Polymorphic Variants of Cytokine Genes in Populations of the Arctic Zone of Russia: Predisposition to Diseases

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Despite the absurdity of the question whether it is necessary to conduct population censuses nowadays, it is increasingly heard both from the officials of different levels and from the ordinary people. Opponents of the population census justify their opinion by its high cost and the poor quality of the data obtained. They also argue their position by the fact that the entire living population is already recorded in various registers, lists, accounting forms, etc.

^∗ © Fauzer V.V., 2024

This work is licensed under a CC BY-SA License

We will not give arguments about necessity to conduct a population census in this article as it is obvious for any educated person. Let us recall that the history of population censuses dates back to August 2, 1790, after the US Congress approved six questions for the census. The idea was that it was necessary to count the population in order to fairly distribute the number of seats in the government. This was a revolutionary idea, because historically censuses were a tool used for the purpose of taxation or recruitment for military service [1, Cheshire D., p. 64].

There are plenty of scientific works on population censuses; there are separate works on the Komi Republic. The collective monograph “Population of the Komi Republic: past, present, future (what the censuses tell us)” is one of them. Despite its fundamental nature, the work ended with the population census of 1989. Since then, there have been three All-Russian population censuses, the methodology of their implementation has changed; therefore, there was a need for a work summarizing the results of all the censuses conducted.

The aim is to characterize and describe Russian population censuses, show the specifics of each census, peculiarities and possibilities for comparing the results obtained. The practical significance of the article is that it presents the dynamics of the population of the Komi Republic for 1897– 2021. The article can become a methodological tool for conducting similar work on other subjects of Russia.

First general population census of the Russian Empire of 1897

The first detailed data on the population size and social characteristics of the residents of the Komi Krai were obtained during the first general population census of the Russian Empire in 1897, which deserves special attention. The census aimed to take into account three categories of the population: present (present on the day of the census), permanent (registered in a given household or temporarily absent), and assigned (assigned to a given place). Technically, the census was not based on the system of personal sheets, but on a list form. There were three forms of census lists: form A — for peasant farms of rural communities, form B — for owner households and private houses within villages, form C — for the urban population. In rural areas, census lists were compiled for each household, which included family members, relatives and other persons living with them. In cities, a separate flat was considered as a household. If a single person had a separate household or lived in a separate flat, then a separate census form was filled in for him.

Information about each respondent was collected on 14 questions: 1) name and surname (nickname), here a note was also made about physical disabilities; 2) gender; 3) age; 4) relationship to the head of the family and the head of the household; 5) marital status; 6) class, status or rank; 7) place of birth; 8) place of registration; 9) usual place of residence; 10) a note about absence or temporary stay; 11) religion; 12) native language; 13) literacy and completion of education; 14) occupation — craft, position or service, separately: a) main and b) secondary or auxiliary [2, Skvoznikov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fauzer V.V. et al., p. 46].

The difficulty of the analysis was only in the fact that the modern territory of the Komi Republic in the 19th century was part of the Vyatka and Arkhangelsk provinces. Thus, the Sludskaya and Pinyuzhanskaya volosts of the Khalturinskiy uyezd of the former Vyatka province were partially included in the Letskiy district. The Koinasskaya volost of the Mezensky uyezd of the Arkhangelsk province began to be partially located in the Udorskiy district. The Ust-Tsilemskaya volost and the settlement of Ust-Tsilma of the Pechorskiy uyezd of the Arkhangelsk province were completely included in the Ust-Tsilemskiy district. And finally, the Pustozersk region of the Pechorskiy uyezd of the Arkhangelsk province was partially included into the Ust-Tsilemskiy district. A significant part of the modern territory of the republic was part of the Vologda province (Ust-Sysolskiy and Yarenskiy uyezds) [3].

At the time of the 1897 census, the Komi Krai included three uyezds. More than half of the population — 52.6% — lived in the Ust-Sysolskiy uyezd, 26.9% — in the Yarenskiy uyezd and 20.5% — in the Pechorskiy uyezd. Almost the entire population was permanent — 96.8% (Table 1).

• Table 1

Population of the Komi Krai, 1897 census 1

Uyezds	Permanent population		Temporary population		The entire population
	people	%	people	%
Total population	165 235	96.8	5 429	3.2	170 664
urban	5 268	96.5	189	3.5	5 457
rural	159 967	96.8	5 240	3.2	165 207
Ust-Sysolskiy uyezd	86 294	96.1	3 546	3.9	89 840
urban	4 309	96.5	155	3.5	4 464
rural	81 985	96.0	3 391	4.0	85 376
Yarenskiy uyezd	45 048	98.3	784	1.7	45 832
urban	959	96.6	34	3.4	993
rural	44 089	98.3	750	1.7	44 839
Pechorskiy uyezd (no ubran population)	33 893	96.9	1 099	3.1	34 992

All-Russian population census of 1920

The 1897 census was followed by two agricultural censuses: in 1916–1917 and in 1918 — industrial and professional censuses. The materials of these censuses were not published in full; most of them are stored in archives. The All-Russian demographic, professional and agricultural census of 1920 was conducted as of August 28 in accordance with the resolution of the 7th AllRussian Congress of Soviets during the civil war. Simultaneously with the population census, it was decided to conduct an agricultural census and an inventory of industrial enterprises. “The 1920 census, combined with a brief inventory of industrial enterprises, was a single statistical operation, conducted under a single leadership, according to a single plan and program developed for the entire territory where the census was conducted. The agricultural census was carried out by the same staff of instructors and partly registrars as the population census, and was to take place immediately after the demographic census. The census of industrial enterprises in urban areas was conducted together with the population census, while in rural areas it was carried out in conjunc-

• ¹    Source: [2, Skvoznikov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fauzer V.V. et al., p. 178].

tion with the agricultural census. The survey of public education was supposed to be carried out after the agricultural census. Such a complex system of four censuses was adopted because otherwise it was impossible to satisfy all the practical demands of the various departments. It was not possible to carry out these four operations independently of each other, since the Statistical Bureau could not mobilize its forces four times and simultaneously process the materials already collected from any of the censuses” [2, pp. 54–56].

The term of the population census (the end of August) was adopted mainly in the interests of the agricultural census, which had to be carried out before the beginning of the autumn food campaign. The 1920 census took into account the available population, for which forms were compiled in each household. The census was conducted by interviewing the population by enumerators (registrars) at their place of residence, not work. In the conditions of the civil war, part of the territory (where military operations were carried out) was not covered by the census, therefore only 75% of the population could be counted; some regions were still beyond the control of the central government. All available statistical forces of the country were mobilized to conduct the census: 11,204 specialists. The urban census was conducted in just one week, the rural census — in two weeks. Preliminary results were published in 1920–1921 in the issues of the “Works of the Central Statistical Administration of the RSFSR”. The final results were published in statistical publications of 1922–1923 and as a separate collection in 1928. The materials of the 1920 population census were used for planning the restoration of the republic’s economy destroyed by the imperialist and civil wars [4, pp. 38–41].

The beginning of the third decade of the 20th century was marked for the Komi-Zyryans by the creation of the Komi autonomy. On August 22, 1921, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) adopted the decree “On the formation of the Komi (Zyryan) Autonomous Oblast”. The Oblast included the Pechora uyezd of the Arkhangelsk province, the Ust-Sysolskiy uyezd, 21 volosts with the Komi population of the Yarenskiy uyezd of the North Dvina province. On May 2, 1922, the VTsIK adopted the decree “On the administrative division of the Komi AO”, according to which the Ust-Sysolskiy, Ust-Vymskiy, Ust-Kulomskiy, and Pechorskiy uyezds were formed [5, p. 13]. According to the 1920 census, there were 179,847 people within the boundaries of the territories that became part of the Komi Autonomous Oblast, of which 172,982 people (96.2%) were rural residents living in 1,017 rural settlements. The city dwellers were mainly concentrated in the city of Ust-Sysolsk — 5,449 people, of which 2,636 people lived in suburban settlements, 1,416 people lived in factory settlements (Nyuvchimskiy — 593 and Ka-zhimskiy — 823). The average population density in the region was 0.5 people per square verst, it was higher in Sysolskiy uyezd, and the lowest in Izhmo-Pechorskiy uyezd. The population was unevenly distributed over the territory. In the smallest Sysolskiy uyezd (8.5% of the territory) there were 37.0% of the population, in Izhmo-Pechorskiy uyezd (50.1% of the territory) — 12.2%, in Ust-Kulomskiy uyezd (25.3% of the territory) — 27.1% of the population and Ust-Vymskiy uyezd accounted for 16.1% of the territory and 23.7% of the population [6, Fauzer V.V., p. 26]. For the de- velopment of agriculture (farming) in the Komi Krai, there was not enough cultivated area — 0.5% of the total territory, in Sysolskiy — 2.8%, in Ust-Vymskiy — 0.7%, in Ust-Kulomskiy — 0.5% and in

Izhmo-Pechorskiy uyezd — 0.1% of their total area (Table 2).

Table 2

Distribution of the population of the Komi Krai by uyezds and occupied area, 1920 census ²

Uyezds	Available population, persons	Share of total population, %	Area, sq. versts		People per sq. verst
			p p CD u_ C CD	13 CD ra >	О p CD u C CD	■ o CD CO >
Sysolskiy	66 443	37.0	32 034	887	2.1	74.9
Ust-Kulomskiy	48 749	27.1	95 838	510	0.5	95.6
Ust-Vymskiy	42 655	23.7	60 869	448	0.7	95.2
Izhmo-Pechorskiy	22 000	12.2	189 614	191	0.1	115.2
Total	179 847	100.0	378 355	2036	0.5	88.3

All-Union population census of 1926

In 1926, the first All-Union population census covered the entire territory of the country. It was conducted due to the lack of complete and accurate information on the size and composition of the population of the USSR, formed in 1922. The census was supposed to provide data for the first five-year plan, to be an information base for the industrialization of the country and the collectivization of agriculture. According to the information obtained, the population of the Komi Autonomous Oblast was 207,314 people. Of these, 200,549 people (96.7% of the total population) lived in rural areas and 6,765 people (3.3%) — in urban areas. At the time of the census, the region had a uyezd-volost administrative-territorial division. It was divided into four uyezds: Ust-Sysolskiy (Sysolskiy), Ust-Kulomskiy, Ust-Vymskiy, Pechorskiy (Izhmo-Pechorskiy) [2, Skvoznikov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fauzer V.V. et al., pp. 58–59], (Table 3).

Table 3

Population size and ethnic composition of the Komi AO, 1926 census (within the boundaries of 1926) ³

Uyezds	Number, people	Specific weight, %
		Zyryans (Komi)	Russians	other nationalities
Urban area
Sysolskiy
including Ust-Sysolsk	5 068	68.8	29.8	1.4
Factory settlement Kazhim	982	96.7	3.3	-
Factory settlement Nyuvchim	715	91.9	8.1	-
Total for urban area	6 765	52.9	46.1	1.0
Rural area
Sysolskiy	66 543	90.1	9.8	0.1
Ust- Kulomskiy	56 353	99.1	0.8	0.1
Ust- Vymskiy	46 931	93.2	6.7	0.1
Izhmo- Pechorskiy	30 722	91.5	1.6	6.9

2 Source: CSA of the Komi Republic, f. R-140, l. 2, d. i. 215, p. 14.

3 Source: NA KR, f.3, l.1, s.253, sh. 20-29ob.; s. 580, sh. 4-10ob.

Uyezds	Number, people	Specific weight, %
		Zyryans (Komi)	Russians	other nationalities
Total for rural areas	200 549	93.6	5.3	1.1
Total for Komi AO	207 314	92.3	6.6	1.1

There were 1,316 rural settlements in the four uyezds. The most common type of settlement was villages with a population of 100–500 people (34.3% of the total number of rural settlements). Settlements with a population of 200–499 inhabitants accounted for 34.9%, and settlements with 500–999 inhabitants — 20.6%. The number of sparsely populated villages, farmsteads, and hamlets (1–99 people) was 790, but only 13.0% of the population lived in them. Only 18 settlements had a population exceeding 1,000 people [2, Skvoznikov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fau-zer V.V. et al., pp. 58–59].

The results of the 1926 census were subjected to repeated recalculations due to changes in the external borders and administrative-territorial structure of the Komi Autonomous Oblast that followed after 1926 [7, History of Komi, pp. 264–271]. Instead of the existing four uyezds, 13 administrative units were allocated. This gave a new “pattern” of population distribution. In 1938, a nationwide recalculation of the population within the boundaries of the existing administrative districts was carried out. According to the 1938 recalculation, the population of the republic of the 1926 census was 224,929 people. The indicators of urban and rural population and national composition have changed both in absolute and relative values. The share of urban residents increased to 4.5% of the total population, while the rural population decreased to 95.5%. The share of Zyryans (Komi) and Samoyeds (Nenets) decreased to 86.9% and 0.4%, respectively, while the share of Russians increased to 12.6%. The share of people of other nationalities remained unchanged — 0.1%. Later, the recalculation figures of 1938 were published in the comparative tables of the AllUnion population censuses [8, p. 68], although they contained an error related to the unjustified classification of the village of Ust-Tsilma as an urban settlement. In the table below, this obvious error has been corrected, while in the original source, 3,264 residents of Ust-Tsilma were classified as urban population (Table 4).

• Table 4 Number and national composition of the population of Komi AO, 1926 population census (according to the recalculation of 1938, within modern borders) ⁴

  Administrative districts	Number, people	including		Specific weight, %
  		urban population	rural population	Komi	Russians	Nenets	others
  Syktyvkar	9 713	5 068	4 645	79.9	18.7	-	1.4
  Letskiy	10 930	-	10 930	77.6	21.7	-	0.7
  Priluzskiy	16 743	-	16 743	72.9	26.9	-	0.2
  Sysolskiy	24 026	982	23 044	94.4	5.5	-	0.1
  Syktyvdinskiy	32 376	715	31 661	97.1	2.8	-	0.1
  Storozhevskiy	16 062	-	16 062	99.7	0.3	-	-

  Administrative districts	Number, people	including		Specific weight, %
  		urban population	rural population	Komi	Russians	Nenets	others
  Ust-Kulomskiy	27 417	-	27 417	99.0	0.9	-	0.1
  Ust-Vymskiy	27 831	-	27 831	89.3	10.6	-	0.1
  Izhemskiy	22 543	-	22 543	97.4	2.1	0.5	-
  Troitsko-Pechorskiy	4 143	-	4 143	97.3	2.6	-	0.1
  Udorskiy	13 367	-	13 367	90.8	8.9	0.1	0.2
  Ust-Tsilemskiy	13 038	-	13 038	5.3	93.0	1.5	0.2
  Ust-Usinskiy	6 740	-	6 740	89.2	1.1	9.6	0.1
  Total for Komi AO	224 929	6 765	218 164	86.9	12.6	0.4	0.1

  At the beginning of the 20th century, the Komi Krai had a favorable environment for the formation of a multi-ethnic population. The remote location from the center and the lack of an established transport system contributed to the fact that the region was least affected by wars and economic devastation, and therefore began to attract both residents of neighboring regions and former residents of the Krai. If the average annual population growth rate in the period 1897– 1920 was 0.2%, then in 1920–1926 it was already 3.8%. For understanding the significance of such a high rate of population growth, we should note that with an annual growth rate of 2.8%, the population doubles within 25 years.

The growth of the total population of the Krai and individual ethnic groups was influenced by the fact that in the 1920s the Komi Krai was gradually transforming from the outskirts of tsarist Russia into a region with developing industry. Active geological exploration work began here [9]. Changing the industrial image of the region required a radical restructuring of the entire national economy on the basis of the development of new natural resources industries. However, the external environment required something different. The main task for the Northern Territory was the comprehensive development of logging and sawmilling, primarily for export to other countries in order to obtain foreign currency for industrialization, which predetermined the specialization of the Komi Autonomous Oblast (since 1936 — ASSR) mainly for timber harvesting for many years. The promising task to move from logging to its deep processing was returned only in the mid-1960s, when the Syktyvkar pulp and paper mill was included in the national economic development plan [7, p. 381]. The constraining factor in the development of the richest natural resources of the region and the expansion of industry was the sparsely populated territory and its extremely uneven settlement. Most of the population lived in rural areas, along rivers [10, Fauzer V.V., Par-nachev A.A., Zagaynova G.V., pp. 6–16]. From 1897 to 1926, the population of the Komi Krai changed insignificantly. During 30 years, the population growth was 54.2 thousand people, or an average of about 2 thousand per year (Table 5).

• Table 5

Population dynamics of the Komi Krai, 1897–1926 censuses, thousand people 5

Year

Entire population

Urban population

Rural population

Specific weight, %

				Urban population	Rural population
1897	170.7	4.5	166.2	2.6	97.4
1920	179.8	5.4	174.4	3.0	97.0
1926	224.9	10.0	214.9	4.5	95.5

All-Union population census of 1937

The next census was conducted in 1937, and its fate was tragic. It was expected that the population of the country would amount to 168–170 million people, but the results were much lower — 162 million people. The forecasts did not come true and could not come true, since the population suffered great losses due to the famine of the early 1930s, the de-kulakization of the peasantry and the mass political repressions of the mid-1930s. The discussions of the last decades about the 1937 census, which have been developed in scientific community, show that the methodological errors made during its preparation and implementation, indeed, led to undercounting of the population, but it was insignificant — according to various estimates, from 0.5 to 1.2%.

The resolution of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR of September 25, 1937 recognized the organization of the 1937 census as unsatisfactory and its materials as “defective”. The organizers of the census were declared “enemies of the people” and “Trotskyist-Bukharin spies”. The leaders and developers of the 1937 census were subjected to repression (I.A. Kraval, O.A. Kvitkin, L.S. Brandt, and others). The census data were annulled and its materials were classified. It was only in the early 1990s that the materials of the 1937 population census were declassified and partially published [11, Polyakov Yu.A.]. Some fragments of this census are stored in the National Archives of the Komi Republic (NA RK) (Table 6).

Table 6

Population of the Komi ASSR, 1937 census ⁶

Administrative districts	Native population				Special resettlers		Entire population, people
	on Ъ с CD О _Q и E о -5 СЮ С = >	СП "О С Q. 0J О сю о -С Q. О _о	с CD Е	с CD Е О	ч— 1/1 О с ^ CD ^ Е Е £ D 4^ с о СП	СП О 73 CD С о_ 0J о сю ф _С Q. О -Q
Total for the Komi ASSR	143	263 871	-	-	37	21 603	285 474
incl. urban population	-	20 305	9 541	10 764	-	-	20 305
rural areas	141	243 566	-	-	37	21 603	265 169
Syktyvkar incl.		23 202	10 740	12 462	-	-	23 202
rural population	2	4 072	1 802	2 270	-	-	4 072
Nyuvchim settlement		1 175	603	572	-	-	1 175
districts
Letskiy	6	11 921	5 424	6 497		-	11 921
Priluzskiy	8	18 584	8 656	9 928	5	2 290	20 874

6 Source: NA KR, f. 870, l.1, d.39, s.10, d.144, l.4-10.

Administrative districts	Native population				Special resettlers		Entire population, people
	on Ъ С CD О _Q o E oj -5  00 C = >	CD 73 ^ C OJ о СЮ ф -C Q. О _Q	С CD Е	С CD Е О	ч— 1/1 О с ^ CD ^ Е Е £ С о СП	СП CD 73 ^ С Q_ о о СЮ ф _С Q. о -Q
Sysolskiy	13	26 429	12 060	14 369	3	3 019	29 448
Syktyvdinskiy	20	33 550	15 645	17 905	7	3 716	37 266
Storozhevskiy	11	17 990	8 105	9 885	2	713	18 703
Ust-Kulomskiy	13	31 297	14 387	16 910	8	3 575	34 872
Ust-Vymskiy	16	28 420	12 922	15 498	6	4 060	32 480
Total in southern rural districts	87	172 263	79 001	93 262		17 373	185 564
Total in southern districts	89	192 568	88 542	104 026		17 373	205 869
Izhemskiy	16	25 394	no data	no data		-	25 394
Troitsko-Pechorskiy	6	5 103	-	-	3	2 395	7 498
Udorskiy	10	15 433	-	-		-	15 433
Ust-Tsilemskiy	9	13 073	-	-	1	no data	13 073
Ust-Usinskiy	13	12 300	-	-	2	1 835	14 135
Total for northern districts	54	71 303	-	-		4 230	75 533

All-Union population census of 1939

Two years later, in 1939, the second All-Russian population census was conducted; its results were recognized as positive. The territory of the republic was 383.3 thousand km2. There were 12 administrative districts, 143 village councils and 2,115 rural settlements, as well as 3,185 detached residential buildings. According to the lists, there were 21,829 households. There were 934 settlements with less than 50 inhabitants. They made up 44% of the total number of settlements in the republic. Only 69 settlements had a population exceeding 600 people (3%). The rural population density was 0.66 people per 1 km2. The population was 318,996 people [2, Skvoznikov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fauzer V.V. et al., p. 76], including 90.9% of rural and 9.1% of urban population. There were three urban settlements in the republic: the city of Syktyvkar, the urban-type settlements of Nyuvchim and Chibyu (Table 7).

Table 7

Population of the Komi ASSR, 1939 census, people ⁷

Administrative districts, urban settlements	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Entire population	318 996	29 159	289 837
Syktyvkar	30 111	25 281	4 830
districts
Letskiy	14 186	-	14186
Priluzskiy	19 644	-	19 644
Storozhevskiy	19 608	-	19 608
Syktyvdinskiy	37 008	1 209	35 799
Nyuvchim settlement	1 209	1 209	-
Sysolskiy	29 949	-	29 949

• ⁷    Demoscope    Weekly.    All-Union     population     census     1939:     official    website.

  URL:

  
  

  http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/census.php?cy=2 (accessed 31 January 2023).

Administrative districts, urban settlements	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Troitsko-Pechorskiy	8 575	-	8 575
Udorskiy	15 066	-	15 066
Ust-Vymskiy	40 710	-	40 710
Ust-Kulomskiy	33 656	-	33 656
Izhemskiy	32 959	2 669	30 290
Chibyu settlement (Ukhta)	2 669	2 669	-
Ust-Usinskiy	21 027	-	21 027
Ust-Tsilemskiy	16 497	-	16 497

In the 1930s, the Komi Krai became the place where the Gulag methods of industrialization were most fully applied. In 1921, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Com- munist Party (Bolsheviks) decided to organize a concentration camp on the Ukhta River for 10-20 thousand people. From that moment, the history of exile of people undesirable to the authorities to the territory of Komi begins, a new era of population and labor force formation through forced migration in its various forms. In 1929, the first prisoners arrived here; they were supposed to develop the coal and oil complexes and railway construction. The true scale of forced migration became known thanks to the publication of data from the 1939 NKVD special census, published in 1992. The number of prisoners participated in the census by the NKVD in the Komi ASSR was 131,930 people. Of these, 5,482 belonged to contingent “A” (personnel of the NKVD and Chekist departments, camps, prisons, border troops, colonies, special settlements, as well as the civilian population covered by the special census). The remaining 126,448 people belonged to contingent “B” (prisoners). Thus, the total population of the Komi ASSR according to the 1939 census, taking into account the special NKVD census, was 450,926 people. Thus, the population of the republic has doubled in 13 years since 1926 [2, Skvoznikov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fauzer V.V. et al., p. 78]. The scale of forced migration from 1929 to 1959 is presented in [12, Fauzer V.V., Lytkina T.S., Fau-zer G.N.; 13, Lytkina T.S., Fauzer V.V.] (Table 8).

Table 8

Dynamics of the population of the Komi ASSR, including the special contingent, 1929–1959 8

Year	Population number, thousand people	including
		number of special contingent, including prisoners, thousand people	specific weight of special contingent, %
1929	237.0	2.3	1.0
1930	272.5	30.9	11.3
1931	304.5	53.3	17.5
1932	326.1	68.0	20.9
1933	303.5	42.9	14.1
1934	300.2	37.9	12.6
1935	307.2	39.7	12.9
1936	-	42.9	-
1937	315.7	51.9	16.4
1938	-	143.1	-
1939	450.9	146.7	32.5
1940	509.4	207.0	40.6
1941	591.4	286.0	48.4

8 Source: [14, Ignatova N.M.], [15, Morozov N.A., 1997], [2, Skvoznikov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fauzer V.V. et al.].

Year	Population number, thousand people	including
		number of special contingent, including prisoners, thousand people	specific weight of special contingent, %
1942	493.1	200.1	40.6
1943	372.6	104.0	27.9
1944	408.2	149.7	36.7
1945	416.0	155.3	37.3
1946	532.4	229.7	43.1
1947	572.2	250.3	43.7
1949	632.4	286.2	45.3
1950	643.7	282.9	43.9
1951	633.4	241.3	38.1
1952	691.7	268.0	38.7
1953	615.1	144.9	23.6
1955	695.6	123.4	17.7
1959	822.5	8.3	1.0

From 1939 to 1959, many historical events took place, of which the two most important are the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945, completion of the Gulag period of the country’s economic development [16, Ivanova G.M.]; during this period, the borders of the USSR changed. All this required obtaining new data on the size and composition of the population. We should especially note the changes in the population size that occurred during the years of the Great Patriotic War. As of January 1, 1941, the population of the republic (excluding the camp contingent) was 342.1 thousand people. During the war years, the population of the republic decreased by 64.9 thousand people, or 19.0%, and amounted to 277.2 thousand people by January 1, 1945, of which the urban population was 76.8 thousand, the rural population was 200.4 thousand, including 14.3 thousand people temporarily residing. At the same time, the urban population increased by 2 times during the war years, while the rural population, on the contrary, decreased by 34.1%. The share of urban residents in the population increased from 11.1% to 27.7%. During the war years, there was a process of expansion of the network of cities and working settlements. By 1945, the republic had 2 cities of republican subordination (Syktyvkar and Vorkuta), 1 city of district subordination (Ukhta), 10 workers’ settlements (Nyuvchim, Kazhim, Zheleznodorozhny, Pechora (Kanin Nos), Abez, Vozhayel, Inta, Izhma (now Sosnogorsk), Yarega, Vodny) [2, Skvoznikov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fauzer V.V. et al., p. 83].

All-Russian population census of 1959

The 1959 population census was held from January 15 to 22, the critical moment was 12 o'clock at night from 14 to 15 January 1959. For example, children born after this time were not recorded in the census forms. Both the permanent and the resident population were counted. The population census recorded significant changes in the population size and socio-demographic structures, as well as changes in the settlement system. This period is characterized by extensive development of all sectors of the national economy.

According to the 1959 census, the population of the republic was 815.8 thousand people. According to preliminary results, the population of the Komi ASSR according to the 1959 census was 806.2 thousand people. This figure appears in all final elaborations of the 1959 population census, stored in the National Archives of the Republic of Komi. However, the published census materials indicate a population of 815.8 thousand people. This is explained by the fact that when summing up the final results, the population of the territories that became part of the republic after the census was included in the total population of the republic. In 1959, the workers’ settlements of Khalmer-Yu and Cementnozavodskoy with a population of 9.4 thousand people were transferred from the Nenets National Okrug to the Komi ASSR, and the Verkhne-Turinskiy village council with a population of 1.7 thousand people was transferred from the Kirov Oblast to the Ko-ygorodskiy district.

Compared to 1939, the population of the republic has increased by 2.6 times. The total population increase was 496.8 thousand people. In the inter-census period from 1939 to 1959, there were significant changes in the distribution of the population between urban and rural areas. The post-war period in the history of the republic was marked by record rates of urbanization among all the autonomous regions of Russia. From 1939 to 1959, the proportion of urban dwellers increased from 9.1 to 59.3%. The urban population increased by 16.6 times, while the rural population increased only by 114.5% (Table 9).

Table 9

Population dynamics of the Komi ASSR, 1926–1959 censuses, thousand people 9

Year	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population	Specific weight, %
				Urban population	Rural population
1926	224.9	10.0	214.9	4.5	95.5
1939	319.0	29.2	289.8	9.1	90.9
1959	815.8	484.0	331.8	59.3	40.7

By 1959, the north-eastern regions of new economic development turned out to be the most populated, while this part of the territory was almost unpopulated before 1939. In some agricultural regions (Udorskiy, Letskiy, Syktyvdinskiy), the population decreased, mainly due to movement to the cities. Despite these changes, the population was still distributed extremely unevenly, concentrating around industrial and transport hubs.

In 20 years, between the censuses of 1939 and 1959, 5 cities and 31 workers’ settlements were formed in the Komi ASSR. Along with the previously existing city of Ust-Sysolsk (now Syktyvkar), new cities appeared by 1959: Vorkuta (a city of republican subordination since November 26, 1943), Pechora (a city of district subordination since January 18, 1949), Inta (a city of district subordination since October 4, 1954, of republican subordination since September 28, 1957), Ukhta (a city of district subordination since November 20, 1943, of republican subordination since November 16, 1953), Sosnogorsk (a city of district subordination since December 1, 1955); large working settlements of urban type were grouped around some of them [5].

A characteristic feature of the population dynamics of the republic during the period under review is that along with the growth of the absolute number of the urban population, there was

• ⁹    Source: [6, Fauzer V.V., 2023, p. 33].

also an absolute growth of the rural population, and the latter increased mainly due to the formation of enterprises of the logging industry. From 1939 to 1959, the rural population of the republic increased by 114.5%, while on average in Russia it decreased by 29.4%. In 1959, the Vorkuta city council was the leader in terms of population (21.6%), surpassing the Syktyvkar city council (9.1%) by 2.4 times. The following districts were notable in terms of population size: Pechorskiy — 66,521, Zheleznodorozhny — 43,277, Ust-Vymskiy — 41,989 and Ukhtinskiy — 40,971 people. Urban residents prevailed in four districts: Intinskiy — 82.7%, Ukhtinskiy — 72.9%, Pechorskiy — 72.6% and Zheleznodorozhny — 51.5% (Table 10).

Table 10

Population of the Komi ASSR, 1959 census, people ¹⁰

Administrative districts, city councils	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Entire population	815 799	484 039	331 760
Syktyvkar city council	74 469	74 469	-
Vorkuta city council	175 857	175 857	-
Inta city council — city of Inta	45 136	45 136	-
Ukhta city council	48 030	48 030	-
districts
Zheleznodorozhny	43 277	22 294	20 983
Izhemskiy	22 026	-	22 026
Intinskiy *	21 224	17 542	3682
Koigorodskiy	19 356	3750	15 606
Kortkerosskiy	14 970	-	14 970
Letskiy	14 703	-	14 703
Pechorskiy	66 521	48 295	18 226
Pomozdinskiy	16 804	-	16 804
Priluzskiy	21 502	-	21 502
Storozhevskiy	16 314	-	16 314
Syktyvdinskiy	26 455	2120	24 335
Sysolskiy	20 554	-	20 554
Troitsko-Pechorskiy	35 187	5311	29 876
Udorskiy	13 592	-	13 592
Ust-Vymskiy	41 989	11 347	30 642
Ust-Kulomskiy	18 195	-	18 195
Ust-Tsilemskiy	18 667	-	18 667
Ukhtinskiy *	40 971	29 888	11 083

* administrative-territorial division is given not for the date of the census (15.01.1959), but for the beginning of 1960.

All-Union population census of 1970

The fifth census was conducted at 12 o'clock at night from 14 to 15 January 1970. For the first time, the entire population was covered by continuous observation and 25% — by sample one. The census form consisted of 11 continuous observation questions and 7 sample questions. “What was new in this census was the collection of data on population migration, expressed in the following questions: “How long have you been living continuously in this locality?”; “For those living here less than 2 years, indicate the place of your previous permanent residence”; “Reason for changing

• ¹⁰    Source: AUPC-1959. Demoscope Weekly. All-Union population census 1959: official website. URL: http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/census.php?cy=3 (accessed 30 January 2023).

your place of residence”. The census forms were filled in by enumerators while interviewing the population.

A random control check of the correctness of the census was conducted within 6 days after the census, on January 24-29, 1970. It was conducted by instructor-controllers together with the enumerators. In urban areas, 50% of the premises in each enumeration area were covered by the control check, and in rural areas, all residents were covered in 50% of the enumeration areas. Along with checking the accuracy of the population count, the quality of filling out the census forms and other documentation was also checked during the control rounds” [6, Fauzer V.V., pp. 35–36].

During the census, enumerators recorded 241,108 thousand people in the census forms. Control rounds revealed 264 thousand people missed by the enumerators, which is 0.2% of the population of the areas covered by the check. This figure was added to the census results for the corresponding enumeration areas. In relation to the entire population of the USSR, this correction is 0.11%. The check of the control forms revealed 348 thousand unenumerated people, who were included in the census results after verification. Thus, the total number of persons additionally identified during control rounds and verification of control forms amounted to 612 thousand, or 0.25% of the entire population of the USSR 11.

The results of the 1970 Census on migration issues were grouped in Volume VII, “Population migration, number and composition of families in the USSR”. The following tables were presented: “Distribution of the population by territory of arrival and departure during the 2 years before the census”, “Distribution of the population arriving in the RSFSR by previous place of residence”, “Number of arriving and departing population by republics, territories and regions”, “Distribution of the migrating population by age groups in the USSR, union republics and economic regions of the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR”, “Distribution of the migrating population by individual nationalities of the USSR” 12.

According to the results of the 1970 census, the total population of the Komi ASSR was 964.8 thousand people. Compared with 1959, it increased by 149.0 thousand people, or 118.3%. The population growth in the republic was significantly higher than in Russia as a whole (for comparison: the growth for 1959-1970 in the USSR was 16.0%, in the RSFSR — 10.7%). The population grew in both urban and rural areas. The urban population of the republic in 1959-1970 increased by 113.4 thousand people, or 123.4%, the rural population — by 35.6 thousand people, or 110.7%. But if the share of urban residents in the population during the inter-census period increased from 59.3% to 61.9%, the share of rural residents decreased from 40.7% to 38.1%.

In 1970, there were 7 cities and 34 urban-type settlements in the republic. Since the 1959 census, there have been a number of changes in the administrative-territorial division of the Republic. During this period, one city and six urban-type settlements were formed, and four lost their status. On March 23, 1959, the settlement of Mikun received the status of a city. The urban-type set-

11 Demoscope    Weekly.    All-Union     population    census    1970:

official

website.

URL:

(accessed 30 January 2023).

Ibid.

tlement of Sloboda (on August 5, 1963, it received the name Ezhva) into Syktyvkar city limits on December 13, 1968, and the Ezhvinskiy district was formed; on July 24, 1969, Gornyatskiy was officially united with Vorkuta city into one settlement; and on February 24, 1966, Khanovey was transformed into a settlement. In 1963, Pomozdinskiy and Storozhevskiy were united with Ust-Kulomskiy district, Letskiy and Priluzskiy districts were united, and Zheleznodorozhny was renamed into Knya-zhpogostskiy district. There were 157 village councils and 1,068 rural settlements in 13 districts of the Republic. The number of rural settlements subordinated to village councils was 971, with a population of 313.8 thousand people. The number of rural settlements subordinated to city and town councils was 97, with a population of 33.7 thousand people. Since 1959, the population has increased in all districts except Knyazhpogostskiy, Koygorodskiy and Ust-Vymskiy [2, Skvoznikov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fauzer V.V. et al., pp. 87, 91, 92].

The population growth rates were especially significant in areas of new economic development. Thus, the population of the Syktyvkar city council increased by 1.9 times during these years with the construction and commissioning of the first stage of the Syktyvkar timber industry complex. The development of the Timan-Pechora oil and gas province caused a 1.6-fold increase in the population of the Ukhta region. The urban population growth rates in the Komi Republic during these years were close to the average population growth rates in Russia. With the growth of the rural population in the republic, on average in Russia, there was a decrease of 12.2%. The increase in the rural population in a number of areas of the republic is explained by the development of certain industries there. Thus, the construction of the new Mikun-Koslan timber railway and the organization of logging enterprises in the areas gravitating towards it affected the population growth of the Udor-skiy district by 1.5 times; due to the development of logging in the upper reaches of the Vychegda, the population of the Ust-Kulomskiy district increased by 1.2 times [17, Fauzer V.V., Rozhkin E.N., Zagaynova G.V., p. 13].

As according to the results of the 1959 census, the Vorkuta city council was the leader in terms of population, accounting for 19.2%, the second place was occupied by the Ukhta city council — 15.7%, and the Syktyvkar city council was in third place — 14.3%. The following districts are notable: Ust-Kulomskiy — 4.5%, Ust-Vymskiy — 4.3%, Knyazhpogostskiy — 3.9%, Pechorskiy — 3.9%, Priluzskiy — 3.7%, Kortkerosskiy — 3.3%, and the smallest Koygorodskiy district — 1.8% (of the total population) (Table 11).

Table 11

Population of the Komi ASSR, 1970 census, people ¹³

Administrative districts, city councils	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Entire population	964 802	597 416	367 386
Syktyvkar city council	138 318	137 210	1 108
Vorkuta city council	184 945	182 779	2 166
Inta city council	61 496	56 127	5 369

13 Demoscope    Weekly.    All-Union     population    census    1970:    official    website.     URL:

(accessed 30 January 2023).

Administrative districts, city councils	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Pechora city council	40 826	37 803	3 023
Ukhta city council	151 412	123 393	28 019
districts
Izhemskiy	26 122	4 593	21 529
Knyazhpogostskiy	37 808	17 340	20 468
Koygorodskiy	17 431	1 095	16 336
Kortkerosskiy	31 780	-	31 780
Pechorskiy	37 368	12 217	25 151
Priluzskiy	35 756	-	35 756
Syktyvdinskiy	26 305	1 630	24 675
Sysolskiy	22 060	-	22 060
Troitsko-Pechorskiy	29 388	4 172	25 216
Udorskiy	20 078	-	20 078
Ust-Vymskiy	41 173	19 057	22 116
Ust-Kulomskiy	43 625	-	43 625
Ust-Tsilemskiy	18 911	-	18 911

All-Union population census of 1979

The critical moment of the census was set at 12 o’clock at night from 16 to 17 January; it was conducted for 8 days — from 17 to 24 January 1979. According to its results, the population of the Komi ASSR was 1 million 118.4 thousand people. From 1970 to 1979, the population of the republic increased by 153.6 thousand or 115.9%. The main source of population formation was natural growth, which was almost 2 times higher than migration in the 1970s. Natural growth accounted for 65%, and migration — for 35% of the total population growth.

The urban population increased by 196.0 thousand people, or 132.8%. The population increased in all cities of the republic. The cities of Syktyvkar, Ukhta and Pechora were developing especially rapidly. The rate of population growth in the cities of Vorkuta and Inta slowed down, and the population remained at the level of 1970. According to the 1979 census, there were 7 cities and 47 urban-type settlements in the republic (13 more than in 1970).

Against the backdrop of an increase in the urban population, the number and proportion of the rural population of the republic decreased significantly during the inter-census period. The rural population decreased by 42.4 thousand people, or 11.5%. Its share in the population decreased from 38.1 to 29.1% between 1970 and 1979. The population decline occurred in 8 districts: Izhemskiy, Kortkerosskiy, Koygorodskiy, Priluzskiy, Sysolskiy, Troitsko-Pechorskiy, Ust-Kulomskiy and Ust-Tsilemskiy. The main reasons for the decline in the rural population were: rural-to-urban migration; the policy of “reducing unpromising villages”, actively pursued in the 1970s; the transfer of large villages to the category of urban settlements or the absorption of rural settlements by nearby growing cities.

It can be noted that in the inter-census period of 1970–1979, the dynamics of the population was determined by the rate of development of productive forces. The extensive population growth was influenced by the discovery and exploitation of the richest oil and gas deposits, their deep processing [18, Fauzer V.V., Klimashevskaya E.V.]. The growth of the population of Syktyvkar was facilitated by the increase in the capacity of the Syktyvkar timber industry complex, one of the largest in Europe [19]; the growth of the population of Vorkuta — by the commissioning of the Vorgashorskaya mine into industrial operation, etc.

In 1979, the top three cities were: Vorkuta, Syktyvkar and Ukhta, with Syktyvkar changing places with Ukhta. In terms of population, the following districts stand out: Usinskiy — 44.9 thousand, Ust-Vymskiy — 42.2 thousand, Ust-Kulomskiy — 39.9 thousand, Knyazhpogostskiy — 38.4 thousand and Udorskiy — 35.4 thousand people. The following districts had less than 20 thousand people: Koygorodskiy, Ust-Tsilemskiy and Sysolskiy. For the first time districts having this status according to the 1979 census, the urban population exceeded the rural population: in Knya-zhpogostskiy by 7,114 and in Ust-Vymskiy by 2,653 people (Table 12).

Table 12

Population of the Komi ASSR, 1979 census, people ¹⁴

Administrative districts, city councils	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Entire population	1 118 421	793 441	324 980
Syktyvkar city council	187 347	185 147	2 200
Vorkuta city council	194 823	193 047	1 776
Inta city council	61 830	56 814	5 016
Pechora city council	56 409	56 361	48
Ukhta city council	173 625	154 945	18 680
districts
Vuktylskiy	25 323	16 767	8 556
Izhemskiy	24 305	4 395	19 910
Knyazhpogostskiy	38 370	22 742	15 628
Koygorodskiy	15 053	1 466	13 587
Kortkerosskiy	28 176	-	28 176
Pechorskiy	28 474	14 903	13 571
Priluzskiy	30 526	-	30 526
Syktyvdinskiy	26 391	1 228	25 163
Sysolskiy	19 551	-	19 551
Troitsko-Pechorskiy	28 747	12 591	16 156
Udorskiy	35 383	17 294	18 089
Usinskiy	44 945	31 383	13 562
Ust-Vymskiy	42 157	22 405	19 752
Ust-Kulomskiy	39 898	1 953	37 945
Ust-Tsilemskiy	17 088	-	17 088

All-Union population census of 1989

From 12 to 19 January 1989, the last population census within the Union State was conducted; its critical moment was set for 12 o’clock on the night of 11 to 12 January. The importance of this census can hardly be overestimated, as each newly formed state began its demographic calculation from this date. Along with the standard census information on the population, data on people’s living conditions were collected, the following questions were asked: “Period of house construction”; “Materials of the house walls”; “Who owns the house”; “Type of living space”; “Amenities of living space”; “Number of occupied living rooms”; “Size of total area and size of liv-

• ¹⁴    Demoscope    Weekly.    All-Union     population    census    1979:    official    website.     URL:

(accessed 30 January 2023).

ing space”. The survey did not find out the attitude towards the head of the family, but the attitude towards the family member listed first; the question of place of birth reappeared; it was asked: “did you graduate from a vocational educational institution” [4, pp. 109–110].

The population of the Komi ASSR was 1 million 250.8 thousand people. Since 1979, it has grown by 132.4 thousand people (an increase of 11.8%). The growth of the urban population was 151.0 thousand (an increase of 19.0%). The share of the urban population in the total population of the republic reached 75.5%. The population increase occurred in all cities of the republic. The city of Usinsk developed especially rapidly. Its population increased by 2.4 times over 10 years. A consistently rapid population growth was observed in Syktyvkar and Ukhta. It was slower in the cities of Vorkuta, Inta and Pechora. During this period, three new cities appeared on the map of the republic. On July 20, 1984, the settlement of Usinsk acquired the status of a city of republican subordination; on August 21, 1984, the settlement of Vuktyl — a city of district subordination; on August 2, 1985, the settlement of Zheleznodorozhny was renamed into the town of Yemva and became a city of district subordination. The rural population continued to decline both absolutely and relatively. Since 1979, the rural population has decreased by 18.6 thousand people. The proportion of rural residents in the republic decreased from 29.1 to 24.5% in 1979–1989 [2, Skvozni-kov V.Ya., Zherebtsov I.L., Fauzer V.V. et al., pp. 104–105].

In the post-war Soviet period, the republic became a highly urbanized region, the share of the urban population was 75.5% (RSFSR — 73.4%). The level of urbanization in the Russian North was higher in Murmansk Oblast — 92.0%, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — 90.0%, Sakhalin Oblast —82.3%, Kamchatka Oblast — 81.5%, Karelian ASSR — 81.4%, Magadan Oblast — 80.5%, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug — 77.9%, and the lowest in the Tuva ASSR — 46.8% (Table 13).

Table 13

Population dynamics of the Komi ASSR, censuses of 1959–1989, thousand people 15

Year	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population	Specific weight, %
				Urban population	Rural population
1959	815.8	484.0	331.8	59.3	40.7
1970	964.8	597.4	367.4	61.9	38.1
1979	1118.4	793.4	325.0	70.9	29.1
1989	1250.8	944.4	306.4	75.5	24.5

In the 1980s, changes in the administrative-territorial division reflected to the greatest extent the changes taking place in the social and political life of the country during one decade, and mutually exclusive decrees were adopted. Along with the improvement of the administrative-territorial structure of the Komi ASSR, attempts of external, formal restructuring of the apparatus and the subsequent administrative-territorial changes were made. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Komi ASSR of May 3, 1983, the Kuratovskiy and Oktyabrskiy districts of the city of Syktyvkar were created with the formation of district Councils of People’s Deputies. However, on October 3, 1988, they were abolished. The village of Verkhniy Chov, administratively

• ¹⁵    Source: [6, Fauzer V.V., p. 39].

subordinated to the Oktyabrskiy district council of the city of Syktyvkar, was excluded from the registration data on October 21, 1986, and was restored again by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Komi ASSR on December 12, 1986 [20, p. 297]. At the time of the census, the Pechora city council was considered as the city of Pechora, the Usinskiy district — as the city of Usinsk and Usinskiy district, Sosnogorskiy district appeared. For the first time, the population of Syktyvkar exceeded the population of Vorkuta by 16 thousand 436 people. The population of Ukhta decreased due to the removal of Sosnogorsk from its subordination. Three districts had more than 30 thousand people: Ust-Vymskiy — 43.3 thousand, Ust-Kulomskiy — 39.9 thousand and Knyazhpogostskiy — 39.5 thousand people (Table 14).

Table 14

Permanent population of the Komi ASSR, 1989 census, people 16

Administrative districts, city councils	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Entire population	1 250 847	944 423	306 424
Syktyvkar city council	234 903	234 128	775
Vorkuta city council	218 467	216 847	1 620
Inta city council	71 202	67 474	3 728
Pechora	65 666	65 666	-
Usinsk	47 419	47 419	-
Ukhta city council	142 499	138 847	3 652
districts
Vuktylskiy	28 416	19 510	8 906
Izhemskiy	23 329	4 142	19 187
Knyazhpogostskiy	39 548	24 650	14 898
Koygorodskiy	12 477	1 357	11 120
Kortkerosskiy	27 209	-	27 209
Pechorskiy	28 848	16 500	12 348
Priluzskiy	28 179	-	28 179
Sosnogorskiy	62 594	50 300	12 294
Syktyvdinskiy	27 420	1056	26 364
Sysolskiy	19 592	-	19 592
Troitsko-Pechorskiy	26 178	13 159	13 019
Udorskiy	24 799	5 624	19 175
Usinskiy	22 393	10 243	12 150
Ust-Vymskiy	43 256	25 224	18 032
Ust-Kulomskiy	39 936	2 277	37 659
Ust-Tsilemskiy	16 517	-	16 517

All-Russian population census of 2002

The first population census in the history of modern Russia was conducted as of October 9, 2002 and took place from October 9 to October 16, 2002. For the first time in the history of national censuses, it was carried out on the basis of the Federal Law “On the All-Russian population census”, adopted on January 25, 2002. For the first time, October was chosen as the month for the census; only the permanent population was taken into account, as is customary in most countries of the world.

During all population censuses of the Soviet era, the unit of observation was a family — a community of people living together, related by kinship, a common budget. Due to changes in the housing conditions of the population, family ties of people living together, the household was chosen as the unit of observation starting with the All-Russian population census of 2002. “A household is a group of people living in one dwelling or its part, jointly providing themselves with food and everything necessary for life, i.e. completely or partially uniting their resources. These people may be related by kinship or by relations arising from marriage, or may not be related, or both. A household may consist of one person living independently and providing himself with food and everything necessary for life. A family unit is a married couple with children, or a married couple without children, or a mother with children, or a father with children. A family unit may form an independent household or may be part of a household with other relatives or non-relatives (for example, grandmother, nephew, nanny)” [6, Fauzer V.V., p. 41].

According to the 2002 census, the population of the Komi Republic was 1 million 18.7 thousand people (0.7% of the population of the Russian Federation), and a year after the census, it was less than a million. On January 1, 2003, 1 million 16 thousand people lived in the republic, on January 1, 2004 — 999 thousand 857 people. During the inter-census period, the number of permanent residents decreased by 231.1 thousand people, which is comparable to the number of residents of Syktyvkar.

The urban population decreased by 177.8 thousand people, and the rural — by 54.3 thousand. The urban population decreased at a faster rate than the rural; the ratio of the population in 2002 to the 1989 level was as follows: urban — 81.2%, and rural — 82.3%. The population decline was observed in all cities and districts, except for the republic’s capital and the Udorskiy district; the population of Vorkuta, Vuktyl, Inta, and the Troitsko-Pechorskiy district decreased by a third or more. Overall, the population of the republic decreased by 18.6%, in Russia — by 1.3% [22, Skvoz-nikov V.Ya., Fauzer V.V.].

At the time of the census, the administrative division of the Komi Republic included 8 cities with subordinate territories and 12 districts. Syktyvkar became the undisputed leader in terms of population size, its number exceeded the number of Vorkuta by 1.8 times. The decrease in the population of Vorkuta was due to the closure of a number of mines. The first was the Khalmer-Yu mine, and the settlement was closed along with it. Following it, the Promyshlennaya, Yun-Yaga, and Yuzhnaya mines were withdrawn from production. In 1998, after a terrible accident, the Tsen-tralnaya mine ceased operation. Only two districts retained a population of over 30 thousand people: Ust-Vymskiy — 34.0 thousand and Ust-Kulomskiy — 32.1 thousand people (Table 15).

Table 15

Permanent population of the Komi Republic*, 2002 census, people 17

Administrative districts, cities	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Entire population	1 018 674	766 587	252 087
Syktyvkar	245 768	244 609	1 159

Administrative districts, cities	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Vorkuta	134 172	132 378	1 794
Vuktyl	18 349	14 472	3 877
Inta	46 411	43 350	3 061
Pechora	66 291	55 251	11 040
Sosnogorsk	52 486	45 252	7 234
Usinsk	52 845	46 745	6 100
Ukhta	127 362	124 027	3 335
districts
Izhemskiy	21 511	-	21 511
Knyazhpogostskiy	29 688	19 769	9 919
Koygorodskiy	10 020	-	10 020
Kortkerosskiy	23 642	-	23 642
Priluzskiy	24 762	-	24 762
Syktyvdinskiy	24 226	-	24 226
Sysolskiy	16 894	-	16 894
Troitsko-Pechorskiy	17 610	8 851	8 759
Udorskiy	25 083	10 174	14 909
Ust-Vymskiy	34 000	21 709	12 291
Ust-Kulomskiy	32 146	-	32 146
Ust-Tsilemskiy	15 408	-	15 408

* On May 24, 1991, the Komi SSR was formed (On amendments and additions, 1991)¹⁸, on January 12, 1993, it was transformed into the Komi Republic (On amendments and additions, 1993) ¹⁹.

All-Russian population census of 2010

The All-Russian population census of 2010 is an event conducted throughout the Russian Federation using a unified state statistical methodology in order to obtain generalized demographic, economic and social information. The main round of the census took place from October 14 to October 25, 2010; in some places, the census was conducted from April 1 to December 20, 2010. Preparations for the census began in 2007. The processing of the information obtained, the formation of the results, their publication and dissemination were carried out in 2010–2013 [4, p. 132–134].

The population of the Komi Republic according to the 2010 census was 901.2 thousand people, which is 117.5 thousand less than it was in 2002. The decrease was in the urban population by 73.2 thousand and in the rural population by 44.3 thousand people. Over the specified 8 years, the population of the republic decreased by 11.5%, in Russia — by 1.6%. As before, the three leaders in terms of population were: Syktyvkar, Ukhta and Vorkuta. However, while in Syktyvkar the population continued to grow, in other cities it decreased, especially in Vorkuta — by 38.3 thousand people. In all districts without exception, there was a decrease in population. In 2010, there were no districts with a population of over 30 thousand people. We can single out the districts with a population of over 20 thousand people: Knyazhpogostskiy, Priluzskiy, Syktyvdinskiy, Udorskiy, Ust-Vymskiy and Ust-Kulomskiy. The population of Koygorodskiy district dropped to less than 10 thousand people. There were three districts where the share of the urban population exceeded the rural one: Knyazhpogostskiy — 72.8%, Ust-Vymskiy — 65.5% and Troitsko-Pechorskiy — 52.3% (Table 16).

Table 16

Permanent population of the Komi Republic, 2010 census, people 20

Administrative districts, cities	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Entire population	901 189	693 436	207 753
Syktyvkar	250 874	249 806	1 068
Vorkuta	95 854	95 241	613
Vuktyl	14 873	12 356	2 517
Inta	35 181	33 196	1 985
Pechora	57 364	48 591	8 773
Sosnogorsk	46 775	40 824	5 951
Usinsk	47 229	42 075	5 154
Ukhta	121 701	118 750	2 951
districts
Izhemskiy	18 771	-	18 771
Knyazhpogostskiy	23 432	17 048	6 384
Koygorodskiy	8 431	-	8 431
Kortkerosskiy	19 658	-	19 658
Priluzskiy	20 737	-	20 737
Syktyvdinskiy	22 660	-	22 660
Sysolskiy	13 956	-	13 956
Troitsko-Pechorskiy	13 925	7 276	6 649
Udorskiy	20 400	8 982	11 418
Ust-Vymskiy	29 474	19 291	10 183
Ust-Kulomskiy	26 858	-	26 858
Ust-Tsilemskiy	13 036	-	13 036

All-Russian population census of 2021

The next census in Russia was scheduled for 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed for a year. “All-Russian population census of 2020” was conducted as of the moment of population counting at 0 o’clock on October 1, 2021. The necessity of setting such a time point is due to continuous population changes (births, deaths, moving from one place of residence to another). The period of population data collection was from October 15 to November 14, 2021 for the entire country, except for remote and hard-to-reach areas. For areas where it was difficult to conduct the census within the general time frame, the census was held on other dates from October 1, 2020 to December 20, 2021 in accordance with the order of the Ministry of economic development of Russia dated August 31, 2020 No. 563 “On approval of the List of remote and hard-to-reach areas and the dates for conducting the 2020 All-Russian Population Census there”. The results of the 2020 All-Russian population census (ARPC) were compiled for municipalities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation as of October 1, 2021. The shift in the timing of the census led to a discrepancy in the indication of the year of the census: according to regulatory documents — ARPC-2020, in fact — ARPC-2021. In the article, we will use ARPC-2021.

For the first time in the national practice of conducting population censuses, respondents could independently fill out census forms for themselves and their household members in electronic form on the Internet on the “Unified portal of state and municipal services (functions)” (UPSS). The census enumerators used domestically produced tablet computers with the Russian Aurora operating system. It was also possible to register at the census stations, including in the offices of the My Documents MPSC. Persons who did not fill in the census forms on the UPSS were interviewed by specially trained enumerators who filled in electronic census forms on tablet computers. During the period of population data collection, the enumerators went round all the premises of their enumeration area where the population lived or could live (including non-residential premises) and collected information on residents who did not register on the UPSS.

Questions were asked in the wording given in the census forms. Information was recorded in the census forms based on the words of the respondents without presenting any documents confirming the correctness of the answers. Information was also collected at stationary sites and, in some cases, using telephone communications. For persons who refused to participate in the census and for persons whom the enumerators did not find at home during the entire period of the census, information on gender and date of birth was obtained from administrative sources in accordance with Federal Law No. 8-FZ of January 25, 2002 “On the All-Russian population census”. During the All-Russian population census of 2021, as well as in the censuses of 2002 and 2010, the permanent population was taken into account [6, Fauzer V.V., pp. 43–45].

The 2021 population census data obtained on the basis of automated processing of completed census forms are published for the permanent population of the Russian Federation located on the country’s territory on the date of the census. The census results were developed only in accordance with municipal division, while the results of the population censuses conducted in 2010 and earlier were developed in accordance with the administrative-territorial division of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the results of the 2010 census were formed both by administrative-territorial division and by municipal entities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. After the 2010 census, the following changes occurred in the territorial organization of local self-government in the country:

• 1.    Clarifying criteria for granting a territory the status of an urban district were defined: the territory of an urban district includes one or more cities and (or) other urban settlements that are not municipalities and are inhabited by at least two-thirds of the population of the urban district, while the territory of an urban district may also include the territories of rural settlements that are not municipalities and territories intended for the development of social, transport and other in-

• frastructure. On the territory of an urban district, the population density should be five or more times higher than the average population density in the Russian Federation 21.

• 2.    A new concept “municipal district” is introduced — several settlements united by a common territory (except for the case provided for by this Federal Law), which are not municipal entities, in which local self-government is performed by the population directly and (or) through elected and other local self-government bodies that can exercise certain state powers transferred to local self-government bodies by federal laws and laws of constituent entities of the Russian Federation ²². At the time of the 2021 All-Russian population census, there were no municipal districts in the Komi Republic.

• 3.    A new concept “intra-city district” is introduced — an intra-city municipal formation on a part of the territory of an urban district with intra-city division, within the boundaries of which local self-government is performed by the population directly and (or) through elected and other local self-government bodies. The criteria for dividing urban districts with intra-city division into intra-city districts are established by the laws of the subject of the Russian Federation and the charter of the urban district with intra-city division ²³.

In accordance with the Federal Law 131-FZ of 06.10.2003, the concept of “municipal district” has remained unchanged — several settlements or settlements and inter-settlement territories united by a common territory, within the boundaries of which local self-government is carried out in order to resolve issues of local importance of an inter-settlement nature by the population directly and (or) through elected and other local self-government bodies that can exercise individual state powers transferred to local self-government bodies by federal laws and laws of subjects of the Russian Federation ²⁴ .

The data on the distribution of the population into urban and rural by place of permanent residence in urban and rural settlements are given. Urban settlements are settlements approved by legislative acts as cities and urban-type settlements (workers’, resort and summer cottage settlements). All other settlements are rural. The names of municipalities do not reflect the category tion":        Federal

Law       No.

87-FZ

of       May       01,

URL:

(accessed 11 September 2023).

Ibid.

• ²³    O vnesenii izmeneniy v stat'yu 26.3 Federal'nogo zakona «Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii zakonodatel'nykh

  (predstavitel'nykh) i ispolnitel'nykh organov» gosudarstvennoy vlasti sub"ektov Rossiyskoy Federatsii» i Federal'nyy zakon «Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossiyskoy Federatsii»: Federal'nyy zakon ot 27.05.2014 № 136-FZ [On Amendments to Article 26.3 of the Federal Law "On general principles of organization of legislative (representative) and executive bodies" of state authority of the subjects of the Russian Federation" and the Federal Law "On general principles of organization of local self-government in the Russian Federation": Federal Law No. 136-FZ of May 27, 2014]. URL: http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001201405270020 (accessed 11

September 2023).

• ²⁴    Ob obshchikh printsipakh organizatsii mestnogo samoupravleniya v Rossiyskoy Federatsii: Federal'nyy zakon ot 06.10.2003 № 131-FZ [On the general principles of organizing local self-government in the Russian Federation: Federal Law of October 06, 2003 No. 131-FZ]. URL: https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_44571/ (accessed 01 February 2023).

of the population living in them (urban or rural), since urban district or urban settlement may include both urban and rural settlements, and rural settlements may include urban-type settlements.

The first volume of the population census “Population size and distribution” was published in September 2022, and all 11 volumes were published by the end of the year. In 2022, information on the Komi Republic and other constituent entities of the Russian Federation was not published in full, and a significant part of volumes (volumes 5, 10 and 11) was published in 2023. In territorial statistics, the designation “section” is used, rather than “volume”, that is, a selection from a volume.

According to the 2021 census, the population of the republic has decreased by 163.3 thousand people compared to 2010, including the urban population — by 121.8 and the rural population — by 41.5. If we consider the population dynamics for 1989-2021, we can state that the republic “lost” 512.9 thousand people, or 41.0% of the 1989 population. In terms of population decline in the Russian North, the Komi Republic is the leader, having lost 18.1% of the 2010 population, followed by the Republic of Karelia — 17.2%, Arkhangelsk Oblast — 16.9%, Murmansk Oblast — 16.1% and Magadan Oblast — 13.3%. It should be noted that the rural population was declining faster than the urban one. Thus, if the urban population in 2021 was 82.4% compared to 2010, then the rural population was 80.0%. The process of urbanization continued in the republic, the share of urban residents increased by 2.0 percentage points (pp) over the 32 years of the intercensus period and is 77.5%, while in Russia it is lower — 74.8% (Table 17).

Table 17

Dynamics of the population of the Komi Republic, censuses of 1989-1921, people 25

Year	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population	Specific weight, %
				Urban population	Rural population
1989	1 250 847	944 423	306 424	75.5	24.5
2002	1 018 674	766 587	252 087	75.3	24.7
2010	901 189	693 436	207 753	76.9	23.1
2021	737 853	571 578	166 275	77.5	22.5

Among the northern regions, the share of the urban population is higher than in Komi in Magadan Oblast — 96.4% and Murmansk Oblast — 93.1%, Khanty-Mansi AO — 92.0% and Yamalo-Nenets AO — 84.7%, Sakhalin Oblast — 82.4%, the Republic of Karelia — 79.5% and Kamchatka Krai — 77.8%. In five northern regions, the share of urban residents is lower than in Komi, and the lowest one — in the republics of Tyva — 54.6% and Sakha (Yakutia) — 66.8%.

Analyzing the population by municipalities, it can be noted that according to the 2021 census, the most populous urban district was Syktyvkar, accounting for 31.7% of the total population, Ukhta was in second place — 13.0%, Vorkuta was in third place — 9.3%, followed by Usinsk — 5.0%, Inta — 3.0% and Vuktyl — 1.4%; in total, they accounted for 63.4%.

Two municipal districts stand out for their population size: Pechora and Sosnogorsk, which have a small town each (Pechora — 35,254 people and Sosnogorsk — 22,189 people), thus the share of urban population in them was 88.0% and 90.5%, respectively. In other four municipal districts, the share of urban population is more than half of the population: Knyazhpogostskiy — 83.7% (including the city of Yemva — 10,994 people), Ust-Vymskiy — 64.4% (including the city of Mikun — 8,527 and the urban-type settlement of Zheshart — 7,129 people), Udorskiy — 61.5% (including three urban-type settlements — Blagoyevo, Mezhdurechensk and Usogorsk), Troitsko-Pechorskiy — 59.6% (including the urban-type settlement of Troitsko-Pechorsk — 6,052 people). Eight municipal districts have no urban population, the largest of them are: Ust-Kulomskiy, Syk-tyvdinskiy and Kortkerosskiy (Table 18).

Table 18

Number of permanent population of the Komi Republic, 2021 census, people ²⁶

Municipal entities	Entire population	Urban population	Rural population
Komi Republic	737 853	571 578	166 275
city districts
Syktyvkar	233 876	233 128	748
Vorkuta	68 425	68 128	297
Vuktyl	10 581	9 322	1 259
Inta	21 857	20 709	1 148
Usinsk	36 913	32 895	4 018
Ukhta	96 233	94 554	1 679
municipal districts
Izhemskiy	16 469	-	16 469
Knyazhpogostskiy	15 609	13 067	2 542
Koygorodskiy	7 782	-	7 782
Kortkerosskiy	18 984	-	18 984
Pechora	44 051	38 764	5 287
Priluzskiy	17 953	-	17 953
Sosnogorsk	34 693	31 382	3 311
Syktyvdinskiy	21 795	-	21 795
Sysolskiy	11 885	-	11 885
Troitsko-Pechorskiy	10 159	6 052	4 107
Udorskiy	12 872	7 921	4 951
Ust-Vymskiy	24 306	15 656	8 650
Ust-Kulomskiy	22 654	-	22 654
Ust-Tsilemskiy	10 756	-	10 756

Having considered the changes in the number of population in adjacent inter-census periods, let us analyze the population dynamics by municipalities from 1939 to 2021 in accordance with the administrative-territorial structure as of the census date.

A number of characteristic features can be identified for urban districts. Firstly, all urban districts have passed the peak growth point, in four out of six it occurred in 1989, in Ukhta — in 1979, and in Syktyvkar — in 2010. Secondly, since 1959, three cities have been in the top three: Syktyvkar, Vorkuta and Ukhta. Before 1979, Vorkuta occupied the first position, Ukhta occupied the second one until 1970, Syktyvkar was in third place. Thirdly, there has always been a “competition” for the first place between these three cities. Syktyvkar claimed the first place as the capital of the republic, Vorkuta considers itself the “capital of the world”, and Ukhta — the “pearl of the

Federal State Statistics Service: official website. Moscow. URL: (accessed 25 Sep- tember 2023).

North”. The ratio of the population of Syktyvkar and Vorkuta was as follows: in 1959, the population of Vorkuta was 2.4 times higher than that of Syktyvkar; by 1979, the excess had decreased to 1.04 times; in 1989, Syktyvkar became 1.1 times larger than Vorkuta, and in 2021 — 3.4 times. The population of Ukhta became 1.2 times higher than that of Syktyvkar in 1959, 1.1 times higher in 1970; in 1979, Syktyvkar became 1.1 times larger than Ukhta, and in 2021 — 2.4 times. Since 2010, the population of Ukhta exceeded that of Vorkuta; in 2021 the increase was 1.4 times. It can be assumed that the ratio of cities by population will maintain its order: Syktyvkar — Ukhta — Vorkuta. However, it should be added that the population of Syktyvkar has been constantly growing, and only the 2021 census recorded a population decline for the first time.

The population dynamics of municipal districts are also diverse, the peak of which occurred in different census years. Sysolskiy district had its peak population in 1939 (formed on July 15, 1929), and by 1959 it had decreased as a result of the separation of Koigorodskiy district from it by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR dated June 7, 1949 27, then there was a slight increase by 1970 and a subsequent decrease until 2021. For the remaining municipal districts, it can be noted that most of them had their peak population in 1970–1989 (Table 19).

Table 19

Population of the Komi Republic by municipalities, censuses of 1939-2021, people 1)

Municipal entities	Year
	1939	1959	1970	1979	1989	2002	2010	2021
Komi Republic	318 996	815 799	964 802	1 118 421	1 250 847	1 018 674	901 189	737 853
city districts
Syktyvkar	30 111	74 469	138 318	187 347	234 903	245 768	250 874	233 876
Vorkuta	2)	175 857	184 945	194 823	218 467	134 172	95 854	68 425
Vuktyl	2)	2)	2)	25 323	28 416	18 349	14 873	10 581
Inta	2)	66 360	61 496	61 830	71 202	46 411	35 181	21 857
Usinsk	2)	2)	2)	44 945	69 812	52 845	47 229	36 913
Ukhta	8702	89 001	151 412	173 625	142 499	127 362	121 701	96 233
municipal districts
Izhemskiy	24 257	22 026	26 122	24 305	23 329	21 511	18 771	16 469
Knyazhpogostskiy	15 277	43 277	37 808	38 370	39 548	29 688	23 432	15 609
Koygorodskiy	3)	19 356	17 431	15 053	12 477	10 020	8 431	7 782
Kortkerosskiy	29 876	31 284	31 780	28 176	27 209	23 642	19 658	18 984
Pechora	21 027	66 521	78 194	84 883	94 514	66 291	57 364	44 051
Priluzskiy	33 830	36 205	35 756	30 526	28 179	24 762	20 737	17 953
Sosnogorsk	2)	2)	2)	2)	62 594	52 486	46 775	34 693
Syktyvdinskiy	24 607	26 455	26 305	26 391	27 420	24 226	22 660	21 795
Sysolskiy	29 949	20 554	22 060	19 551	19 592	16 894	13 956	11 885
Troitsko- Pechorskiy	8575	35 187	29 388	28 747	26 178	17 610	13 925	10 159
Udorskiy	15 066	13 592	20 078	35 383	24 799	25 083	20 400	12 872
Ust-Vymskiy	25 433	41 989	41 173	42 157	43 256	34 000	29 474	24 306
Ust-Kulomskiy	35 789	34 999	43 625	39 898	39 936	32 146	26 858	22 654
Ust-Tsilemskiy	16 497	18 667	18 911	17 088	16 517	15 408	13 036	10 756

• ¹⁾    population censuses of 1939-1979 — current population, subsequent censuses — permanent population;

• ²⁾    the territories were mainly part of the Pechorskiy district (okrug) and / or the Ukhta city council;

• ³⁾    the territories were part of other regions.

Conclusion

The coming years will be filled with new challenges in the demographic development of the world, individual countries and continents, this will also affect most of the subjects of Russia, and the Komi Republic will not stay on the sidelines.

Demographic dynamics will begin to determine the development of the economy to an even greater extent. The aging of the population will change the structure of manufactured goods and the structure of consumption. The growth of life expectancy and the proportion of elderly people will increase the pressure on health care and the social sector.

In the 21st century, the employment system will change; it is assumed that more people will work outside organizations than in companies; remote work will become the norm. The labor of such workers, who are out of management’s sight, will be difficult to measure [24, Fauzer V.V., pp. 13–14]. Part-time and non-permanent employment will become common [25, Handy C., p. 47, 48, 54, 103]. A new class will appear — the “precariat”, which is not characterized by permanent employment, it has a “reduced status”, a different distribution of time between work, rest, and education [26, Standing G., pp. 29–30, 209].

All these changes require quantitative assessment. The current accounting of the ongoing changes is not able to do it in full. Population censuses remain the only and proven tool of the “mirror of society”. They are the future of assessing upcoming changes; the next population census is planned for 2030.