The role of rural youth in the socio-economic development of Yakutia Arctic regions in 1970-80s

The study examines the role of rural youth in the socio-economic development of Yakutia Arctic regions in 1970-80s based on statistical archival sources on the history of the Soviet Arctic. In the 1970-80s, a rapid growth in agricultural production took place in Yakutia. The traditional branch of agriculture in most of the Northern regions of Yakutia was reindeer breeding. The proportion of young people in agriculture has grown steadily. However, the work of the reindeer breeder was hard and low-paid, so young people were not interested in working there. They chose to work in industrial enterprises, where there were better working and living conditions and high wages. In the 1970-80s the leadership of the republic, through the committees of the Komsomol, together with interested organizations, took actions to attract secondary school graduates to rural production, improve the working and living conditions of rural youth. They also determined a clear system for educating future farmers.