Moscow Oblast: Territorial Structure of Post-Soviet Transformations

The article written for the centenary of G.M. Lappo deals with Moscow oblast, which was one of his key regions. Moscow’s influence on the oblast territories is examined, including with the help of data from mobile operators. The main emphasis on the changes in territorial structures of Moscow oblast is based on a multiscale approach and detailed statistics. It is shown that, with the development of rapid transport in the post-Soviet period, the Moscow urban agglomeration continued to expand its area. The scope of the seasonal pulsation of its limits and population, linked with growing commuting, is determined. It is proved that the second-rank urban agglomerations maintain their role as local attractive centers. Multidirectional territorial shifts in population, industry, agriculture, trade, and services over the past 30 years are identified and presented on maps and graphs. In the 1990s, the highest concentration was typical for industry, but it has become the lowest by 2020. Retail and services have come forward, especially along the Moscow Ring Road, where the demands of the growing capital city and oblast population are joined. The previously dispersed agriculture has also been concentrated, which is associated with its transition to the industrial path of development within the framework of large enterprises, which does not cancel the development of small forms of farming and the expansion of dacha land use. Complex polyscale spatial and sectoral shifts are revealed, both when comparing Moscow oblast with Moscow and when analyzing the distribution of structural types (agrarian, industrial or service). The directions of these shifts in different periods between 1990 and 2020 are shown. The potential of Moscow oblast, comparable to that of St. Petersburg, is the result not only and not so much of its removal from Moscow but of the attraction of the population and activities to it. However, in the construction, trade, logistics and, especially, dacha booms, there are also signs of a “splash” of metropolitan activity, which confirms the words of G.M. Lappo that the growth of Moscow oblast “from the city” alternates and combines with its growth “from the area.”