Spatial Development Strategy of the Russian Federation: Old Problems, New Solutions

The current Spatial Development Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025 has not solved a number of tasks in this area. The level of differentiation of the socio-economic development of the subjects of the Russian Federation, their budgetary and infrastructural security remains high. Citizens have not been provided with equal access to State-guaranteed services. The current mechanisms for the allocation of productive forces and the resettlement of the population are often non-systemic in nature. In addition, the external and internal conditions for the development of the country's economy and social sphere have changed significantly by now. The Russian Federation includes 4 new regions. The concentration of population and infrastructure facilities in the largest urban agglomerations hinders the overcoming of regional imbalances. The task of ensuring the unity of the legal, economic, financial, social, cultural and educational space remains urgent. The issue of the ongoing population decline in the territories of the North, Siberia and the Far East, as well as the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, is acute. Insufficient development of transport and energy infrastructure limits the potential of the regions, hinders the solution of tasks to increase the connectivity of the country's territory. In this regard, the task of smoothing out interregional imbalances by maximizing the full disclosure of the regions and municipalities’ own potential, and creating a comfortable living environment for citizens throughout the country is of strategic importance. This is the aim of the draft Strategy of spatial Development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030 with a forecast up to 2036. The article attempts to answer the question: how much is the new version of the Strategy able to solve the accumulated problems in this area?