Transformation trends of Russia’s rural settlement patterns in the late soviet and post-soviet periods (1970–2010)

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The paper considers transformation of Russia’s rural settlement pattern in and of itself, as well as the change in functions of settled areas and their entire network. Based on 1970, 1989, and 2010 census results, we analyze the rural population dynamics and the density of settlements and populations. In the Post-Soviet period, reduction in the rural population occurred on the background of its concentration in larger and larger settlements. The number of mid-sized settlements has been decreasing due to their depopulation and changeover to the smallest ranks. Types of transformations differ by region: from collapse of the network in oblasts of the Non-Chernozem Zone to continuous growth in the most favorable regions of southern Russia. Many of these processes had already begun by the end of the Soviet period, and the economic transformations of the 1990s significantly accelerated them. The rates of change in the structure of rural settlements in terms of size were the highest at the end of the Soviet period, but they slowed significantly in the Post-Soviet period. Therefore, there is the hypothesis that the structure of rural settlements is approaching equilibrium in the majority of regions. Transformation of the rural settlement pattern in the Post-Soviet period proceeds in parallel with changes in functions of many settled areas deprived of an industrial base in the form of large subunits of agricultural enterprises. The employment structure of the rural population for a number of regions has been evaluated from municipal statistics data. In the majority of regions, along with personal subsidiary plots, the social sphere plays a leading role in the employment structure; labor migration includes a considerable portion of the able-bodied population. The paper also considers growth of the suburban population, which is frequently the main demographic resource of large cities and regional centers.