Russian Towns Research Articles

Heads of Small Russian Towns: Power and Leadership

Abstract Empirical research conducted in four small Russian towns over the period 2011-2015 and 2018-2020, discovered different patterns of power and leadership despite the centralization policy pursued by the federal center. Not all the heads of towns were the most influential figures/leaders in the urban communities, although they have the most significant formal resources of power. Major differences between the heads of the towns were due to the personal factor, support from a team of followers, and relationships with regional authorities. Despite the completion of the “power vertical” down to the municipal level, the patterns of power and leadership of the heads of small towns are dynamic and vary significantly. The most important changes are often caused by change of the heads of towns. Although leaders are unable to completely reverse negative tendencies in the social and economic spheres of local communities, they can mitigate their consequences. Therefore, when difficulties arise, a demand for leadership is formed.

The impact of shift migration on the intra-family life of residents of villages and small towns in Russia. On the example of the Republic of Bashkortostan

The article presents the results of a sociological study, during which were revealed the changes occurring in contemporary Russian families because of participation of men (spouses) in shift migration, one of the forms of temporary employment. The author conducts a comparative analysis of intra-family relations in two categories of families. In the first, husbands regularly leave for temporary work outside their settlement (experimental group or families of shift migrants); in the second, the spouses are not involved in temporary migration (control group or «ordinary» families). The study was conducted in one of the largest in terms of population Russian regions – Bashkortostan, the choice of which is due to the high level of participation of its inhabitants in rotational migration, especially in villages and small towns.The families’ survey was conducted in 2018 in two small towns and five rural districts of Bashkortostan, located on the border with other regions, and having a low level of socio-economic development. The results of the study confirmed the hypotheses of temporary labor migration influence on the formation of peculiar translocal relations between family members during the husband’s stay away (the phenomenon of so-called «social presence against the background of physical absence»); on the transformation of intra-family relations of villages and small towns residents, which led to weakening of traditional men and women gender attitudes and stereotypes of behavior attitudes; on different consequences of shift migration for its participants – both positive and negative; on the predominance of forced participation of families in shift migration.

Posad as an Urban Settlement in the Age of “Enlightened Absolutism”: The Town of Masters and Merchants under the Canopy of the Holy Trinity

The paper discusses the new monograph by N. A. Chetyrina, a well-known researcher of Russian urban history. Her book is dedicated to studying one of the remarkable “small” towns of Russia – Sergievsky Posad at the initial stage of its development during the reforms of the “Enlightened Absolutism”. The author shows clearly that this town’s example highlights the features of the status, the composition of the population, the management system in the “posads”, which were a kind of urban settlement in the Russian Empire. The book made a significant contribution to the economic, social, administrative and cultural history of Russian urban settlements in the late 18th – early 19th century. In general, her monograph contains of valuable material explaining the estate structure of the Russian society in the period of the “Enlightened Absolutism”. So, a very fractional list of “titles” and “states” of different groups of residents in the historical sources now does not prevent us from the conclusion that there are common class characteristics in the category of “urban inhabitants” and in the category of “rural inhabitants planted on the state lands”. This monograph could be highly recommended for academic scholars and students in studying modern trends in the historical science – urban history, local history, social history.

Actualisation of historic and cultural heritage as a resource for socio-cultural transformation of small and medium industrial towns

In this paper, analysis of the social, economic, and non-economic factors affecting development of small and medium regional industrial towns was studied. The research goal was to assess internal resources for transforming the environment of the small and medium towns in Russia through the attitude study of town youth being among the key actors of necessary changes. The methodology included intellectual data analysis methods based on self-organising Kohonen maps for the preliminary clustering of the small and medium towns by the level of social and economic development, and sociological surveys assessing level of youth knowledge about history and culture of their native towns. It was found that young town inhabitants are ready for citizen participation initiatives, independently of socio-economic status of their hometowns. Conclusions were made that inclusion of the youth in citizenship practices, and various types of volunteering activities can assist in preserving human capital of the towns.

Path dependence and regional disparities in single-industry towns in Russia: the evidence from micro data

This article aims to contribute to the debate on path dependence and lock-in mechanism at the micro data in single-industry towns, which in turn is highly concentrated in three regions - Kemerovo, Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk in Russia. The empirical context is five-year panel data on 38 single-industry towns. We offer the alternative micro data to evaluate entropy, the number of newly created enterprises, social payments and cash incomes, and aggregated revenues of the single-industry towns. Testing the U-shaped dependence, we conclude that the relation between diversification and incomes per capita coordinates with U-shape relevance at comparative low-level income. The argument follows from the nonlinear model between them. The regression models identify both traditional factors of urban development and micro data. The authors link the further development of single-industry towns in these regions with path creation and new linkage development.

СОЦИАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ МАЛЫХ ГОРОДОВ В ЗЕРКАЛЕ ИНДЕКСА КАЧЕСТВА ГОРОДСКОЙ СРЕДЫ

The article presents some research results of 16 small towns in Russia: Likhoslavl, Kimry, Sokol, Krasavino, Aksai, Millerovo, Izobilny, Novoaleksandrovsk, Balakhna, Zavolzhye, Sredneuralsk, Irbit, Shelekhov, Winter, Bolshoy Kamen and Spassk-Dalny. The problems of small towns with different historical genesis, social and industrial infrastructure, differing in area, population, and development of the urban environment are shown. Special attention is paid to the problems of the socio-cultural sphere, with access to political and managerial practices. Difficulties of access to medicine, education, culture against the background of outdated infrastructure and organization of the urban environment are noted. In the field of education, there is a shortage of places in kindergartens and schools, the deterioration of old buildings, which in some places is 50% or more, and the need for major repairs of old schools and the opening of new ones, outdated material base requiring renovation, a shortage of teaching staff, the absence of specialized training institutions, poor Internet quality. In small towns, organizations of additional education for children — cultural, sports and leisure — are poorly represented. The indicators of the urban environment quality index of these small cities for 2018-2021 and the winners of the competition for the best projects of a comfortable urban environment are analyzed. The compliance with the realities of the name of the project "All-Russian competition of the best projects for creating a comfortable urban environment in small towns and historical settlements", which is expressed in the point improvement of individual urban areas of small towns, is questioned.

«Перегородок тонкоребрость»: пространственная модель «Жизни Арсеньева»

The article examines the artistic space of Ivan Bunin’s novel “The Life of Arsenyev”. Stated that it is constructed according to the laws of lyrical poetics, which therefore determines the lyrical transformations of space, the through volumes of almost all loci, their dynamic intersections, reflections, multiplications, commutual substitutions. Lyrical spatial transformations are traced through specific examples of the novel. Particular attention is paid to toponyms, with reflections on why the text, rich in toponyms, lacks the key names of the nameless provincial town, native to Lika and Arsenyev, and the unnamed Little Russian town where Arsenyev takes Lika. Another theme of Bunin’s lyrical spatial poetics are the veiled changes from one locus description towards another one. Everything significant in the novel, including loci and narrative nodes, not sporadically; it is multiple and varies. For example, Arsenyev travels southwards three times, moving each time in the same direction, visiting the same places, which are described each time in a new way. The versatile space model repeats the laws of a verse with its plenteousness of vocalic alliterations, rhymes, internal rhymes, and multiple structural correlations. In much the same way that in a verse a sound and an intonation theme is recognized in its different variations, the descriptions of the same loci and situations in lyrical prose vary, vaguely repeated. The variations give obscure features to the described landscapes and events, constantly adding to them more and more shades of meaning.

ПРАКТИКИ УСТАНОВЛЕНИЯ ПРИСЯЖНЫХ ОБЯЗАТЕЛЬСТВ НАРОДОВ СИБИРИ В XVII В.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Russia’s central government ordered the peoples of Siberia to swear oaths of allegiance (shert’). The oath text determines that the one who takes the oath becomes a subject of the Russian monarch. The government appealed to the oath in case of conflicts with the peoples of Siberia or for avoiding such conflicts in negotiations. The Siberian peoples had to renew their oath whenever the tsar changed (and the nomadic peoples of Siberia had to renew their oath whenever their leader changed as well). The government also called on the oath when replacing governors in Russian towns, for which it introduced a special procedure — the proclamation of the “grand sovereign word”, or when negotiating with “traitors” (participants of armed rebellions and escapes of Siberian natives from their lands to territories beyond the control of Russia’s authorities). The return to peaceful conditions of coexistence was realized through renewing the oath. The author found that, by the second half of the 17th century, both sides of political communication — representatives of the tsarist administration and Siberian foreigners — have developed stable tactics regarding the procedures for the renewal of oaths, but they interpreted the meaning of the oaths in different ways.

Феномен развития профессионального образования в малом провинциальном городе России в конце XIX – начале XX века (на примере г. Череповца Новгородской губернии)

The article examines the image of a small provincial Russian town in terms of the development of its vocational education institutions at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries. The aim of the study is to form a concept of the relationship between the activities of professional educational institutions and the progressive development of urban areas of pre-revolutionary Russia. The study refers to the history of the Alexandrovsky Technical School and the Cherepovets Women's Vocational School to explain the criteria for the intensive development of Cherepovets in Novgorod region and to justify the high level of urban culture development. Methods used include systemic, geocultural, historical, and cultural ones. The important historical role of the activity of mayor I.A. Milyutin, who initiated the key reforms in Cherepovets, is emphasized. The novelty of the investigation is in using rare archival documents, formulating and proving the author's hypothesis, and taking a comprehensive look at the problem of socio-cultural development of a small provincial town in pre-revolutionary Russia, with Cherepovets as an example. The relevance of this historical research of a regional nature is undeniable today, as it allows for combining the facts of the past with the present, helps to realize the continuity of events in urban life and highlight key national processes along with local and regional ones for a better overview of further development prospects. In the difficult socio-economic realities of the late 19th – early 20th centuries, the development of an educational commercial vocational education for all castes and both sexes with the possibility of compensating for tuition fees by trustees is rare, demonstrating the success of the economy and culture of a particular provincial city. The authors analyze curricula on the basis of local history sources, consider various everyday aspects of the organization of vocational education in Cherepovets, and demonstrate the challenges they had to cope with. The educational institutions under study were successful before the historical turn of 1917. At the end of the study, the hypothesis of the relationship between the development of vocational education institutions and the urban environment is substantiated. The culture of professional labor of Cherepovets has become one of the strongest traditions of a small town in the Novgorod province which later transformed into the industrial center of the Vologda region.

ИЗУЧЕНИЕ РАСТИТЕЛЬНОГО ПОКРОВА МАЛЫХ И СРЕДНИХ ГОРОДОВ РОССИИ: СОВРЕМЕННОЕ СОСТОЯНИЕ

In the review article, the authors give the analysis of scientific publications related to the study of vegetation in small and medium-sized Russian towns over the past 10 years. The main topical areas in which research is currently being carried out include the study of urban flora, analysis of plantings state, assessment of the vegetation state as an indicator of the urban environment quality (bio-indication), selection of trees assortment for urban andscape design and introduction of species, the features of landscaping in different natural conditions, and the formation of urban ecological framework. It is noted the fragmentary nature of vegetation studies in small and medium-sized towns of Russia, not being conducted in most regions at all. There predominate empirical studies focused on describing the state of the vegetation cover in separate towns. Comprehensive research is not carried out widely. It is mainly used the inventory research methods. In the publications, there are no vegetation maps for small and medium-sized towns. Furthermore, there is no retrospective analysis of the urban flora and vegetation transformation. The authors of the most publications note the prevalence of inherited problems in the state of urban green spaces in the country, caused by the planning spontaneity in the Soviet period, the failure to incorporate environmental factors into the urban development planning, including the location of industrial enterprises, as well as the lack of programs for the development of green urban infrastructure, the perception of green plantings as an element of land improvement, rather than an environmentally significant factor.

The monograph by D. Y. Samokvasov “Ancient towns of Russia” (1873) in the light of criticism of F. I. Leontovich

The purpose of the article: to analyze the scientific controversy between F. Leontovich and D. Samokvasov, which arose on the monograph of D. Samokvasov “Ancient cities of Russia” (St. Petersburg, 1873). Research methods: analytical, historical, biographical, problematic-historiographic, descriptive. Main results: the beginning of the scientific controversy between D. Samokvasov and F. Leontovich, which arose over D. Samokvasov’s monograph “Ancient Cities of Russia” (St. Petersburg, 1873), was laid by a review written by F. Leontovich. According to the reviewer, D. Samokvasov’s doctrine of the historical development of the concept of the city was marked by confusion of concepts and definitions. F. Leontovych considered the author’s position on the historical origin and role of ancient Russian positions to be based on incorrectly interpreted historical evidence. Among the reasons he named complete ignorance of historical facts or simple disregard of them. The reviewer considered the first chapter of the monograph devoted to determining the number of towns in Ancient Russia the best part of the work, but, in his opinion, the author stopped halfway, he did not explain exactly what these cities were – simple fortifications or fortified points of people’s settlement. D. Samokvasov’s own views on the time of the initial emergence of cities and on the historical development of popular settlements in Russia, considered in the second chapter of the monograph, without exception, generated, as F. Leontovich believed, doubts, misunderstandings and controversial points. The reviewer did not agree with the author’s statement that the city was a center of community unity, and that with its appearance began a transitional period between the forms of patrimonial way of life and community-state life. The main thesis proposed by D. Samokvasov’s theory that in the pre-Moscow period in Russia urban life prevailed everywhere, and rural began to prevail only in the 16th century, F. Leontovich declared to be based only on questionable or misunderstood historical evidences. In addition to criticism of the main provisions of D. Samokvasov’s conceptual scheme, the reviewer presented his own understanding of this topic. In response to the review by F. Leontovich, D. Samokvasov did not agree with his criticism. He stated that the reviewer had neglected the true content of the monograph and therefore could hardly write a thorough, useful scientific review. D. Samokvasov believed that his research deserved a more thorough study and more serious and just estimation. In his reply to D. Samokvasov F. Leontovich criticized his polemic tricks and did not reject any of his critical remarks. The original continuation of this scientific discussion was the monograph by D. Samokvasov “Severian Land and Severians on the Towns and Burial Grounds”, published in 1908. After thirty years the researcher categorically declared that it is impossible to refute fundamentally the conclusions of his theory, because they are based on irrefutable factual material. D. Samokvasov called the scientific theory of his opponents unsubstantiated. Practical significance: the received results can be used in training courses and generalizing works on the history of Ukraine and its historiography, especially on the historiography and history of the ancient Russian city. Originality: scientific polemic between F. Leontovich and D. Samokvasov concerning the monography “Ancient cities of Russia” is systemized and analyzed. Scientific novelty: the scientific polemic between F. Leontovich and D. Samokvasov concerning the monography “Ancient cities of Russia” is thoroughly and as much as possible comprehensively opened and analyzed. Type of article: research.

Атрофия разума: Юрьев день Кирилла Серебренникова

The article analyses the figure of the heroine Lubov in Kirill Serebrennikov’s film St George’s Day. The main aim is to show how the town of Yuriev and its residents affect the spiritual change of Lubov. The author examines the consistent rejection of the truth of the mind in favour of the truth of faith in Lubov’s life. The initial multilevel conflict between the opera singer and the town is supposed to be laid out in the Russian attitude to the world, which is based on the verge of two binary paradigms – the West and the East – exemplifying in turn the culture of the mind (reason) and the culture of faith (intuition). The provincial Russian town is correlated with the view of St. Petersburg in V. Toporov’s ‘Petersburg text’ due to its particular and distinguishable influence on outer visitors: the town imposes on Lubov its rules, affecting her present life not only materially but most of all spiritually. Besides, the consecutive analyses allow to draw an analogy between Lubov and Dostoevsky’s meek heroines. Like the ‘humiliated and insulted’ women of the author of Crime and punishment, the former opera singer enters the path of suffering and self-sacrifice to completely abandon her own self.

Reorganization of industrial territories in the context of urban development

The area of Saint Petersburg is about 144,000 hectares, industrial areas occupy 24% of urban lands. The historical center of the city is surrounded by the so-called “gray belt”, which is a zone of industrial enterprises that are unsuitable for further use for their intended purpose and that have come to an emergency condition. It was formed in the following way: enterprises were moved to the outskirts of the city, and when the development of the residential zone within the “belt” became impossible, urban development continued beyond its borders. This type of industrial development is typical of most large cities over 200 years old. Many foreign cities and towns of Russia, to varying degrees, have faced the problem of reorganizing such territories. St. Petersburg continues to develop and accept new residents, but it needs an urgent transition from extensive growth to building a model of sustainable urbanization and improving the quality of infrastructure.The purpose of this work is to provide research results that consider the effectiveness of methods for reorganizing industrial areas in urban development by the example of one of the buildings of the “gray belt”. The research object is located on the territory of a residential area under construction.The results of the project showed the effectiveness of greening the roof and facade of the building in order to increase its energy efficiency, reduce water consumption and compensate for insufficient gardening at home (this problem is especially relevant for the central districts of the city).

Smartization in Gatchina

In the paper, a case of a Russian town Gatchina is examined to find the reasonable balance between international Smart City practice, governmental requirements, historical identity preservation and human-oriented approach. The article focuses on the democratic urban design of a public space. The project included qualitative and quantitative research; three project sessions with local inhabitants; preparation of an architectural project based on the collected data. During the design process, organizers faced two types of challenges: economic (shortage of funding) and communication issues (difficulties with informing and recruiting the citizens for the project sessions; underrepresentativeness of some target groups; etc.), whereby the latter dominate. Nevertheless, the project was effective; it showed that such towns can afford Smart City (though by separate projects only), and that collaboration with the citizens contributes to both history and culture preservation and effective competition in federal grants for Smart City development.

Assessing landscape design of small towns in Russia

The article deals with issues related to the urban design assessment of a small towns in the Lipetsk Region. The creation of a comfortable living environment is one of the most important functions of urban landscapes' ecosystem. This paper explains a methodology of assessing the urban public spaces using three-dimensional mapping, data collected through remote sensing and field research as well as questionnaire that included a comprehensive score. The score description contains an auxiliary category that helps assigning the grade of the score. A methodology for describing towns’ landscapes, developed on the basis of a questionnaire is applied. The authors adhere to the requirement of landscape factors equivalence as one of the provisions that determine landscape design. Research studies have shown that according to the total assessment score, the level and quality of urban landscape design are highly appreciated by residents. Parks and public green areas are a key link in the sustainable development of urban areas and they are not included in the general territory of small towns and are located on small land plots. Why is this the case? The landscape design of small towns in Russia is poorly studied and its scientific assessment requires further development.

Light Design of Small Towns’ Coastal Areas

This paper touches upon the problems of development and illumination of small Russian towns located on the banks of rivers and water storage basins (as exemplified by master’s theses). These problems lie on the plane of preservation and effective use of architectural, historical, and cultural heritage of towns, their unusual aura and colour. In the experimental project of town development based on the town of Yurievets situated on the bank of Volga water storage basin, the authors propose an architectural-spatial functional concept of filling up the town territory with the ideas on original colour and light design in the evening and at night.

Directions of socio—economic transformation of single—industry towns (on the example of the city of Kotovsk, Tambov region)

The article reveals the problems of socio–economic development of single– industry towns in Russia. The directions of socio–economic transformation of a monotown have been determined: formation of target documents for development; creation of zones of attraction for investors; diversification of production of the city–forming enterprise. It is concluded that the city of Kotovsk, as one of the monocities, needs to attract financial injections of small and large investors. At the same time, the successful implementation of all announced investment projects will have a positive impact on the diversification of the economy of a single–industry town, the growth of its tax base and the welfare of the population, as well as a decrease in the outflow of labor.

Viking boats in medieval Russia from written and archaeological evidence

Mention of Viking vessels in Russia is rare and brief both in Russian letopis (chronicles) and in ancient Nordic literature. Foreign-language boat names were usually used in medieval Russian documents to designate foreign vessels, while local vessels, as well as their parts and rigging, practically always had local names. Archaeological data of boat finds from the territory of early medieval Russia includes elements of Scandinavian vessels and representations of Viking boats. They have been discovered in medieval layers of Russian towns along the main inland water routes connected with the Baltic from the mid-8th to early 11th centuries, and in boat graves. The Scandinavian boatbuilding tradition existed here in the period of intensive Russian-Scandinavian contacts during the Viking Age.

Rural District of Russian Federation Town of the Golden Horde Era (based on the materials of the archaeological sites of the district of Nizhny Novgorod)

The article deals with clarification of the characteristic features of the rural district of the Russian town of the Golden Horde era. The object of the study is rural settlements located near Nizhny Novgorod. The purpose of the work is to summarize the results of the study of the rural district of medieval Nizhny Novgorod, obtained over the past decades. Rural settlements are mapped, systematized by their location in the terrain, their classification by size is developed using the methods of economic geography, and the probable share of urban residents in the demographic potential of the region is estimated. The socio-economic interpretation of the settlements that form the basis of the settlement system is proposed. The historical interpretation of the form of the area and geography of the rural district of Nizhny Novgorod is given, and its division into two districts – central and peripheral is justified. The features of similarity and differences between rural districts of Russian cities and cities of the Golden Horde are determined.

BRAIN ACTIVITY IN ADOLESCENTS WITH DIFFERENT INTERNET ADDICTION RISKS

Aim: To study electroencephalographic (EEG) changes in adolescents with different risks of developing Internet addiction (IA). Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1б-17 years-old adolescents (n = 55) permanently living in the Arctic Russian town of Arkhangelsk. Risk of IA was assessed using the Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS). By the results of the CIAS test all adolescents were divided into three groups: I - minimal risk of IA, II - increased risk to develop IA and III - stable IA pattern. EEG was evaluated by the values of spectral power (|jV2) in each frequency band. Results: Altogether, 25.5 % of adolescents had minimal risk of developing IA, б3.б% belonged to group 2 and 10.9 % had IA. The organized type of alpha activity EEG was found in 79 % of individuals in group I and in 100 % of individuals in group III. This indicates the optimal age ratio of the activity of the reticular formation, cerebral cortex and diencephalic structures. A large number of negative correlations between compulsive symptoms of IA and all types of EEG activity in group I was determined, which may indicate a resistance of these individuals to addiction. The organized EEG type was detected in 54 %, hypersynchronous type - in 14 %, desynchronized type - in 14 %, disorganized type - in 18 % of group II individuals. A disorganized EEG type with a large ratio of theta EEG waves in the frontal-central brain parts in group II may indicate a high limbic-diencephalic excitation. The correlations between the indicators of the withdrawal symptom scale and the EEG theta-activity reflect the psychological discomfort when access to Internet resources is difficult. Conclusions: Most adolescents with minimal risk of IA and symptoms IA have an organized EEG-type while adolescents with IA have this EEG-type only in a half of the cases, which is caused by the heterochronia of the EEG formation in the Arctic residents and the peculiarities of the formation and development of IA.