The article presents a new methodology for estimating gross urban product (the gross domestic product by city or metropolitan level) in Russia under extremely low statistical data availability about economy performance at the local level. These estimates provide new analytical instruments for assessing disparities in economic development between more than 1,000 Russian cities and other areas, and cities' contributions to GDP as well as for comparing indicators of Russian cities with those of foreign countries.

<p align="justify">В статье констатируется необходимость корректировки государственной политики по отношению к городам в России в сторону децентрализации и дифференциации. Предлагаются механизмы, позволяющие повысить самостоятельность крупных городов и городских агломераций, подкрепленные соответствующими расчетами и экспертными оценками. Также внимание уделяется проблемам отсутствия на государственном уровне трактовки понятия городской агломерации и несовершенства статистического учета в разрезе городов. </font>

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The author presents estimations of economic distortions in the Russian housing sector, which have become the result of the housing policy of the last 70 years. Such distortions are explained by the deficiency of investment required for supporting existing housing assets. The author suggests mechanisms for eliminating the gap between investment required and actual one. The study results allow justify the goal of the state housing policy in Russia and determine the optimal strategy for achieving this goal using available resources.