Rural settlement represents one or more rural settlements united by a common territory (villages, villages, hamlets, hamlets, kishlaks, auls, etc.).

urban settlement- a city or town with adjacent territory. An urban settlement may contain rural settlements that are not rural settlements (municipalities). The number of residents in such rural settlements should, as a rule, be less than 1 thousand people.

1. Issues of local significance of the settlement include:

1) formation, approval, execution of the settlement budget and control over execution of this budget;

2) establishment, modification and abolition of local taxes and settlement fees;

3) possession, use and disposal of property that is in municipal ownership of the settlement;

4) organization within the boundaries of the settlement of electricity, heat, gas and water supply to the population, sewerage, fuel supply to the population;

6) providing low-income citizens living in the settlement and in need of improved housing conditions with living quarters in accordance with housing legislation, organizing the construction and maintenance of municipal housing stock, creating conditions for housing construction;

7) creation of conditions for the provision transport services to the population and organization of transport services for the population within the boundaries of the settlement;

8) participation in prevention and mitigation of consequences emergency situations within the boundaries of the settlement;

9) provision of primary measures fire safety within the boundaries of populated areas;

10) creation of conditions for providing residents of the settlement with communication services, Catering, trade and consumer services;

A rural settlement is one or more rural settlements united by a common territory (villages, villages, hamlets, hamlets, kishlaks, auls and other rural settlements).

An urban settlement is a city or town with adjacent territory (an urban settlement may also contain rural settlements that are not rural settlements). Territory of the subject Russian Federation, with the exception of areas with low population density, is delimited between settlements.

An urban-type settlement (except for cities of federal significance) is given the status of a settlement, regardless of the population size and the size of the territory.

Rural settlements are formed according to more complex rules.

1. The population of a rural settlement cannot be less than 1 thousand people.

2. A rural settlement with a population of less than 1 thousand people, as a rule, is part of an urban or rural settlement.

3. The boundaries of a settlement, which includes two or more settlements, are established taking into account pedestrian accessibility to the administrative center of the rural settlement and back during the working day for residents of all settlements included in the settlement. The specified requirements, in accordance with the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, may not be applied when establishing the boundaries of municipal districts in areas with low population density and in hard-to-reach areas.

4. The settlement is part of one municipal district. There are exceptions to these rules.

1. In areas with high population density, the minimum population of a rural settlement is 3 thousand people.

2. In accordance with the laws of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, the status of a rural settlement, taking into account the population density of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation and the accessibility of the settlement territory, can be assigned to a rural settlement with a population of less than 1 thousand people.

3. A rural settlement with a population of less than 100 people, located in an area with a low population density or in a difficult-to-reach area, may directly become part of the district if such a decision was made at a meeting of citizens living in the corresponding settlement.

Territories with low population density include territories of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, individual municipal districts in constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the population density of rural settlements in which is more than three times lower than the average population density of rural settlements in the Russian Federation. The list of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, individual municipal districts in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the territories of which belong to areas with low population density, is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation

Territories with high population density include territories of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, individual municipal districts in constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the population density of rural settlements in which is more than three times higher than the average population density of rural settlements in the Russian Federation.

If the population of rural settlements, which are municipal formations-settlements, is less than 500 people, and in areas with high population density - less than 1,500 people, local government bodies, authorities

state power subjects of the Russian Federation, federal government bodies are obliged to initiate the procedure for changing the boundaries of the settlement.

5. Types of municipalities

Rural settlement. Criteria and principles for the formation of a rural settlement

Rural settlement is a public authority organization created on the territory of one or more rural settlements (villages, villages, villages, hamlets, kishlaks and other rural settlements), united by a common territory.

The federal legislator provides for five types of situations, the organization of local self-government in the territory where rural settlements are located:

1) a rural settlement with a population of more than 1000 people, as a rule, must be granted the status of an independent rural settlement by the law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation;

2) a rural settlement with a population of less than 1000 people, located next to another settlement, can be included in this urban or rural settlement;

3) several rural settlements with a population of less than 1000 people each, located nearby, can be combined into one rural settlement;

4) a rural settlement with a population of less than one thousand people, which, due to its remoteness from other settlements, if it cannot be annexed to another settlement (second option) or merged with others (third option), may also receive the status of a rural settlement;

5) a settlement located in hard-to-reach and remote areas with low population density, with a population of less than 100 people, may have no status municipality included by the regional legislator directly into the municipal district. As an exception to the rules on a two-tier system of local self-government, a single-level government is created on the territory of such settlements, since here both the issues of managing settlements and managing districts will be decided by the authorities of the latter.

In areas with high population density, the threshold for the “viability” of rural settlements as rural settlements has been increased from one thousand to three thousand people.

The second part of the definition of a settlement requires, for situations of annexation and unification of rural settlements into one settlement, the mandatory presence of a common territory for these settlements. Only under this condition is it possible to jointly resolve issues of local importance without compromising the traditions and characteristics of all members of the local community. The federal legislator uses a formalized criterion to establish the presence of a common territory - pedestrian accessibility. The latter is revealed through the opportunity from the administrative center of a rural settlement from all its constituent settlements to get there and back on foot within one working day.

481 rural settlements have been formed on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The regional legislator uses the name village council to indicate the status of a rural settlement.

Urban settlement. Criteria and principles for the formation of an urban settlement

urban settlement is a public authority organization formed on the territory of one city (or one village) with the adjacent territory. An urban settlement may include a rural settlement or settlement that does not independently have the status of a municipal entity. Currently, 39 urban settlements have been created on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Municipal area. Criteria and principles for the formation of municipal districts. Intersettlement territories

Municipal district– a municipal entity, which includes several rural and (or) urban settlements united by a common territory. The district also includes inter-settlement territories and may include settlements with a population of less than one hundred people, located in remote and inaccessible areas. In the territories of the latter and inter-settlement lands, the system of government is one-level and the powers of both the district and the settlement in relation to them are exercised by the authorities of the municipal district. Taxes from such territories also go to regional budgets.

The legislator can give the status of intersettlement lands to vast, usually uninhabited areas of tundra, taiga, forest, etc., the management of which is impossible for the authorities of nearby settlements. Such areas cannot be developed by settlements and in order to optimize their administration, a decision is made to assign them intersettlement status and include them directly in the district. Of the 44 municipal districts created in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, only four (Turukhansky, Boguchansky, Taimyrsky) have inter-settlement territories within their borders.

When establishing the boundaries of a municipal district, the legislator requires the existence of a community of territory united into one municipality, formalizing the unity of the population as members of the local community by the criterion of transport accessibility. The regional legislator, therefore, must be guided by the factor of being able to get from the administrative center of the district to the administrative center of each settlement within it during the working day. It seems that it would be more correct to indicate the presence of “regular transport links.

City district. Criteria and principles for the formation of an urban district

Urban district- a type of urban settlement. An urban settlement can receive the status of an urban district if a combination of two conditions is met. Firstly, an urban settlement must have an established social, transport and other infrastructure necessary for independent decision issues of local importance, and certain transferred state powers. Secondly, everything is the same, that is, the presence of established social, transport and other infrastructure necessary for independent decisions by local governments and delegated powers is available in the territories adjacent to the city. The legislator of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation also has the right to take into account the prospects for the development of the territory when granting an urban settlement the status of a rural or urban settlement. Thus, as a rule, a fairly large city whose infrastructure is relatively independent receives the status of an urban district.

The most significant thing in the legal regime of an urban district, which distinguishes it from the status of an urban settlement, is the fact that it is not part of a municipal district. A city district may be geographically located in a district, but legally it is not included in the district. Consequently, there is a discrepancy between the geographical and legal maps of such areas. The district authorities do not have any jurisdiction over the territory of the urban district. However, a city district may be the administrative center of a district, i.e. serve as a kind of capital for the region. In such cases, the authorities of the municipal district are located on “foreign” territory, in relation to which they are deprived of the ability to manage.

17 urban districts have been formed in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. These also included urban districts created on the territory of closed administrative territories. Federal Law No. FZ-131 requires the entire territory of a closed administrative entity to be included in a single urban district. Unlike other administrative-territorial units, the boundaries of ZATOs are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, however, all other issues of status (taking into account the peculiarities of the organization of local self-government in ZATOs, set out in Chapter 11 of Federal Law No. FZ-131) are determined by the subject of the Russian Federation.

Intracity territory of a city of federal significance. Features of the implementation of local self-government in cities of federal significance

Intracity territory of a federal city– a municipal entity, the territory of which forms part of the territory of a city of federal significance. Features of the intracity territories of Moscow and St. Petersburg are as follows: a) single-level organization of local government; b) differentiation of issues of local importance of these prefectures and districts into those that they carry out themselves, and those that are “taken” from them by the subjects of the Federation. This specificity is connected with the need to preserve the unity of the urban economy of the cities-subjects of the Russian Federation, since there are public services at the local level that cannot be solved autonomously by part of the territory, although large, but single city. These, for example, include the organization of transport services, the organization of the provision of funeral services, the maintenance of burial sites, the disposal and processing of solid waste and garbage, and others; c) part of the revenue sources that, according to federal budget legislation, should go to the local budget, are redirected to the regional one, since the government authorities of Moscow and St. Petersburg take on some of the issues of local importance.

Previous

The position of rural sociology in both the USSR and post-Soviet Russia was determined by two factors acting in opposite directions. On the one hand, Russian society is traditionally associated with the village and has deep “rural roots.” This determined the interest of scientists in the village. On the other hand, there are many reasons that seem to push rural issues into the background. This is due to the territorial remoteness of the village from the city, less institutionalization of the rural environment, and inaccessibility rural residents for surveys using standard survey methods. It is impossible not to take into account the dependence of rural research on the nature of the state’s agrarian policy in certain periods. national history. In the 20th century, the Russian village at least twice, during the period of Stalin’s collectivization and current reforms, underwent severe socio-economic transformations. As a result, despite the great social significance of the village for Russia, the attention of sociologists to the village as an object of study at different stages of the country’s history did not remain the same, but, on the contrary, changed, at times it disappeared altogether (as happened at the stage of market reforms of the 90s). .

If we return to the first factor, the exceptional importance of rural issues for Russia, then this importance is already visible from the composition of the population. The share of rural residents in Russia in 2002 was 27%, according to the 2010 census - 21.3% (in the UK and the Netherlands - 11%, in Germany - 14%, in Sweden - 17%, in the USA and Canada - 23 % and 24%). In addition, the division of settlements into “rural” and “urban” in Russia is not alternative, but “continuous”; in addition to 26-27% of village residents, there is also about 28% of the country’s population living in urban-type settlements and small towns with a population of 50 -100 thousand people Both of these categories of settlements are much closer to a village than to a city in terms of the entire range of living conditions, the composition of the population and its mentality.

However, it’s not just about where Russians live and work. Due to the rapid pace of urbanization Russian society The country's urban population retains strong “rural roots” and a strong “rural flavor.” The rapid growth of the urban population has led to the fact that the overwhelming majority of city residents are first- or second-generation people from rural areas; only about 1/6 of the urban population is third-generation city dwellers. And there are even fewer descendants of pre-revolutionary townspeople, for example, in Moscow - about 3%. The urban population of Russia is mainly rural natives and their children, who have had little interaction with indigenous townspeople. Some townspeople maintain family ties with the village. Seasonal migrations of city dwellers to the villages to visit relatives and inherited lands are widespread. village houses. As a result, a non-trivial situation has arisen: statistics say that Russia is an urban country, 3/4 of the population lives in cities, but in fact a significant part of the urban population has an agrarian mentality: today’s “dacha residents” are largely associated with “gardening” activities .

Since the 60s, when rural sociology, like all sociology, was revived, a large group of scientists studied the life of the village and its inhabitants, whose works largely contributed to the formation of this branch of sociological thought - Yu.V. Harutyunyan, P.P. Velikiy, T.I. Zaslavskaya, I.V. Ryvkina, G.A. Lisichkin, P.I. Simush, V.I. Staroverov, A.I. Timush et al.

Rural settlement- a settlement where the majority of residents are employed in agriculture, or a non-agricultural settlement located in a rural area that does not correspond in population to a city. Rural settlements in the Russian Federation - villages, villages, hamlets, hamlets, kishlaks, auls, camps, villages, etc.

A typology of rural settlements can be drawn on a number of grounds.

According to the time of residence, they are permanent and seasonally inhabited (temporary). Seasonally inhabited areas include “winter roads” and “summer roads” of livestock farmers in places where livestock are kept, field camps associated with the use of remote arable land, as well as non-agricultural areas associated with recreational services for the population (summer camp sites, children's health camps). There are temporary settlements created for a certain period of time, for example, timber settlements, expedition bases.

According to the compactness of settlement, settlements are grouped or scattered. Group (village form) prevail in Russia, foreign Europe, China, Japan, in most developing countries. Scattered rural settlements (farm form) are common in the USA, Canada, Australia, and the Baltic countries. In Russia there are several thousand farms with changing fates.

The population scale of rural settlements is a system of classifying them according to the number of residents living in them. In accordance with it, the following rural settlements are distinguished: smallest (up to 50 inhabitants), small (51-100 inhabitants), medium (100-500 inhabitants), large (501-1000 inhabitants), largest (over 1000 inhabitants).

To determine the functional type of a rural settlement important criterion serves as the structure of the “village-forming” group of the amateur population, consisting of workers employed in various sectors of the national economy, and those whose activities represent the direct contribution of the residents of a given settlement to National economy countries. Their ratio in the “village-forming” population reflects economic basis life of this locality. But the main difference between rural settlements and urban ones is the occupation of their residents primarily agriculture. In fact, in modern Russia Only 55% of the rural population is engaged in agriculture, the remaining 45% work in industry, transport, non-production and other “urban” sectors of the economy. Often these are residents of rural settlements located near cities (especially within urban agglomerations), working in urban settlements. But in many cases, non-agricultural enterprises (mainly service establishments) are located directly in rural settlements, especially in the largest ones.

In the structure of rural-type settlements, non-agricultural settlements can be distinguished, located in rural areas, but in size not meeting the established qualifications for urban settlements; Various types villages for workers industrial enterprises, communications, builders for new buildings; timber industry and forest protection, fishing and hunting settlements, scientific stations, permanent (at observatories, weather stations, etc.) or temporary (bases of geological exploration parties, expeditions), health care institutions, country houses, country houses. All this suggests that the stratification structure of the rural population is no less diverse and complex than the urban one.

Rural lifestyle

Ø In rural settlements, less developed labor in social production predominates, lagging behind in the degree of mechanization and power supply. It is subject to the rhythms and cycles of nature. The unity of work and life, the need for work in household farming is preserved.

Ø Interpersonal relationships in the village are specific. Socially and nationally homogeneous families predominate here, there is no anonymity of communication, social roles are poorly formalized. Great importance has a strong social control communities over people's behavior.

Ø The rhythm of life in the countryside is generally less stressful compared to the city, a person experiences less psychological stress, uses more simple shapes communication.

Ø Compared to the urban one, the rural lifestyle provides fewer opportunities to choose not only forms of employment, but also ways of spending leisure time.

3. General scheme of settlement on the territory of Russia.

The supporting framework of settlement is a network of the most significant settlements of a certain territory and transport communications connecting them. The key elements of the supporting framework of the country's settlement are, as a rule, large cities and urban agglomerations, combining the functions of organization and comprehensive service to the surrounding territories.

Among the main features of Russia's living space are: the vastness of the territory, the severity of natural conditions, and the multinational population.

One of the most characteristic features modern urbanization in Russia - the development of polarization processes in settlement. The population is concentrated in nodal centers along the main transport routes, which, together with the main centers, form the supporting framework of settlement and the territorial structure of the economy. The process of urbanization, which previously took place in the country at an intensive pace, practically ceased in the last intercensus period: the ratio of urban residents and rural residents remained at the 1989 level - 73% and 26-27%, respectively (See Appendix 2). Regional differences in the level of urbanization are associated with different times of the beginning of urbanization processes and the nature of the development of the territory. The most urbanized are the old industrial areas around Moscow and St. Petersburg - the European Center and the North-West. The share of the urban population is also high in the northern and northeastern regions of new development with extreme natural conditions. In the agricultural south of the country and in the least developed national republics, less affected by industrialization, the share of the urban population in a number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation does not exceed 40-60%.

The population of the Russian Federation lives in 2940 urban settlements (cities and urban-type settlements) and 142 thousand rural settlements.

More than 90% of the urban population lives in cities, the rest of the urban population lives in urban-type settlements. During the intercensus period, the number of cities increased by 61. An increase in the number of cities and the population in them was noted in the groups of small (up to 50 thousand people), large (from 100 to 250 thousand people) and largest cities - millionaires. Small cities with a population of up to 50 thousand people predominate (70% of all cities), but only 17% of city residents live in them.

In inter-highway spaces, in the outback, the population is declining, its density is decreasing, and the network of settlements is collapsing. During the intercensus period, the number of rural settlements decreased by almost 11 thousand. This happened due to the liquidation and exclusion from registration data in accordance with decisions of the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation of rural settlements in which the population does not live due to leaving for other (urban or rural) ) settlements and natural population decline. Russia remains not only a country of big cities, but also a country of vast rural spaces, a significant part of which is located outside the zones of influence of large centers. In Russia, 65% of rural administrative districts are outside the two-hour accessibility zone of cities.

Almost half of all rural settlements in the country are tiny and small, and only 3% of the rural population live in them. The share of the smallest settlements in the total rural population is gradually decreasing. In 1959 it was about 6%. Today's smallest settlements were typically quite large villages in the past, but have lost much of their population to migration. Mostly young people left, and today these are “dying villages”, where the population is predominantly older than working age, where social and economic infrastructure is absent or poorly developed. Most of the houses are abandoned by residents. People of younger ages (children and grandchildren of modern residents) appear in them only during the summer months, helping their relatives with work on the land. personal plots and using the surrounding area for recreation. In the coming decades, most of the smallest villages will most likely disappear or turn into summer inhabited dacha settlements.

The largest proportion of rural residents (almost half) live in the largest settlements (more than 1000 people), although such settlements account for only 5% of the total number of rural settlements in the country. The share of the largest settlements in the total rural population is increasing. In 1959 it was about 30%, in 2010 – 33%. We can say that in Russia there is a stratification and polarization of rural settlements. Settlements of intermediate groups are losing population (small and medium), and large ones are gaining it, gradually replenishing the extreme groups of settlements - the smallest and largest.

The socio-territorial organization of Russian society in the transition period gives rise to many internal problems, which we talked about earlier. But we should not forget about external ones - growing territorial appetites neighboring countries. Solving problems depends on the effectiveness and focus of the state’s efforts in important areas:

· Reform of the administrative-territorial structure (ATU). A nationwide program is needed to promote and explain the goals and objectives of the reform with the active participation of the media. The reform will inevitably update new issues of territorial structure and those that have required resolution for decades, since the formation of the current subjects of the Federation. Therefore, in order to determine general principles and approaches to issues of adjustment at all levels of the ATU, as was said, we need a Constitutional law on the basic principles of the ATU in the Russian Federation. The need for this law has existed for a long time, since the current legislation does not answer many of the questions that arise, and when carrying out reform, such a law is simply necessary.

· Alignment of starting opportunities for the deployment of business projects in small and large cities. Taking measures to increase the investment attractiveness of small towns and leveling conditions economic development different cities of Russia. In small towns, special economic conditions can be created - technology parks, industrial zones, innovation centers, legal and patent centers. State-insured venture capital should come to small towns.

· Development of infrastructure, communication systems between rural settlements. Road and housing construction, expansion modern systems communications, energy and gasification. It is also necessary to stop the process of collapsing the network of government, financial and other institutions serving the territory located in rural settlements, for example, branches of Sberbank and Russian Post.

· Optimization of the relationship between the settlement structure and the prospects for the development of the education system in Russia, with the definition of types, levels, quantity and quality educational institutions in different territories.

LITERATURE

1. http://www.gks.ru Official website of the Federal State Statistics Service.

2. Zaborova E.N. A city on the verge of centuries. – Ekaterinburg: Ural Publishing House. state econ. Univ., 2007. – 272 p.

3. Lappo M.G. Geography of cities. M.: Humanite. Ed. VLADOS Center, 1997. – 480 p.

4. About Russia in the language of numbers / All-Russian population census. Rosstat. 2010

5. Pivovarov Yu. L. Modern urbanism. Lecture course. Moscow: Russian Open University 1994.

6. Pirogov S.V. Sociology of the city. Tomsk 2003

Test tasks

1. What units of administrative-territorial structure exist in modern Russia?:

b. province

2. Most of the cities in Russia in terms of population are:

A. millionaires b. small c. medium cities large

3.The rural lifestyle is characterized by:

A. subordination of labor to the cycles of nature

b. employment in industry and services

V. high community control over personal life

d. variety of places of work, leisure, study

4. The following federal districts are distinguished in Russia:

b. Central

V. Siberian

Central

Privolzhsky village

e. (Which others, please add) …………………………

…………………………………………………………………

5. The process of increasing the role of cities and urban lifestyle in history is:

A. Migration b. urbanization c. gentrification

6.The size of the rural population in Russia in last decades:

A. increases

b. decreases

V. remains unchanged

7. In the history of sociology, the following city models have been distinguished:

A. concentric zone model

b. sector model

V. polarization model

d. model of many centers

8. The network of the most significant settlements in the country and the transport communications connecting them are:

A. transport node

b. support frame

V. transport interchange

9. From the proposed list, select megalopolises:

A. London

b. Shanghai

V. Boswash

Chipits

d. Moscow

Terminological dictionary.

Agglomeration- a compact spatial grouping of settlements, united by intensive industrial and cultural connections into a complex multi-component dynamic system. There are monocentric and polycentric agglomerations.

Administrative division(ATO) is a system of territorial organization of the state, on the basis of which bodies of state power and administration are formed and function. In the Russian Federation, administrative-territorial units are territories, regions and districts.

Aul– mountain village in national republics North Caucasus.

City– a settlement with a population of at least 12 thousand people, where about 85% of the population is employed in industry and services.

Urban district- an urban settlement that is not part of a municipal district, the local government bodies of which have the powers of both the settlement and the municipal district. The status of the urban district as a municipal entity is determined by Federal Law of October 6, 2003 No. 131-FZ “On general principles organization of local self-government in the Russian Federation". The territory of an urban district may include one city or one village, as well as, in accordance with the master plan for the development of an urban settlement, territories intended to optimize its social, transport and other infrastructure.

Village- V in a broad sense- a socio-territorial community characterized by a small, compared to a city, concentration of population engaged primarily in agriculture.

Zaimka ( in Siberia) is a single-yard settlement with an adjacent land plot away from developed areas.

BUT(Closed administrative-territorial entity) - an urban district within which there is an object for which a special regime for safe operation and preservation of state secrets is established by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation.

Megalopolis– the largest form of settlement, formed during accretion large quantity neighboring urban agglomerations.

Monocentric urban agglomeration- an urban agglomeration formed around one large core city.

Lifestyle– the concept reflects daily life people and serves to identify the relationship between established, typical and variable, individual characteristics of the life of various people in various fields. The content of a lifestyle is determined by how people live, what they do, what types of activities and interactions with each other fill their lives. Consequently, a way of life is a dynamic sociocultural “portrait” of members of society who are part of a particular settlement community.

Polycentric urban agglomeration– an urban agglomeration with several core cities with their natural areas

Settlement- a type of settlement that, in terms of population, occupies an intermediate position between a city and a village.

Pochinok- a small, recently settled village.

Region(from Latin regio - country, region) - a large individual territorial unit (for example, economic, political). Regional - relating to a specific territory (district, region, country, group of countries).

Urbanization– the process of spreading urban forms and living conditions to rural areas.

Village- a large village with the status of an administrative center. In the history of Russia, a village was also distinguished from a village by the presence of a church.

Stanitsa ( in the Russian regions of the North Caucasus) is a large Cossack rural settlement or administrative-territorial unit uniting several small Cossack villages.

Khutor– a single-yard rural settlement, a separate estate with outbuildings and a plot of land for individual use.

The population of modern Russia lives mainly in cities. In pre-revolutionary Russia, the rural population predominated; today the urban population dominates (73%, 108.1 million people). Right up Until 1990, Russia experienced a constant increase in urban population, contributing to the rapid increase in its share in the country's population. If in 1913 urban residents accounted for only 18%, in 1985 - 72.4%, then in 1991 their number reached 109.6 million people (73.9%).

The main source of the steady growth of the urban population during the Soviet period was the influx of rural residents into cities due to redistribution between and agriculture. An important role in ensuring high rates of annual growth of the urban population is played by the transformation of some rural settlements into urban ones with a change in their functions. To a much lesser extent, the country's urban population grew due to the natural increase in urban population.

Since 1991 for the first time in many decades in Russia the urban population began to decline. In 1991, the urban population decreased by 126 thousand people, in 1992 - by 752 thousand people, in 1993 - by 549 thousand people, in 1994 - by 125 thousand people, in 1995 - for 200 thousand people. Thus, for 1991-1995. the reduction amounted to 1 million 662 thousand people. As a result, the share of the country's urban population decreased from 73.9 to 73.0%, but by 2001 it rose to 74% with an urban population of 105.6 million people.

The largest absolute reduction in the urban population occurred in Central (387 thousand people). Far Eastern (368 thousand people) and West Siberian (359 thousand people) regions. The Far Eastern (6.0%), Northern (5.0%) and Western Siberian (3.2%) regions are leading in terms of the rate of reduction. In the Asian part of the country, the absolute losses of the urban population as a whole are greater than in the European part (836 thousand people, or 3.5%, compared to 626 thousand people, or 0.7%).

The trend towards an increase in the share of the urban population continued until 1995 only in the Volga, Central Black Earth, Ural, North Caucasus and Volga-Vyatka regions, and in the last two regions the increase in urban population in 1991-1994. was minimal.

Basic reasons for the decline in urban population in Russia:

• the changed ratio of migration flows arriving in and leaving urban settlements;
• reduction in last years the number of urban-type settlements (in 1991 their number was 2204; by the beginning of 1994 - 2070; 2000 - 1875; 2005-1461; 2008 - 1361);
• negative natural population growth.

In Russia, it left its mark not only on the ratio of urban and rural populations in a territorial context, but also on the structure of urban settlements.

Population of Russian cities

A city in Russia can be considered a settlement whose population exceeds 12 thousand people and more than 85% of the population of which is employed in non-agricultural production. Cities are classified according to their functions: industrial, transport, scientific centers, resort cities. Based on population, cities are divided into small (up to 50 thousand people), medium (50-100 thousand people), large (100-250 thousand people), large (250-500 thousand people), largest (500 thousand people). - 1 million people) and millionaire cities (population over 1 million people). G.M. Lappo distinguishes the category of semi-medium cities with a population of 20 to 50 thousand people. The capitals of republics, territories and regions perform several functions - they are multifunctional cities.

Before the Great Patriotic War there were two millionaire cities in Russia, in 1995 their number increased to 13 (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Volgograd, Omsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Chelyabinsk).

Currently (2009) there are 11 millionaire cities in Russia (Table 2).

A number of the largest cities in Russia with a population of more than 700 thousand, but less than 1 million - Perm, Volgograd, Krasnoyarsk, Saratov, Voronezh, Krasnodar, Togliatti - are sometimes called sub-millionaire cities. The first two of these cities, which were once millionaires, as well as Krasnoyarsk, are often called millionaires in journalism and semi-officially.

Most of them (except Togliatti and partly Volgograd and Saratov) are also interregional centers socio-economic development and attraction.

Table 2. Millionaire cities in Russia

More than 40% of the population lives in large cities of Russia. Multifunctional cities are growing very quickly, satellite cities appear next to them, forming urban agglomerations.

Millionaire cities are the centers of urban agglomerations, which additionally characterize the population and importance of the city (Table 3).

Despite the advantages of large cities, their growth is limited, as difficulties arise in providing cities with water and housing, supplying a growing population, and preserving green areas.

Rural population of Russia

Rural settlement is the distribution of residents among settlements located in rural areas. In this case, rural areas are considered to be all areas located outside urban settlements. IN beginning of XXI V. in Russia there are approximately 150 thousand rural settlements, in which about 38.8 million people live (2002 census data). The main difference between rural settlements and urban ones is that their residents are primarily engaged in agriculture. In fact, in modern Russia, only 55% of the rural population is engaged in agriculture, the remaining 45% work in industry, transport, non-production and other “urban” sectors of the economy.

Table 3. Urban agglomerations of Russia

The nature of the settlement of the rural population of Russia varies according to natural areas depending on conditions economic activity, national traditions and customs of the peoples living in those regions. These are villages, villages, hamlets, auls, temporary settlements of hunters and reindeer herders, etc. The average rural population density in Russia is approximately 2 people/km 2 . The most high density rural population was noted in the south of Russia in the Ciscaucasia (Krasnodar Territory - more than 64 people/km 2).

Rural settlements are classified depending on their size (population) and functions performed. The average size rural settlements in Russia are 150 times smaller than urban ones. The following groups of rural settlements are distinguished by size:

• smallest (up to 50 inhabitants);
• small (51-100 inhabitants);
• medium (101-500 inhabitants);
• large (501-1000 inhabitants);
• the largest (over 1000 inhabitants).

Almost half (48%) of all rural settlements in the country are small, but they are home to 3% of the rural population. The largest share of rural residents (almost half) live in the largest settlements. Especially large sizes Rural settlements in the North Caucasus are distinguished, where they spread over many kilometers and number up to 50 thousand inhabitants. The share of the largest settlements in the total number of rural settlements is constantly increasing. In the 90s of the XX century. settlements of refugees and temporary migrants have appeared, cottage and holiday villages are expanding in the suburbs of large cities.

By functional type The vast majority of rural settlements (more than 90%) are agricultural. Most non-agricultural settlements are transport (approx. railway stations) or recreational (near sanatoriums, rest homes, and other institutions), also industrial, logging, military, etc.

Within the agricultural type, settlements are distinguished:

• with significant development administrative, service and distribution functions (district centers);
• with local administrative and economic functions (centers of rural administrations and central estates of large agricultural enterprises);
• with the presence of large agricultural production (crop crews, livestock farms);
• without manufacturing enterprises, with the development of only personal subsidiary farming.

At the same time, the size of settlements naturally decreases from rural regional centers (which are the largest) to settlements without industrial enterprises (which, as a rule, are small and minute).

The number of rural settlements and urban settlements continues to decline

As a result of urbanization processes and the peculiarities of Russia's historical development, its rural population has been steadily declining between censuses since the mid-1920s. The decline in urban population became a new phenomenon after the 1989 census (Figure 7). During the period between the 1989 and 2002 censuses, the number of urban residents decreased even more than rural ones (-1.4% versus -0.8%). Between the 2002 and 2010 censuses, the decline in the rural population was greater (-3.0%) than in the urban population (-1.0%). As a result, the share of urban residents in the total population of Russia, after a period of rapid and steady growth, stabilized at just over 73% (73.4% in 1989, 73.3% in 2002, 73.7% in 2010).

The criterion for classifying urban or rural residents in Russia is permanent residence in an urban or rural settlement. At the same time, urban settlements are considered to be settlements approved by legislative acts as cities and towns of urban type (working towns, resort towns, holiday villages and towns of closed administrative-territorial entities). All other settlements are considered rural. Information on the administrative-territorial division used in the statistical development of population data is based on official documents received from the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Figure 7. The size of the urban and rural population of Russia according to population censuses, millions of people

Distinctive feature During the last two intercensal periods, there was a rapid reduction in the number of urban settlements due to urban-type settlements, often combining the features of small towns and rural settlements. The number of cities continued to increase moderately and has practically stabilized in recent years (Fig. 8).

As of October 14, 2010, there were 2,386 cities and urban-type settlements in Russia. The number of urban-type settlements decreased by 554 compared to 2002:

• 413 urban-type settlements, in accordance with the decision of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local self-government, were transformed into rural settlements,
• 141 urban-type settlements were excluded from the registration data due to their inclusion within the boundaries of other urban settlements (127) or liquidation due to the departure of residents (14 urban-type settlements were liquidated, of which 6 - in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), 8 - in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug).

Figure 8. Number of urban settlements in Russia according to population census data

Among 1,100 Russian cities, 85% are cities with a population of up to 100 thousand inhabitants, and their number continues to grow (Table 1). The number of the largest cities, where a million people or more live, grew steadily until 1989, and then practically stabilized, changing only due to the rise and fall in rank of Volgograd, with a population of about a million people. The number of smaller cities changed due to the increase in the rank of some cities and the decrease of others, moving into a group of smaller cities. The steady growth that characterized previous decades has ceased.

Table 1. Distribution of cities in the Russian Federation by number of inhabitants, according to population census data

Total cities
up to 100 thousand
1 million or more

Despite the decline in the urban population, the trend of population concentration in large cities continues. The population living in cities with a population of 100 thousand or more increased by 2 million people compared to 2002 (from 68.2 to 70.2 million people), and its specific gravity in the urban population of Russia - from 64% to 67%.

The number of residents of millionaire cities is steadily increasing (Fig. 9). The population living in cities with populations between 500,000 and 1 million declined between the 1989 and 2002 censuses, but increased markedly between the 2002 and 2010 censuses. The population of smaller cities, which increased between 1989 and 2002, fell between the 2002 and 2010 censuses.

Figure 9. Distribution of the population of Russian cities by cities with different numbers of inhabitants, according to population census data, millions of people

Although the trend of concentration of city residents in large cities continues, its speed has clearly slowed down (Table 2). In 2010, as in 2002, 40% of residents of large cities - with a population of 100 thousand people or more - were concentrated in millionaire cities.

Table 2. Distribution of the population of cities of the Russian Federation by cities of different populations, according to population census data

Population of all cities
including the number of inhabitants:
up to 100 thousand
100-499.9 thousand
500-999.9 thousand
1 million or more

During the period between the 2002 and 2010 censuses, the population of all millionaire cities increased, with the exception of Nizhny Novgorod, as well as Perm, which dropped out of them (Table 3). During the previous intercensal period, population growth was recorded in only 5 out of 13 cities.

Moscow especially stands out for its steady and rapid growth in this group of cities due to the significant influx of migrants. The excess of the population data according to the preliminary results of the VPN-2010 over the number according to the current estimate amounted to 951 thousand people in Moscow (9% of the population). In other largest cities of the country it was less significant, amounting to 248 thousand people (5.4%) in St. Petersburg, 65 thousand people (4.6%) in Novosibirsk, 42 ​​thousand people (4.2%) in Volgograd, Rostov -on-Don - 42 thousand people (4.0%), in the rest - 3% or less. Only in Nizhny Novgorod, during the 2010 census, fewer permanent residents were counted than estimated according to current accounting data - by 20 thousand, or by 1.6%.

Table 3. Population of cities in the Russian Federation with a population of 1 million or more, according to population censuses and current records

			Rating as of 01/01/10	Census as of 10/14/10	2002 to 1989	2010 to 2002	2010 to 1989
Saint Petersburg
Novosibirsk
Ekaterinburg
Nizhny Novgorod
Chelyabinsk
Rostov-on-Don
Volgograd

* without settlements subordinate to the city administration

Among smaller large cities - with a population from 500 thousand to 1 million - the capital of the Republic of Dagestan stands out for its very high population growth (Table 4). It is worth noting that the population of Makhachkala, according to preliminary data from the VPN-2010, exceeded its estimate according to current accounting data by 23% (by 109 thousand people). Krasnodar and Tyumen are also distinguished by high population growth in this group of cities, and the discrepancy between the preliminary data of the VPN-2010 and the estimate based on current accounting data is insignificant (4.4% and 0.3%, respectively). Some cities, losing population, lower their rank, moving to a group of smaller cities.

Table 4. Population of cities in the Russian Federation with a population from 500 thousand to 1 million, according to population censuses and current records

	Population, thousand people				Change in population between censuses, %
			Rating as of 01/01/10	Census as of 10/14/10	2002 to 1989	2010 to 2002	2010 to 1989
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnodar
Tolyatti
Ulyanovsk
Vladivostok
Yaroslavl
Makhachkala
Khabarovsk
Novokuznetsk
Orenburg
Kemerovo
Astrakhan
Naberezhnye Chelny

The number of rural settlements declined rapidly and steadily until 1989; in the last intercensal period, this process slowed down (Fig. 10).

In the period between the 1959 and 1989 censuses, the number of rural settlements decreased almost by half - from 294,059 to 152,922. Between the 1989 and 2002 censuses, the total number of rural settlements, according to Rosstat, increased by 2,367, or 1.5%, but with At the time of the 2002 census, no one lived in 13,086 settlements (8.4% of the total). At the same time, Rosstat did not explain whether such settlements were taken into account in previous population censuses, but the number of settlements in which no more than 5 people live almost doubled in 1989-2002 (from 16,925 to 32,997, including settlements in which no one lived at the time 2002 census). The number of rural settlements, where from 6 to 10 people live, increased by 6.4% (from 13,245 to 14,029). And the number of rural settlements with a population of from 11 to 3,000 people, on the contrary, decreased, most of all - by 21% - with a number of residents from 26 to 50 people (from 19,939 to 15,770). The number of larger rural settlements increased: with the number of inhabitants from 3 to 5 thousand people - by 8.7% (from 803 to 873), with the number of inhabitants more than 5 thousand people - by 34.3% (from 601 to 807) .

At the time of the 2002 census, 30.3% of the total number of rural settlements were small settlements - with the number of inhabitants no more than 10 people (including those without any population), 34.1% - with the number of inhabitants from 11 to 100, 35 .6% - with a population of over 100 people.

During the period between the 2002 and 2010 censuses, the number of rural settlements decreased by 2.2 thousand, mainly due to their liquidation due to the lack of residents, consolidation (merger) with other rural settlements or their inclusion within cities.

At the time of the 2010 census, there were 153.1 thousand rural settlements. Among them, the share of small settlements with the number of inhabitants of no more than 10 people increased to 36.3% (including 12.7% without population), and the share of larger settlements decreased: with the number of inhabitants from 11 to 100 - to 30.4 %, with a population of over 100 people – up to 33.2%.

Figure 10. Distribution of rural settlements in Russia by number of inhabitants, according to population census data, thousands of settlements

* up to 10 people in 2002 and 2010 – including rural settlements without population

About 80% of rural settlements without population and with a population of no more than 10 people are concentrated in the Central and Northwestern federal districts, including about 30% in the Tver, Vologda and Pskov regions.

The highest proportion of settlements without population is in the Kostroma, Tver, Yaroslavl, Vologda, Pskov, Kirov and Magadan regions, as well as the Republic of Ingushetia (over 20%).

Compared to the 2002 census, the number of villages and hamlets with a population of 10 people or less has also increased. In 2010 they made up almost a quarter of all rural settlements, while in 2002 they made up about a fifth. According to preliminary data from the VPN-2010, only 0.5% of the rural population lives in them (in 1989 and 2002 – 0.4% each). These rural settlements are mainly concentrated in the Central and Northwestern Federal Districts. In the Yaroslavl, Vologda, Novgorod and Pskov regions, the share of small villages and farmsteads exceeds 40%.