Abstract <p>The area under study includes eight regions of Russia’s old-developed Non-Chernozem zone: Vologda, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Tver, and Yaroslavl oblasts. The following geographical factors were chosen for revitalization: proximity to a regional or district center, transport accessibility, location near large rivers and reservoirs, and proximity to a large rural center. The official Russian statistical category “settlements without population” was selected as the initial group of settlements. The methodology for identifying reviving villages is based on a gradual reduction of this group of settlements due to noncompliance with the developed criteria. At the first stage, 4554 settlements with specified situational features were selected from 14 221 settlements without population. At the next stage, satellite images of the selected settlements were analyzed and those in which buildings had been preserved were selected. At the final stage, the settlements were examined with the aim of identifying registered cadastral plots, considered an indicator of revitalization. The final number of revived villages was 1901. The developed methodology has distinct regional specifics, determined by objective geographic conditions. However, subjective factors related to the peculiarities of statistical accounting and different approaches to the abolition of settlements are also at play. However, it has been established that the potential for revitalization is higher in those villages that have several favorable geographical features.</p>