Migration of the Kumandins to the city at the beginning of 21st century

Purpose. We aimed at characterizing the specific migration of the Kumandins from the village to the city at the beginning of the 21st century. Dynamics of migrations by year, sex-age structure and migration trends of the Kumandins is described in details. Results. The migration resource of the Kumandins exhausted in the preceding decades. As a result, in the 2000-2010 migration to the cities was insignificant and, apparently, tends to decrease. The most migratory active were men and people at the economically active age of 17-40. The most attractive for migrants was the nearby city of Biysk. The number of the Kumandins in Biysk is declining, though, despite the continuing inflow of migrants from rural areas. It can be explained by assimilation of the Kumandins as a consistent trend. Conclusion. Based on the field materials of the author, data on economic books and All-Russian population censuses of 2002 and 2010, we came to the conclusion that the territorial scope of migration destinations is limited to district centers. Currently, a significant part of rural Kumandins live in district centers. As a result of the liquidation of vanishing villages in the second half of the 20th century, the Kumandins moved to cities and large villages. According to the All-Russian Population Censuses of 2002 and 2010, there was a reduction in the number of the Kumandins, including urban and rural areas in Altai. The main reason for the decline in the number of urban Kumandins is their assimilation with Russian population. A certain demographic stability is characteristic of the Kumandins of the Altai Republic. In the previous years, two centers of destination for rural Kumandins were formed: the cities of Biysk and Gorno-Altaisk. At the beginning of the 21st century, the direction of migration somewhat changed. Most of the migrants now go to Biysk. We also identified the initial points which the Kumandins leave. Most of the migrants are from the Krasnogorsk district, a little fewer left the Soltonsky district. The low level of migratory activity is from the Turochak district, which is associated with a more stable economic situation in the district and development of tourism. In general, in the period of 2000-2010 the intensity of the Kumandins migration from the village to the city was not high. Among the migrants, men predominated, as well as people in the economically active age of 17-40. Thus, in years to come, absolute numbers of the Kumandin migrants from the village to the city will decrease. At the same time, the number of the Kumandins in the cities will continue to decline.