Migration trends in Transbaikalia: a retrospective analysis

The vast territories of Transbaikalia have been traditionally characterized by a low population density. More than one generation of rulers tried to solve the problem of depopulation of the eastern outpost of the Russian state at different times and in different ways. The change in the political regime, the influence of socio-economic factors in different periods contributed to transformation of the forms of stimulating migration from the central regions of Russia, however, the content and logic of this process varied in line with the stabilization of the demographic situation on the eastern borders of the country. Within the framework of the article, an attempt is made to comprehend the migration trends characteristic of Transbaikalia in different historical periods, namely, in the imperial (from the annexation of the territories of Eastern Siberia to the Russian Empire), Soviet and post-Soviet (up to the present). The determinants of migration flows, the range of reasons for them are considered. There is reflected the strategic importance of Transbaikalia for the Russian statehood, which is transformed over time under the influence of changes in political regimes, ideological superstructures, as well as world integration and globalization processes. The authors analyze the trend, found at different stages of the historical process, characterized by a «turn to the East» of the foreign policy of the Russian state, providing for involvement of the territories of Transbaikalia in international economic, intercultural processes, that contributed to intensification of the migration flows.