Small towns in the central part of European Russia: Socioeconomic state and the role in organizing territory

This paper presents the results of studying the socioeconomic dynamics and modern state of small towns in the central part of European Russia in 1998–2010. The socioeconomic welfare of cities with a population of less than 50000 people was revealed to depend on their population, specialization, and geographical location, confirming the general Russian trend. An analysis of the dynamics of industrial output in 1994–2004 showed that the presence of industrial and trade-distributive links in the town-region system affected the general welfare and resistance of a town to crisis in the economy. Under the conditions of a sparse network of large and medium cities, small towns play the role of centers in the provision of goods and services (commercial and social), not only to the inhabitants of their own districts, but also sometimes to the neighboring ones. These towns usually have a population of 20000–50000, the further these centers are from larger settlements, the less competitors they have.