How many cities in russia

Population of Cities in Russia (2022)

Russia is the largest country in the world by area, almost double the size of the second largest country, Canada. In addition to being the largest country, Russia is also one of the most populous and is home to some of the largest cities in the world. Moscow by far contributes to the population statistics, boasting a population of over 10 million residents as of 2016. However, Moscow isn’t the only large city that’s found in Russia. There are 11 additional cities that each have populations exceeding one million. Furthermore, there are over 200 cities with a population of over 100,000, while there are more than 1,200 that have populations exceeding 10,000 people. It’s not difficult to see why Russia is one of the world’s most populous countries. The cities are divided among the country’s political divisions, known as federal sujects. Russia has a total of 85 federal subjects.

Most of Russia’s residents live in urban areas, with roughly 74% living in the more developed cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Data from The World Bank show that there has been a continuous period of decline in the rural population, although in more recent years, these numbers have risen slightly. Rapid growth through the years because of natural growth (births within the country) as well as immigration may explain why the rural population has seen a slight increase recently. Unfortunately, despite its large amount of land area, soil conditions and climate of the country hinder agriculture, which would affect the future growth of rural Russia.

Russia has 12 cities with more than a million people, 200 cities with between 100,000 and 1 million people, and 1297 cities with between 10,000 and 100,000 people. The largest city in Russia is Moscow, with a population of people.

10 Russian cities with more than a million population

1. Moscow – 12.5 million

The Russian capital is the biggest Russian city. According to official data, the population comes out at “just” 12.5 million, but locals think it is much higher than that in reality. First, Moscow continues to grow each year. In recent years, the city has almost doubled in size, and these territories are now collectively called “New Moscow.” Second, the official statistics don’t include people who live in the surrounding regions but commute to the city each day. In total, the number of people in Moscow could well be over 20 million. And more and more people are resettling in Moscow from other regions and countries every day.

2. St. Petersburg – 5.35 million

Before the 1917 Revolution (which started there), the city was the capital of the Russian Empire. Now Russians call it “the cultural capital.” And this is actually true: The city is famous for its museums (the Hermitage is one of the best museums in the world), theaters (the Mariinsky puts on ballet and opera, while the Alexandrinsky stages dramas), and classical European architecture. On top of all that, the rainy weather and dozens of bridges make St. Petersburg the most romantic city in Russia!

3. Novosibirsk – 1.6 million

The largest city in Siberia and the third largest city in Russia, Novosibirsk is an important transport center. The history of the city is linked to the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and it is one of the most important stops on the road to Vladivostok. Novosibirsk is famous for its Opera Theater, one of the best in Russia, and being home to the longest metro bridge in the world.

4. Yekaterinburg – 1.5 million

Now let’s move on to the Urals, the industrial heart of Russia. For centuries, people in this region have mined ore, coal, salt and malachite. There are many big Russian cities connected to such industries, but the largest is Yekaterinburg, which was established in the 18th century around ironworks and named in honor of Empress Ekaterina I. Even the metro highlights Yekaterinburg’s history with iron: Geologicheskaya Station is decorated with different layers of the earth, all in various colors and made out of semi-precious stones found in the Urals.

5. Nizhny Novgorod – 1.26 million

Just four hours by train from Moscow, and you’ll find yourself in Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga River. This ancient city is often considered the third capital of Russia. Settled in the 12th century, it has well-preserved examples of unique Slavic architecture, including its famous red brick Kremlin. During Soviet times, Nizhny Novgorod was named after the writer Maxim Gorky, who spent his childhood there. It’s absolutely impossible to miss this city if you take a Volga boat trip!

6. Kazan – 1.24 million

The capital of the Republic of Tatarstan is one of Russia’s oldest cities. Founded in early 11th century, it’s full of interesting landmarks. These include the white brick kremlin, the leaning Söyembikä Tower and the Kul Sharif Mosque, which is the second biggest in Russia (the biggest is in Chechnya’s capital of Grozny). But something else that makes Kazan a must-visit city is its awesome cuisine! With echpochmaks (pies with minced meat and potato), chak-chak (a dessert from honey dough), boortsog (a kind of donut), shurpa soup and pilav, you definitely won’t go hungry in this city.

7. Chelyabinsk – 1.2 million

The concentration of metal and machine engineering plants in this city in the Urals is so high that locals call Chelyabinsk the “most severe” city in all of Russia. Interesting fact: The animal depicted on the city’s official coat of arms is a camel, or babr. It’s a reminder that in the 18th century, Chelyabinsk was a center of trade rather than industry.

8. Omsk – 1.17 million

According to legend, the gold reserves of the Russian Empire were hidden in this old Siberian city during the Civil War. According to rumor, the treasure is still buried somewhere in the forests of the taiga, but who be crazy enough to go out there to try to find it? After all, Omsk itself is a pleasant Russian city with traditional architecture, the wide Irtysh River and lots of restaurants with hearty local food (it’s all about pelmeni here).

9. Samara – 1.16 million

This city on the Volga River hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup. At around 5 km long, the Samara’s river embankment is one of the longest in Russia and is dotted with cafés, urban gardens and one of Russia’s oldest breweries, Zhiguli. In the city center, you’ll find a giant space rocket–a real R-7 rocket made at the Samara Progress Rocket Center in 1984 and erected in 2001 to honor the anniversary of Gagarin’s mission into space.

The southern city of Rostov-on-Don is homeland to the Russian Cossacks, so if you want to immerse yourself in their culture, this is the destination for you. Everything here serves as a reminder about their roots, from the new airport, which is named after Ataman Matvey Platov, to the local restaurants, which are built in the style of traditional Cossack houses. In addition to all this, Rostov-on-Don is a modern city with its own unique atmosphere.

If using any of Russia Beyond’s content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.

Why are there so many million-plus cities in Russia?

Moscow’s mood is like.

Russia ranks fourth in the world for the number of cities with populations over 1 million people—only China, India and Brazil have more. In general, the level of urbanization in the country has been consistently above 70% for several decades. At the same time, Russia comes in at only 9th place in terms of population with just over 146 million people. Why do citizens of the largest country in the world prefer living in huge cities?

Crowded but not uncomfortable

A residential area in Moscow.

Anna Shishova / EyeEm/Getty Images

Most Russian cities with over a million people appeared during the Soviet period as the result of a particular state strategy that gave large cities special status and more funding, which in turn meant they had a higher quality of education, housing and medicine.

Climate also plays a big role in many Russians’ desire to live in megapolises. Big cities are more comfortable in the winter and during severe weather. Commuting to work and back is far more convenient thanks to good public transport and clear roads. Plus, these large cities have a wide range of malls, cafes and entertainment centers with warm areas where people can spend time with friends or family when the weather is bad.

Soviet cities with more than a million people had the right to build a metro, and if you’ve been to Moscow you almost certainly noticed that the old stations are incredibly beautiful and decorated with marble and mosaics. Naturally, other cities also wanted stations like this and underground transport that could help manage traffic problems. In the end, metros were only built in 13 Soviet cities, although of course there were many other transport projects as well.

Soltan Frédéric/Getty Images

Russian cities today no longer get quite as much preferential treatment as they did in Soviet times, but the bigger the city, the more attractive it is for business and investment, including cafes, shops, and delivery services that can operate most successfully in large urban environments.

More than 12 million people live in Moscow alone, and when you include residents of the surrounding Moscow Region that figure becomes more than 20 million.

Besides Russia’s capital, more than 1 million people live in the following cities:

From villages to the cities

Nizhny Novgorod at night.

Mikhail Pivikov / EyeEm/Getty Images

Other than Moscow and St. Petersburg, big cities only appeared in Russia relatively recently in the 20th century. According to the 1897 census, Moscow had around a million residents, while St. Petersburg came in with a population of 1.3 million. The next million-plus cities appeared only in the late 1960s and included Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), Novosibirsk, Kuibyshev (now Samara) and Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg).

The thing is that before the 1917 Revolution just 15% of Russians lived in urban areas while the rest lived in villages and engaged in agriculture. This changed in the early Soviet years when the government made a push for industrialization. By the 1920s, cities were already popping up around factories and mining sites around the country. These were meant not only to provide the Soviet people with work and housing, but also to give them interesting leisure and social activities.

A residential area in Yekaterinburg.

In even the most remote parts of the country, there was not only work but also convenient transport, parks, cultural centers and universities. This rapid urbanization did not even stop for World War II, during which more than 50 cities were founded since many factories were evacuated from central Russia.

The end result of all this was that by the mid-20th century many Soviets had migrated to the cities in search of better jobs, education and more comfortable living conditions.

If using any of Russia Beyond’s content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.

How many cities in Russia?

Russia is a huge country and, it would seem, citiesthere are so many in it that all can not be counted. However, we have the Federal State Statistics Service, which is the organizer of the all-Russian population re-population. It is thanks to this event held on the territory of our entire federation that they receive generalized demographic, economic and social information. In particular, it becomes known how many cities in Russia.

But first of all let’s see how the town is given the status of a city.

How is the status of the city awarded?

One of the fundamental principles is the quantityof the inhabitants. So, the city can become a settlement with a population of not less than 12 thousand. In addition, no less than 85% of the total population should be employed outside agriculture. However, not all our cities satisfy the quantitative condition: there are those where the population is less than 12 thousand people. Their urban status is due to historical factors, as well as changes in the number of people in those settlements that already had the status of a city. There are also such cases when satisfying the given conditions the settlement does not aspire to acquire the status of the city, in order to preserve certain privileges.

There are several categories of cities. If the population is less than 100 thousand inhabitants, then the city is called «medium» or «small», more than 100 thousand people are «big», more than 250,000 are «large», more than 500,000 are «largest», more than one million are «city- millionaire «,» megapolis «.

How many cities in Russia are million people in Russia?

According to the all-Russian census in 2010, there are 1100 cities in Russia. Of these, 12 cities are «millionaires».

10 Biggest Cities In Russia

With a population of about 145,952,314 people, Russia is the most populated country in Europe and the ninth most populated country in the world. The vast majority of Russia’s residents live in the European part of the country in major cities like Moscow and St. Petersberg. Russia has the largest land area of any country on Earth, and it actually spans from Eastern Europe all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Russia is a transcontinental country: 77% of Russia’s area is in Asia while 23% is in Europe.

The Asian portion of Russia is sparsely populated, but there are still some major cities in this region like Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Omsk. Only 25% of Russians live in Asian Russia, while 75% of Russians live in European Russia. Here are the 10 most populated cities in Russia.

Moscow Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow, Russia. Image credit: Viacheslav Lopatin/Shutterstock

The majority of Russian citizens live in the capital of Moscow. Moscow, which is the second-most populated city in Europe, is known for its rich culture and vibrant history. The population has exploded in the last 70 years. Today, about 12.7 million people live in Moscow, and the city’s population in 1950 was just 5.3 million. Moscow’s population may actually be much larger than what official figures show. There are believed to be many undocumented immigrants living in Moscow city limits, and the actual population of Moscow may be between 13 million and 17 million. Moscow is the northernmost megacity in the world and the 11th most populated city on Earth.

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia. Image credit: Anton Watman/Shutterstock

St. Petersburg, which is the former capital of Russia, has a population of about 5.4 million people. It is the second-most populated city in Russia mainly because of its location on the Baltic Sea and its status as the former capital. St. Petersburg is a major port city and one of the most important transportation hubs in Russia. The Port of St. Petersburg is the largest port in Russia and sees both commercial and cruise ships as it is of international significance. St. Petersburg is also known for its extensive rail system which connects to cities like Moscow, Warsaw, and Helsinki. The Russian government is also in the process of planning a high-speed railway that will connect St. Petersburg with Moscow and Nizhny-Novgorod.

Novosibirsk, Russia. Image credit: AlexandrKuznetsov/Shutterstock

Novosibirsk is the third-most populated city in Russia with a population of about 1.6 million people. It’s the most populated city in Asian Russia and known for its manufacturing industry. Novosibirsk manufactures heavy equipment, mining machinery, electrothermal equipment, hydraulic presses, farm machinery, and many other types of machinery that are vital to Russia’s economy. The city’s manufacturing industry has caused the city to grow, and it is now the most populated city in Siberia, as well as being the region’s cultural and educational hub. Novosibirsk’s prime location on the Ob River made it the ideal place to produce hydroelectricity, so the Novosibirsk hydroelectric station was opened in 1957.

Yekaterinburg, Russia. Image credit: Maykova Galina/Shutterstock

Yekaterinburg is the fourth-most populated city in Russia with a population of about 1.5 million people just slightly East on the Asian side of the border between European and Asian Russia. The city is primarily known for its culture and education. Yekaterinburg is also a science and research hub; the Urals branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences is located in the city. World-renowned mathematicians, scientists, physicists, and chemists conduct research here. Gorky University is located in Yekaterinburg, and the city is also home to institutions specializing in mining, agriculture, and forestry.

Kazan, Russia. Image credit: Yury Dmitrienko/Shutterstock

Kazan is the fifth-most populated city in Russia with a population of about 1.26 million people. The city was founded by the Mongols in the late 13th century after they overthrew the Bulgar Kingdom that ruled, and it was the capital of an independent state until it was captured by Ivan IV the Terrible in 1552. By the early 1900s, Kazan was one of Russia’s foremost manufacturing and trade cities. Many of the industries that thrived during this time are still predominant in the area, such as leatherworking and soapmaking. Many Kazan residents now work in fields like oil refining, chemical production, and engineering.

Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Image credit: RAndrei/Shutterstock

Nizhny Novgorod is the sixth-most populated city in Russia with a population of about 1.25 million people. It sits at the intersection of the Oka and Volga rivers, 260 miles (420 km) from Moscow. The city is known for one of the largest auto factories in Russia. The Gorky Automobile Plant manufactures autos and automotive parts, and bears the former name of this city until 1990: Gorky. Nizhny Novgorod also produces river crafts, ships, machinery, and diesel engines which are shipped all over Russia via the city’s extensive rail system.

Chelyabinsk, Russia. Image credit: Evg Y. Parkhaev/Shutterstock

Chelyabinsk is the seventh-largest city in Russia with a population of almost 1.2 million people. It is located in the Asian portion of the country on the geological edge of the Ural Mountains, near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. The city, which was founded as a fortress in 1736 to defend caravans in the area from the Turkish ethnic Bashkirs, is one of Russia’s most vital industrial centers. The Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant is the biggest ferroalloy plant in all of Russia, and Chelyabinsk is also known for producing finished metal products, stainless steel, and zinc. This city actually produces 60% of Russia’s zinc and 2% of the international supply of the element. Chelyabinsk has a higher level of air pollution because of the numerous factories in the city.

Samara, Russia. Image credit: Maykova Galina/Shutterstock

Samara is the eighth-largest city in Russia with a population of about 1.16 million people. The city was founded in 1586 and quickly grew because of its location along the Volga River and its importance as a stop on the Volga trade route. It was actually founded as a fortress to safeguard the trade route. The city saw massive growth following World War II thanks to the development of the Volga-Urals oilfield and the need to move governmental functions out of Moscow when the city was under threat of German attack. Today, Samara specializes in refining oil and developing petrochemicals, and is the centre of a large network of oil pipelines. It was called Kuybyshev from 1935 to 1991, then it reverted back to its former name.

Omsk, Russia. Image credit: Roofsoldier/Shutterstock

Omsk is the ninth-largest city in Russia with a population of about 1.15 million people. Located on the Irtysh River, the city of Omsk was originally developed as an agricultural center, but today the primary industries of the city are manufacturing and oil refining. It saw considerable development during World War II to meet the manufacturing demand from the war. Oil is now sent to Omsk from the Volga-Urals and West Siberian oil fields via pipelines. The oil is refined and also used to create goods like synthetic rubber tires.

Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Image credit: Denis Demkov/Shutterstock

Rostov-on-Don is the tenth-largest city in Russia with a population of about 1.14 million people. Rostov-on-don is known for education, science, and culture, and can be found right near the country’s border with Ukraine. Southern Federal University serves 56,000 students, which makes it one of the largest universities in Russia. Russians from all over the country travel to Rostov-on-don to take in festivals. The city holds comedy festivals and jazz festivals every year. It is also a major transport center for the South West of the country, with important highways and train routes.

Population trends

Russia’s population is expected to reach a peak at the end of 2020 and start declining in early 2021. Russia is currently the ninth-most populated country in the world, but the country could fall to 17th on the list by 2050. Despite efforts by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to encourage population growth, low birth rates and an aging population are two factors that have contributed to Russia’s recent stagnant growth. These trends are expected to continue and result in a severe population decline in the near future.