ZK translation: The nearest city of any size

[Mike Jing]

P29.3-15   “Do I ask the question or do I accept the situation passively? I
want to know the rules.”
       “What’s the question?”
       “Where are we?” I said.
       He nodded slowly, examining the matter. Then he laughed. “The
nearest city of any size is across the border, called Bishkek. It’s the
capital of Kyrgyzstan. Then there’s Almaty, bigger, more distant, in
Kazakhstan. But Almaty is not the capital. It used to be the capital. The
capital is now Astana, which has gold skyscrapers and indoor shopping malls
where people lounge on sand beaches before plunging into wave pools. Once
you know the local names and how to spell them, you’ll feel less detached.”

What does "of any size" mean here? Is the stress on "size"?

P.S. Please ignore the previous email. My browser somehow messed up the
subject line.
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