The search of efficient ways for the development of regional socio-economic space is a relevant problem. The authors consider the models of spatial organization according to the Spatial Development Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2030. We conduct the comparative analysis of scenarios for the polarized and diversified spatial growth. Many investigations consider the concepts of polarized and endogenous growth. This study proposes a methodology to assess the development of macroregions and to increase the viability of interregional integration projects. To develop this methodology, we formulate scientific principles and indirect criteria of the project performance conforming to the theory of regional integration. In addition to the territorial community and complementarity of the development potentials, regional integration in the country should be based on the principles of security, networking, limited quantity and awareness of the potential project participants. Integration should ensure synergetic effects and take into account cultural and historical closeness, that manifests in the common mentality and existing economic relations among regions. The calculation results regarding the indirect criteria are obtained using the methods of classification and spatial correlation. This study confirms the hypothesis, that the formation of the Western Siberian and Ural macro-regions is appropriate. We have concluded this on the basis of the criteria of economic development, economic integration, the similarity of regional spaces as habitats, and a number of participants for the subjects of the Ural Federal District. The projection of the patterns of international economic integration to the interregional level allows predicting the highest probability for the successful cooperation among the Western Siberian regions with a high level of economic development. The authors’ method has revealed a high synchronization between the economies of Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk Regions. This synchronization increases the chances for successful integration into the Ural macro-region. The same criterion reveals the economic grounds for the productive cooperation between the Sverdlovsk Region and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. The application of the regional typology in terms of the mental characteristics provides fewer grounds for the optimistic forecasts in the social projects of interregional integration

This study focuses on the rationality of the migrants’ behaviour. We hypothesise that the migration growth rate depends on the territory attractiveness for living. The rational behaviour is defined as the direct depend-ence of the migrations on the characteristics of the territory attractiveness. The irrational behaviour means that the reverse dependence is present. The direct dependence is recognised if the level of the migrants’ pos-itive reactions to the factors of the territory attractiveness is no less than 30 % from the maximum. 83 sub-jects of the Russian Federation were clustered based on 12 objective characteristics of the life’s quality. We distinguished the largest Middle Cluster, which includes 56 regions. Further we transformed the panel data for the period from 2005 to 2015 into the array of the coefficients of correlations between the characteristics of the territory attractiveness and the migration growth rates in the regions. Using these characteristics, the regions were clustered again. The regional types of the Middle cluster with the rational and irrational behav-iours include 22 regions each. The level of the migrants’ positive reactions to the factors of the territory at-tractiveness is 44.1 % for the first (rational) regional type and 42.5% for the second (irrational) type. The regional type with the indifferent behaviour includes 12 regions. The level of the migrants’ reactions to the characteristics of these territory attractiveness is just 5.8 %. Based on the regression models of the migration coefficient for each cluster type, we have provided recommendations for managing the migration flows using the differential approach.