The number of medium and small towns in Russia will fall in the nearest decades, claims the Ministry of Economic Development.
“The decrease of amount of small-sized towns is an insuperable and a global tendency and we cannot but take this into consideration,” said Elvira Nabiullina, the Minister of Economic Development, at the Moscow Urban Forum today.
According to some data, about 15-20 million people may leave small towns in the nearest twenty years in Russia, added the Minister. “The question is if our large cities are ready to accept and use this resource or it will be a challenge for them.”
Russia is a rather urban country. About 73% of its citizens are town-dwellers. About 20 largest Russian cities form 59 % of the country’s GDP.
Author: Irina Fomina