The burden of big spaces: Russian regions and cities in the COVID-19 pandemic

Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences. 2023. Vol. 16. Article 16.

Nikitin B., Zakharova M., Alexander Pilyasov, Zamyatina N.

An analysis of the geography of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has already been the subject of numerous studies. Most of these works are characterised by the use of methods of clustering municipalities by a basic indicator (hot-spot analysis, spatial autocorrelation tests) and spatial econometric models. This indicates a significant role of the spatial factor in the spread of coronavirus. Moreover, it works both ways: both the areas most affected by the pandemic and the least affected have a tendency to clusterisation. There is also no single dominant factor in the vast selection of models explaining the spread of COVID-19 at the municipal level in different countries. The increased vulnerability of territories near large agglomerations, with high mobility of the population, transport accessibility, high population crowding (for large cities) is often indicated. The well-being factor in countries with different levels of development may have the opposite effect on the potential demographic damage from a pandemic. 

Keywords: well-being, cities, COVID 19, convergence of Russian regions