Today, megacities are growing by leaps and bounds, attracting people from surrounding settlements. Most have already moved to the cities, and the villages continue to empty. But where are the largest cities of Russia located, and most importantly, how many people live in them? Let's try to figure it out.

Moscow

The first place is quite logical and predictable - Moscow. The capital of our vast country in itself is not too small, and although they say that it is not rubber, in fact it stretches to the envy of any rubber. Now it is home to more than 12 million people. This is according to official data. The unofficial data is even more impressive.

The national composition is quite diverse. The basis is Russians - almost 92%, 1.4% Ukrainians, they have the largest national community, almost the same number - Tatars, 1.38%, less than 1% Armenians, half a percent of Armenians and Jews, 0.36 each - Belarusians and Georgians. But, again, this is official data.

The second place is also quite predictable - St. Petersburg, the northern or cultural capital. Unlike Moscow, it has a much smaller population - "only" 5,200,000 people. And this is on an area of ​​1439 square kilometers. As a result, it turns out that 3566 people are constantly on one kilometer. The national composition is practically the same as in Moscow.

There are many differences between St. Petersburg and Moscow, but one of the main ones is age. Moscow grew gradually, finally reaching such proportions. St. Petersburg appeared with a wave of the hand of Peter the Great. As a city, it is very young, a little over three centuries old. Perhaps, over time, he will still catch up with Moscow.

Novosibirsk is considered the northernmost million-plus city, because it is home to 1,500,000 people. This makes it the largest city in Siberia and the third in Russia. It is worth noting that about 500,000 more live in the nearby neighborhoods, creating a total two-million-strong agglomeration.

Despite the fact that the climate in Novosibirsk is very harsh, the city has won the title of one of the most comfortable for living. It is a business, trade, transport, scientific and industrial center of a vast region, but at the same time it has a developed infrastructure designed for the convenience of residents. All this allowed the city to bear the proud title of the capital of Siberia.

The list of millionaires continues Yekaterinburg. 1396 people live in this city. It should be noted that Yekaterinburg has enough a large number of satellite cities, and the total size of the agglomeration is more than 2,200,000 people.

By the way, like St. Petersburg, this city appeared by decree of Peter the Great. Yekaterinburg also has the unofficial title of the capital, but this time the capital of the Urals.

Like many major cities, Nizhny Novgorod It has long history. The first mention of it appeared in 1221. It is difficult to compare its size then and today, for example, even at the beginning of the 19th century a little more than 14,000 people lived in Nizhny Novgorod. But by our age, its population has increased tenfold, and now it is 1,272,000 people.

Like many cities on this list, Nizhny Novgorod is a vast metropolitan area with a population of over 2,020,000 people. Actually. 60% of the entire Novgorod region live in it. At the same time, Novgorod has a serious problem - a rapid decline in population. Partly it is explained by natural processes, partly by the outflow of young people to nearby Moscow.

Kazan is not just Big City, is the capital of one of the republics of Russia, Tatarstan. And again, it has a name with the word capital, this time "the third capital", which has even become an official brand. There are others, unofficial, "the capital of all the Tatars of the world", "the capital of Russian federalism".

The population of this capital allowed the city to get an honorable sixth place in our ranking, because it is home to 1,190,000 people. The agglomeration, in comparison with others, is quite small - a little more than 1,500,000 people.

Kazan has recently turned 1000 years old, and this is clearly reflected in its appearance and, most importantly, the composition of the population. Representatives of more than 115 nationalities live in the city, which makes it one of the most multinational cities in Russia.

Samara

This city is unique in its own way, it is home to 1,171,000 people, which makes it the seventh of all settlements in Russia. But, at the same time, it has one of the largest agglomerations, more than 2,500,000 people - the third largest after Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Samara is the largest city in the Volga region. On the one hand, this is good, the central location contributes to the establishment of business and trade relations. At the same time, proximity to other, larger cities causes many young residents to leave.

Omsk

One of interesting features this city is multinational. Russians live in it, and there are only 88.8% of them, Kazakhs, Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans. In total, 56 national-cultural organizations are registered.

The ninth city on the list is Chelyabinsk, famous for its large metallurgical plant, the comedy show Our Russia and the meteorite. 1,169,000 people live in this "harsh" place.

Moreover, like Omsk, it has become a hometown for many nationalities. Only 86.5% are Russians, 5% Tatars, 3.1% Bashkirs, 1.4% Ukrainians, and this can go on for a long time.

Closes our list of Rostov-on-Don, the administrative center of the Southern Federal District. It is home to 1,109,000 people. The agglomeration is almost twice as large - 2.5 million people. Another multi national city, in which Russians, although they make up the majority, 90.6%, but there are many other nationalities.

This is the ten largest cities in Russia. But the list could go on for a very, very long time. There are many settlements in our country, and only 15 of them are millionaires. The second ten are Ufa, Volgograd, Krasnoyarsk, Perm and Voronezh. Perhaps someday they will become larger and take a place in this list. In the meantime, the list looks like this and is not going to change.

Scattered all over the place big country. Million-plus cities are the center of attraction for millions of tourists from all over the world, migrants, students and workers. Population statistics are compiled from the annual census of the population by the bodies of Rosstat.

It should be noted that only citizens who permanently reside in the territory of a particular city are indicated in the population. The following are the most big cities in Russia by population.

1 Moscow

Moscow is the largest city in Russia both in terms of population and area. A population of 12,330,126 inhabits both sides of the city's waterway - the Moscow River.

The capital of the state - Moscow - is the most multinational city in Russia: migrants, students, workers and tourists come here from all over the country.

Petrograd, aka Leningrad or Peter in short, is located along the sovereign course of the Neva River and its coastal granite. Many poems have been written about beautiful city located between Ladoga and Neva Bay Gulf of Finland that at the Baltic Sea. This Big city shrouded in mystery and legends. Walking along its streets, you walk along the streets of Dostoevsky, Gogol or Tsvetaeva.

The population of St. Petersburg is 5,225,690 people with a population density of 3631 people. on square kilometer at total area cities 1439 sq. km.

The city was awarded the last place in the top three most populated cities in Russia. It is the center of Siberian industry and trade, research and educational activities, cultural, business and tourism areas of the district. The Siberian capital is home to 1,584,138 people, while the area of ​​the city is only 505 sq. km.

Novosibirsk is a large city with a very developed infrastructure and economy, and it is a point of attraction for those migrating from nearby cities, regions, republics, and even neighboring states.

Yekaterinburg, formerly Sverdlovsk, ranks 4th among Russian cities with a population of over a million people (1,444,439 people with a total city area of ​​1,142 square kilometers).

The Trans-Siberian Railway and six major highways pass through this huge transport and sorting center, which occupies a huge niche in Russia's logistics.

Yekaterinburg is an industrial city with a developed industry in various fields, from optical and mechanical to light and food industries.

Gorky until 1990, or "Nizhny" in the common people, a million-plus city and an auto giant in the Volga federal district. Founded in the time of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, Nizhny Novgorod, spread across both sides of the Oka River, today has a population of 1,266,871 and is the fifth largest city in Russia.

The area of ​​the city is only 410 km², but a large seaport, the largest automobile plant in Russia, a concern engaged in the manufacture and production of military equipment, aircraft factory and shipbuilding.

In addition to the development in the industry, Nizhny Novgorod is famous for its Kremlin and extraordinary architecture. This is a wonderful city for tourism. Even the most sophisticated traveler will be delighted with the beauties of Nizhny Novgorod.

The area of ​​the city is 425 square kilometers with a population of 1,216,965 people and a population density of 2,863 people per square kilometer.

The capital of Tatarstan has its own Kremlin and a rather rich architectural heritage, which encourages Russians and foreign residents to tourism.

Kazan is not just a beautiful and big city, but also the center international trade and economy, education, tourism with an interesting historical past.

The population of Chelyabinsk is 1,191,994 people per 530 square kilometers, which is 2,379 people per square kilometer in terms of density.

"Severe city", as it is called in jest, has a lot of funny stories and facts: a meteorological hyperionic brick, Kaganovichgrad, a forest in the city center, the Chelyabinsk meteorite, Stalin in the Chelyabinsk prison ... Interested? Then it's time to go to Chelyabinsk with a tour - one of the most big cities Russia!

Significant city of Omsk and for tourists: Uspensky Cathedral for foreigners, it is included in the list of "the main attractions in the world", and the Okunevskoe sanctuary is included in the number of holy places of world importance by the Vatican.

The population of the administrative center-capital of the Omsk region is 1,178,079, while the area of ​​Omsk is only 572.9 sq. km.