Factors and conditions for the development of small and medium towns in the Russian north

The purpose of the research is to study the factors and conditions of the development of small and medium towns on the example of the regions of the Russian North. The paper analyzes the population’s dynamics indicating the residents’ decline in small and medium towns. The article presents information about the time of the foundation of urban settlements in the context of the main periods of the Russian history. The author considers the factors that have influenced the formation and development of small and medium towns in the Russian North in the pre-Soviet and Soviet periods. The paper proves that at the early stages of the Russian state’s formation for the development of these settlements, their location in relation to large trade and transport routes was of key importance. Natural-geographical, raw material, and religious factors played a certain role. The processes of Russian industrialization had a strong influence on the towns’ development, founded in the Soviet period. The main factors were raw materials, production, and transport. The article shows that the impact of various factors on the development of small and medium towns gradually changes over time. When determining strategic priorities for the further development of human settlements, it is important not only to take into account the experience of past years, but also to try to predestinate the factors that may have an impact in the future. The work uses systematic and retrospective approaches, generalization method, economic and statistical method, and tabular methods of data visualization. The significance of the research results is a possibility of their application by the authorities in order to improve the state and municipal policy in relation to small and medium towns.