Structural and economic typology of large Russian cities

Abstract

The research objective is to identify the main types of large and very large Russian cities taking into account the features of their structure and economic results. The object of study is Russian cities that are the administrative centers of regions and autonomous okrugs of the Russian Federation, as well as Russian cities with a population over 100000 people. The study used statistical data on the employment structure of economic sectors of cities. To construct the typology, the cluster analysis method was used, based on the results of the principal component analysis. The study showed that the most significant factors affecting the employment structure of Russian cities do not depend on human activity: these are the availability of minerals and geographical position, followed by development of the manufacturing sector and agglomerative effects. Detailed analysis of the factors and results of socioeconomic development of cities makes it possible to systemically approach the construction of their typology during the post-Soviet period, which so far remains absent in the scientific literature.