Semi-medium-sized Towns of the North-West of Russia as Drivers of Regional Development

Among the cities of Russia and Europe, including the Baltic Sea region, it is possible to single out the category of cities (towns) with a population of 20 to 50 thousand inhabitants, which is of particular interest for study, since it is the borderline category between small and medium- sized towns. Semi-medium-sized towns perform various functions in regional settlement systems, especially as centers for the formation of socio-economic regions. Another important factor in regional development is the active participation of semi-medium-sized towns in international cooperation with municipalities of the EU border states. The study deals with semi-medium- sized towns and their functions in five regions of Russia’s Northwestern Federal District, and the socio-economic regions formed by semi-medium-sized towns are visually represented. As an example, five semi-medium-sized towns of the Kaliningrad region are considered, with emphasis on the role of each town in regional development. The author analyses the participation of semimedium- sized towns of the Kaliningrad region in cross-border cooperation projects, identifying tendencies in territorial interactions of semi-medium-sized towns in the region with municipalities of the EU countries undertaken as part of trans-border and cross-border cooperation and benefits this cooperation has for the region.