Million-plus population cities of Russia: typology in interests of formation of federal urban policy measures

The development of cities in Russia in the post-Soviet period was characterized by the absence of a state urban policy, both due to the lack of a permanent regional policy as a whole and due to the narrowness of the city information base. As a result, the policy towards cities was situational (reactive) in nature and dealt with problematic areas. Modern proactive measures of spatial development (ASEZ, SEZ, and FPV), in turn, are focused mainly on regional priorities. As a result, the largest cities (with the exception of two capital cities) are not objects of a systemic policy that is aimed at problematic areas, “growth points,” or urban agglomerations. The lack of a holistic “urban” policy limits the prospects of the largest centers that need to adapt regulatory measures due to different dynamics and trends. The orientation of city research (and the formats of their development indices) to cover the maximum number of cities complements the situation, which also does not allow judging about special processes within the framework of specific classes of cities. The purpose of the paper was a comparative analysis of 14 cities with a million-plus population in the Russian Federation (urban districts). The analysis was based on demographic and socio-economic indicators per capita, including their dynamics for 2019-2022 (10 indicators). The general result of the paper was the typology and ranking of cities with a million-plus population, identifying their current position and trends in key components of their development. The theoretical result is the justification for the need for a separate study of specific classes of cities. The practical result identifies the level of differentiation of cities with a million-plus population by key parameters and the identification of leading and lagging groups of cities as a guideline for a promising urban policy.