The Silent Slaughter: The Landscape of Russia Is Changing. How Do We Tell the Children?

Experts believe that there are two Russias — one is the capital region that continues to expand toward the horizon, and the other is a more ancient Russia, which is almost imperceptible behind the capital region, "like an aging mother suddenly becoming a burden." The country's landscape is changing — this is a silent slaughter of Russia. How do we tell the children?

The Millennial Rus is disappearing unnoticed

According to a study conducted by the Russian State Academy of Public Administration, commissioned by the Russian government, 129 small cities in our country are in the "red zone," facing the risk of permanent disappearance. Over the past decade, the population of these cities has decreased by 314,000, and now stands at 3.4 million.

Commentator Ivan Prokhorov of the "Tsargrad" publication wrote: "If the coal, metallurgical, and forest industrial centers in the north rapidly decline, although heartbreaking, it is understandable: the economic situation has changed, and many things are no longer useful today. What is painful is that the edge cities that were once historical centers are dying, becoming 'depressed areas' due to historical chance, despite being close to Moscow."

One out of every six historical centers is on the verge of complete disappearance.

Cities on the blacklist include Kem, Torzhok, Borov, and Trubchevsk, whose histories date back to ancient times. All of them are negatively affected by various factors — population decline, closure of key industries, and contraction of small businesses. To prevent the decline, some "comprehensive plans" are being developed for the 106 cities on this list. A budget of 40 billion rubles has been allocated for infrastructure projects in the 2025 budget, but analysts consider this a drop in the bucket — if new economic stimuli are not found, these cities may completely disappear.

Small cities are the guardians of our history, but the invisible hand of the market is suffocating them. In fact, our right to plan our lives has been handed over to the market in pursuit of "efficient optimization":

Key industries of the city are of no value to the business world. When real estate developers build housing, they prefer to cram 500 pigeonhole-like apartments onto a single plot of land rather than construct spacious houses for large families. Where wooden farmhouses and gardens once stood, there are now either overgrown wastelands or concrete "anthills," drawing the last residents to regional centers. Beneath the surface of commercial considerations lies simple mathematics of extinction: young people go to big cities for higher wages and more stable services. Schools, pharmacies, and small factories are closing down; the elderly left cannot sustain the economy, and businesses move to places with higher profits.

The country's landscape is changing. This is a silent slaughter of Russia.

The most noticeable aspect is its scale. According to the 2020 census, there are 801 small cities nationwide. According to research by the Russian State Academy of Public Administration, 129 of them are on the brink of extinction — meaning one out of every six historical centers will no longer be a city.

Many dying settlements form a chain along the regional edges, creating a belt without new job opportunities. Key city industries are closing across the board, schools have insufficient student numbers, and small businesses shrink due to falling demand. In the coming generations, these cities will directly become villages, where monuments and churches may fall into disrepair, while human resources are absorbed by the two Russian capitals — partly due to wage, service, and development opportunity gaps:

The result is that Russia has become "spotted": 110 million people already live in cities, while the entire rural and small city area is left with only 35 million. Look at the vast territory we once took pride in, how much space do the cities occupy, and what remains of the rest.

An invisible hand is slowly and firmly suffocating the small cities that are our historical guardians.

Cities are divided into slum-like "anthills" and elite neighborhoods. Private and mafia-style organizations attempt to seize parts of the city planning functions — planners call this phenomenon "Brazilization." Prokhorov said that under this model, money dominates everything, and this dominance is far from any concept of fairness or humanity:

Demographic trends are pushing Moscow and St. Petersburg in this direction. According to forecasts, the population of the Moscow metropolitan area will reach about 23 million by 2030, and the St. Petersburg metropolitan area will exceed 7 million. In places where "anthills" occupy every inch of space, there will be no room to build new roads, pipelines, and subway lines, leading to situations like São Paulo in Brazil, where residents spend four hours each day stuck in traffic. And you know, who can breathe freely in such "anthills"? It's street criminals. Now, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has stated that there is a shortage of nearly 19% of police — 173,000 fewer officers. At the same time, the proportion of immigrants in court judgments has increased, and the number of serious crimes committed by them has risen sharply.

As slums become increasingly dense, they will turn into "gray zones," where ambulances and patrols arrive only after the patient is dead.

Meanwhile, the closed "elite" enclaves will flourish, such as Rublyovo. When unemployed youth and street criminals gather on the other side of the elite walls, private security forces will step in to confront them.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7536830235812053555/

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