Urbanization and Rural Trends in Russia and in Its Old-Developed Regions

Abstract—: The article considers the historical stages and current interaction between cities and rural areas. Old-developed regions of Russia are characterized by relatively high density of cities, but at the expense of small and most problematic ones. The urbanization of the 20th century led to the growth of several large centers that continue to “pull” people out of small and medium-sized cities and rural areas. The gap between the centers of regions and the territories they lead continues to grow. Prolonged urbanization has led to a significant devastation of the countryside outside Moscow oblast and in northwestern Russia. This was partly driven by the spread of small rural settlements in the forest zone. The peculiarity of Soviet agriculture and its post-Soviet transformations, the shift on crop production to the southern regions, and the impact on modern rural settlements are considered. It is shown how the modern technological paradigm of agriculture in the form of large modernized agro-industrial complexes has led spatial contrasts enhancement and the transition to a selective-focal commodity economy accompanied by shrinking land use. This led to the undermining the economic base of many rural settlements, and strengthening rural depopulation.