Urban population of the northern regions of Buryatia during late socialism

The research considered the aspects of the urban population formation in the northern regions of the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Buryat ASSR) in the period of late socialism. The study described the main conditions of and factors in the demographic development of the Arctic equivalent territories. They implied the geographical remoteness from the developed industrial centers of the region, the poor transport routes, the harsh climate and difficult terrain, the low population density, and the prevalence of rural settlements over urban areas. The authors highlighted three stages of the population formation which were dependent on the location of large industrial clusters, including the Baikal-Amur Mainline construction project. The researchers revealed that the positive migration balance prevailed over the natural increase in the period under review. At the turn of the 1980s-1990s, the natural population movement was in a stable condition. When the construction project was complete, there was a massive exodus of the population resulted in the growing rate of natural increase in the demographic structure of the northern regions of Buryatia. However, the growth of crisis phenomena in the country and the collapse of the Soviet Union hindered the implementation of these trends.