The Russian Federation is a world leader among countries by territory. The process of urbanization has not spared the country, so today in Russia there are over 1000 industrialized cities.
Among them - a dozen and a half with a population of over a million. Let's get acquainted with the five megacities.
Fifth place - Nizhny Novgorod
The five megalopolises of Russia are opened by the city, by the number of centuries inferior to Moscow a little. Nizhny Novgorod (not to be confused with Veliky Novgorod), according to the annals, was founded in 1221. According to the latest data, the number of inhabitants is 1.26 million. Located at the confluence of the Oka and Volga, it became the center of shipping of the country. Later it became one of the largest shopping centers.
Industrialization of the 30s of the XX century made at that time the city of Gorky just a giant in the engineering industry. Nizhny Novgorod is popular among travelers due to the bright focus of river tourism, as well as a large number of attractions telling about the history of the city.
Fourth place - Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is practically the same age as St. Petersburg, the city is much inferior to northern Palmyra in terms of population - few live here more than 1.45 million people. However, the importance of Yekaterinburg in the development of the mining industry cannot be underestimated.It was not for nothing that the mint of the Russian Empire was minted here (minted from copper), and a lapidary factory also worked with which interior accessories and decorations were delivered to the emperor’s house.
The most intense period of development of industrial Yekaterinburg was the Soviet period, when the city of Sverdlovsk was called. It was in those days that housing was being actively built, industry was unfolding. During the Great Patriotic War, the city became one of the largest places of evacuation.
And while Yekaterinburg has lost its leadership in the industrial sector, it still remains one of the important centers in the development of the Russian economy.
Third place - Novosibirsk
Significantly inferior to the first two cities: a little more than 1.6 million people live here. 1893 is considered the year of foundation. The status of the city was received 10 years later, in 1903. Among the TOP-5 megacities - the youngest, and therefore the most dynamically developing, and intensive growth began in the 20s of the last century. This fact was noted by A. Lunacharsky after his visit in the late 1920s, who also compared the city with Chicago. He has grown to a millionaire in 70 years.
Novosibirsk is an important cultural, transport, scientific, business and industrial center of Siberia. The main attractions are objects of modern architecture: the buildings of theaters, railway station, highways, etc. Among them stands apart the chapel of St. Nicholas, which is the geographical center of imperial Russia.
The city is in many ways unique.For example, Novosibirsk has the longest straight street in the world and the shortest in Russia. The prospectus of academician Lavrentiev is unique in that over 2.4 kilometers there are more than two dozen research institutes and other institutions related to science - nowhere else in the world is there such a concentration of scientific institutions. The longest metro bridge of the planet (2.15 km) is also here.
Second place - St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg has 2.3 times fewer inhabitants than Moscow: the figure says that there are just over 5.35 million Petersburgers. Established: 1703. The second most populated city in Russia in different years was called Petrograd, Leningrad, St. Petersburg The historical name was returned in September 1991. When in 1712 it became the capital of the Russian Empire, it was actually located in Sweden.
St. Petersburg today is a large industrial city, a scientific and economic center of the country. In the northern capital is the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Annually takes part in the St. Petersburg Economic Forum
For the beauty and number of canals, the city on the Neva is called Northern Venice, another epithet is Northern Palmyra. The cultural capital is inferior in official centuries to the number of centuries of existence, but is on a par with tourists. 200 years as the main city of the Russian Empire gave a lot of attractions, the most famous of which are Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo, drawbridges, cruiser Aurora, etc.
The largest city in Russia
Moscow is the largest city in Russia by population. The official figure says that the number of residents of the capital exceeded 12.5 million. However, there is reason to believe that the population of the main city of the country is much larger. The first mention of Moscow dates back to the XII century, namely, 1147. But archaeologists, based on the discovered objects and things, say that the first settlements on the Moscow River were earlier, so the Russian capital may be more than a thousand years old.
It so happened historically that Moscow was almost always the main city of various states that were located on the territory of modern Russia. The only exception is the period of 206 years (1712-1918), when laurels were given to the city on the Neva.
Moscow needs no introduction. The sights of the city are well-known to all and attract a huge number of tourists to the Russian capital.
They do not immediately become megacities. Someone needs 9 centuries, but one is enough. And TOP - the largest cities in Russia in terms of population this proves. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod (listed in descending order) are the first five in the ranking of millionaire cities. And years, as the story goes, history is different for them.
