Resource centralization in the Central Federal District and consequences for other Russian regions

Despite the colossal scale of Russia’s territory, the country’s economy continues to be extremely centralized. The Central Federal District stands out among the other federal districts in the rating of the socio-economic status of the regions, but not according to the indicators of all the regions that make up the district, but thanks to Moscow, which has a high level of resource concentration that ensures high rates of development. Key institutions, main economic and socio-political resources, and strategic national and foreign companies are located in the capital. For this reason, the economic potential of both other federal districts and the regions that make up the Central Federal District remains unrealized. The purpose of the study is to examine the resource concentration degree in the center and its impact on the level of development of the regions that make up the district and the country as a whole. The methodological and normative basis of the study was the Federal State Statistics Service data, the Federal Tax Service reports, and the RIA Rating agency rating results. It has been found that the high degree of resource concentration, including investment, in the center, in particular in Moscow, negatively affects the level of social and economic development of other districts, as well as constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the level of income and life quality of the population living in them.