether the number of inhabitants, area, length, etc. One thing can be stated for sure: each settlement, large or small, plays a role in the development of the country, and therefore is worthy of respect.