Prospects for the formation of interregional agglomerations as a direction to implement the frontal strategy of Russia (the case of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Chelyabinsk oblast)

The development of agglomerations and reference points is one of the main initiatives of balanced spatial development in Russia within the framework of the elaborated frontal strategy of the country. By 2030, 41 agglomerations are expected to be formed including interregional ones, in which conditions for intensive economic development will be created. The purpose of the research is to assess the possibility of forming an interregional agglomeration between the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Chelyabinsk Oblast taking into account the economic, geographical and integration criteria for the delimitation of agglomerations. The subject of the study is the municipalities of the Magnitogorsk agglomeration (excluding the municipalities of the Republic of Bashkortostan in its composition), the creation of which is refl ected in the Development Strategy of the Chelyabinsk Oblast until 2035, and the proposed Trans-Ural agglomeration on the territory of the program sub-region “Trans-Urals of the Republic of Bashkortostan”. We assess the economic feasibility of creating two separate agglomerations or a single interregional agglomeration on the border of two regions. The assessment was carried out on the basis of an analysis of the concentration of economic activity in municipalities to identify the cores of agglomeration, migration links (commuting), transport connectivity as a factor in determining geographical boundaries and the coeffi cient of agglomeration development. We have concluded that Magnitogorsk (excluding municipalities of the Republic of Bashkortostan) and Trans-Ural agglomerations do not meet the basic requirements for agglomerations separately. There is no pronounced core in the Trans-Ural agglomeration; its territories tend rather to the neighboring region. At the same time, the force of the municipalities’ economic attraction between the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Chelyabinsk Oblast leads to the objective formation of an interregional Magnitogorsk-Trans-Ural agglomeration, which conditionally includes part of the municipalities of both agglomerations. The interregional agglomeration is more developed by the agglomeration coeffi cient than two separate agglomerations.