ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the term 'functional typology of cities' refers to the uncovering of groups of features common to Soviet urban centres. A method of measuring similarities in employment percentages of individual cities is used to reveal this typology. Geographers traditionally look at cities as structural nodes in the territorial organization of society. Two important aspects of nodes are specialization and integration. The transition from specialization to integration is roughly equivalent to creating links between individual economic activities. The radius of the links depends on the proximity of the nodes and on the presence of any barriers in the space between them. The Soviet economy, however, keeps inter-urban links within the closed space of national boundaries. The networks of specialized cities reflect a peculiar geometry inherent in the entire urban system of the USSR. Cities do not fill the territorial space of the Soviet Union in any kind of uniform pattern.
