Moscow Is the Third Rome of the Third World
Half of the world's 6.5 billion inhabitants live in cities. In 1950, that figure was 30 percent. In Russia, it is 73 percent. The main growth of Russian cities occurred in the 1930s through 1950s, simultaneously with industrialization. The same process is taking place now in the Third World, as people move to cities in search of work and better lives, or any life at all.
According to the UN, the number of cities with populations of over 1 million increased from 179 in 1975 to over 400 in 2005. There are about 100 such cities in China alone. Deutsche Bank research shows the rise of the megapolis. Thirty years ago, there were only three cities with populations over 10 million (Mexico City, New York and Tokyo). Now there are 21, only four of which (New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Osaka) are in the developed world.
According to Rosstat data, there were 11 cities in Russia with populations over 1 million last year. Several years go, there were two more, but the populations of Perm and Volgograd have decreased. Moscow is the only Russian megapolis, with a population of 10.4 million last year, by official statistics. Unofficial estimates place the daytime population of Moscow at between 12 million and 17 million.
In Russia, as in Europe, medium size cities are not growing and are sometimes even shrinking. However, as in the Third World, the megapolis of Moscow is growing rapidly. The average income in Moscow is more than twice the national average.
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All the Article in Russian as of May 23, 2007
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