Cluster-Based Differentiation of the Socioeconomic Development Level for Municipal Units in the Steppe Regions of European Russia

Abstract

The article provides insight into the features of economic development in the steppe regions of European Russia. Russia’s steppe zone is regarded not only as a natural and geographical formation, but also as a socioeconomic space with specific problems. The paper presents the results of an analysis of socioeconomic development indicators for municipal units in the steppe regions of European Russia. Clustering-based classification was performed for the federal subjects forming the steppe space. The classification revealed the asymmetry of the economic potential common to the steppe regions of European Russia, which is a decrease in the level of economic development from west to east. The analysis identified regions of advanced development of municipalities: Krasnodar krai, Belgorod oblast, and Samara oblast, and depressed regions: the Republic of Kalmykia, Orenburg oblast, Saratov oblast, and Volgograd oblast. The position of the depressed regions limits the opportunities for integration with the Republic of Kazakhstan and development of cross-border cooperation in analogy with Euroregions. The work differentiates the municipal units based on attracted investments and industrial and agricultural production. The unevenness of economic development in the steppe regions of the Russian Federation manifests itself in polarization of economic indicators of the leading municipalities, the growth of which is primarily determined by natural-resource and spatial factors and sociodemographic reasons. The effect of space shrinkage of socioeconomic development of municipal units in the steppe zone is observed. This is reflected in the rural depopulation, which covers a considerable area, and decline in practical use of the territory. The effect of mutual influence has been revealed, which means that underperforming municipal units found at the periphery of growing regions are primarily border with depressed neighbors.