The Ural And Volga Regions’ Centers And Periphery In The Context Of "New Normality"[Центры И Периферия Урала И Поволжья В Условиях «Новой Нормальности»]

Introduction. Nowadays the issues of Russia’s spatial development are extremely important for studying: technological and socio-economic changes that have taken place from 2000 to 2019 are forming new trends that govern regional development, and they need to be understood and studied for better state regulation of this area. The aim of the article is to analyze the development trends of regional centers and the periphery of the Russian economy in the period from 2000 to 2018 as exemplified by the regions of the Volga and Ural federal districts. Methods. The authors use the methods of generalization, grouping, dispersion analysis, calculation of the dynamic performance of time series data and correlation analysis. Scientific novelty of the study. The article presents an empirical analysis of the socio-economic development of the Russian regions included in the Ural and Volga federal districts from 2000 to 2018 (including the period of “new normality” after 2009), on the basis of identifying three differentquality groups of regions among which there are (Center (Republic of Tatarstan and Sverdlovsk region), Periphery 1 — backward areas according to A. G. Raizberg’s classification, which include seven regions, and Periphery 2 — a group of depressed regions including eight constituents of the Russian Federation. Results. As a result of the study, it was found that the groups of regions have different trends in socio-economic development, and the conditions of the “new normality” only reinforce these differences. The authors show that the spatial differentiation of the Russian economy is increasing. Conclusions. The study can be used for a deeper and more detailed analysis of forming centers and peripheral economies in the Russian economy in order to develop recommendations to overcome their lagging and ensuring balanced spatial development of the country.