REUTERS
The capital of the Russian Federation should be moved beyond the Urals, the mountain range, that is further to the country’s east, says Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Institute for Demography, Migration and Regional Development of Russia Yury Krupnov, gazeta.ru reports.
The initiative is part of the draft “Unmuscovitization Doctrine,’ which the expert has developed and later sent for consideration by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to gazeta.ru.
Mr Krupnov points out that Russia has become "hyper-centralized," noting that Moscow region "absorbed almost a fifth of the entire Russian population."
The expert emphasizes that national development efforts are being focused on 15-25 megacities, where "more than half" of all population is concentrated.
Because of internal migration, Russia may lose its "geopolitical advantages" and sovereignty over remote territories far from big cities, Krupnov believes.
Read alsoPublics worldwide unfavorable toward Putin, Russia - poll"Forcefully amassing in narrow limited point zones, Russian people will continue to lose the impulse of life creativity. They will not wish to expand their families, move away from the global plague of low birth rate and extinction...” the expert said.
As a solution, Krupnov proposes to move the capital of the Russian Federation beyond the Urals. He also believes that total coverage of the Russian territory with air passenger traffic routes as well as full restoration of river navigation will help connect small towns across the country.