Semi-Medium-Sized cities of North-West Russia as drivers for regional development
The article discusses the semi-medium-sized cities (with a population from 20 to 50 thousand people) and their functions in five regions of the North-West Federal District of the Russian Federation; the socio-economic ar- eas formed by the semi-medium-sized cities are clearly represented. As an ex- ample, five semi-medium-sized cities of the Kaliningrad region are considered, the role of each city in regional development and regional settlement system is revealed. The author analyses participation of the Kaliningrad semi-medium- sized cities in projects of cross-border cooperation; shows trends of territorial interaction between the semi-medium-sized cities of the region with munici- palities of the EU countries in the framework of cross-border and cooperation and benefits of this cooperation for the region, the position of the Kaliningrad region in the Baltic Sea Region is defined.