Abstract

The research work presents a comprehensive analysis of the socio-economic development of the cities in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District (DFO) and reflects both the current level of territorial development and the dynamics of key parameters over the period under review. The study is relevant due to the fact that Russian cities in recent years have regularly become the subject of discussion and analysis, both among the scientific community and among government representatives. The cities of the Far East are a priority given the remoteness of the territories and the number of projects implemented here in recent years. The goal of the study is to perform basic diagnostics of the socio-economic development of the regional centers of the Far Eastern Federal District and to identify medium- and long-term trends in the development of regional capitals of the macro region. To achieve this goal, the following objectives are identified: conducting socio-economic diagnostics of the socio-economic situation of the DFO regional capitals; comparing the development context of the DFO regional capitals ; identifying sustainable medium- and long-term trends (the choice of a time slice depends on the availability of data for each indicator). The work relies on open data sources. First of all, these include Rosstat data (data from the Rosstat website, the statistical collections of the department, EMISS (Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistics System) and BDPMO (Municipal Formations Performance Database) databases). For the parts of the work where there are no special links to the data source, Rosstat data is used. In addition, departmental data of the Federal Treasury, the Federal Tax Service, the Federal Air Transport Agency, etc. was used for individual sections. The key research methods used were: statistical analysis, economic analysis, mapping and GIS analysis, infographic construction methods and comparative analysis. The results of the study showed a significant differentiation between the DFO regional capitals in terms of the socio-economic development level and its dynamics in recent years. The best situation is observed in the capitals of extractive regions (due to high salaries and tax revenues of mining companies), as well as the key macro-regional centers, the largest in terms of population, Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, although the latter is noticeably inferior in terms of the residents’ personal income and local budget indicators. The situation is the worst in other regional centers along the Southern border of the Far Eastern Federal District, where low income compared to the national level fails to stimulate the development of market service industries, the share of "shadow" employment is high, and the real sectors of the urban economy are characterized by extended depression and low investment appeal, despite the potential of extractive industry development and trans-border opportunities. The research materials will be useful to the executive authorities at different levels, urban stakeholders and a broad range of experts and analysts.