Moscow under globalization and transition: Paths of economic restructuring

This paper examines modern structural shifts in Moscow in the context of national and international tendencies. It is based upon the hypothesis that one of the important characteristics of the present transitional stage of the Russian economy is the growth of the structural and qualitative gap between Moscow as a strongly dominating focus of post-industrial transformations and the rest of the country. The paper begins with a general analysis of macrostructural transformations in Russia's capital city, focusing on deindustrialization and the increasing role of producer services. This is followed by a comparison of modern trends in Moscow with those taking place in the most important world cities. In this context it is possible to evaluate the applicability of the world-city concept to transitional economies and to explore the changing role of Moscow in the international urban system.