The Russian Federation is the largest state. It has more than 1000 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 relevant for 2014).
The top five leaders in terms of population
The first place, of course, is Moscow. It is the capital of the Russian Empire. About 15 million people live in it. The city has 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. The population is 5 million people.
Novosibirsk is in third position. Behind the scenes, it is the capital of Siberia, which clearly shows the map of Russia. Large cities are always well developed both industrial and cultural. Therefore, many people abandon towns and villages, preferring the centers. According to the results of the last 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 field. The number of permanent residents is approximately 1.3 million.
Fifth place - Nizhny Novgorod. It is widely developed aviation, shipping and automobile industry. It is located near Moscow (400 km), a population of 1.2 million people.
List of Top 10 Leader Cities
The sixth place in the list was taken by the capital of Tatarstan - Kazan. The number of people living in it is almost equal to Nizhny Novgorod. Next is Samara. This city is located on the Volga River, is the administrative center. The population is 1.16 million. Omsk is in seventh place, before it was the capital of Russia. Samara, it is inferior in number only to several 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 be confidently called the most significant transport hub, since the region is located on the border with Ukraine and is the connecting center of the two states.
All these administrative centers are among 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 in which the cities are located depending on their area, and it differs significantly from the above.
Top cities in Russia by area: first five places
Many people mistakenly assume that Moscow is the largest city both in terms of population and area. However, this is not at all true. An interesting fact is that these cities, even without regional significance, are much larger. These are mainly industrial centers, most of which are mineral deposits.
So, the largest cities of Russia by area:
- The first place, oddly enough, is occupied by the little-known city of Zapolyarny. It is located in the Murmansk region. The population is record small - 20 thousand people, but its area is almost 5 thousand square meters. km
- The next city is Norilsk. Most of it is ore deposits, however, they are fully related to the city limits. Therefore, its total area is 4.5 thousand square meters. km
- The third position is held by 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, according to official figures, the area of Moscow was much smaller. And only after the accession of the territory beyond the Moscow Ring Road did such figures form.
- Closes the five leaders, of course, 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 presented to fully reveal all the superiority of cities, we consider in more detail the largest of them.
Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation
Moscow takes 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 almost 13 million people. However, as everyone knows, a large percentage of the population of other countries comes to work in Moscow. And it is worth noting that not all of them have official documents. Therefore, the exact number of residents of the capital can only be guessed at.
Cultural Center of Russia - St. Petersburg
The beautiful city of St. Petersburg occupies a leading position in the official list of "The largest cities in Russia." Of course, in comparison with Moscow, the numbers vary significantly. However, the population density is not so small: per 1 square. m accounts for 3.5 thousand people. Many visitors live in the city, as a rule, they 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 precisely what allows it to be in the top five in the list of “Largest Cities of Russia”. It is quite well developed. There are huge scientific, commercial and cultural centers. Also, the infrastructure level 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 Urals region. Its number 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 at his direction that the construction of the city began. Currently, it is unofficially considered the capital of the Urals region. 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 is significantly increasing, reaching 2.2 million people.
Nizhny Novgorod
The list of "Largest Cities of Russia" Nizhny Novgorod closes the top five. It is located at the confluence of two large rivers: the Volga and the Oka. Due to this, shipbuilding, as well as the aviation and automobile industries, are widely supplied in the city. Economic development has contributed to the growth of the total population, at the moment it is 1.27 million people. However, recently, official data began to display a sharp decline. This is mainly due to a fairly close proximity to Moscow. Young people in the race for prestigious and well-paid jobs are eager to leave for the capital.
The data used in the article are relevant for 2014. However, in 2015 they could change dramatically due to the greatly increased migration from Ukraine. Russian cities have accepted a large number of refugees, so reliable estimates are currently not yet possible.