Transformation of the resettlement system and its demographic manifestations: research experience at the regional and municipal levels

The global demographic trend of the 20th and early 21st century was the process of urbanization, which manifested itself, among other things, in the concentration of the population in large and super-large megacities with a rapid decline in the rural population. In Russia the transformation of resettlement was expressed in polarization and localized compression of the socio-economic space, fragmentation of the supporting framework of territories. Despite the fact that the issues of resettlement transformation at the national and regional level have been studied, there is still a need for in-depth research on its intraregional trends and patterns. The purpose of the work was to look into the peculiarities of urban and rural resettlement transformation and its demographic manifestations at the regional and municipal level. The model region was the Vologda Oblast, a typical constituent entity of the Russian Federation and northern Non-Chernozem region. The information base consisted of data from the All-Russian Population Censuses of 2002, 2010 and 2020, and the current statistical records of Rosstat and its territorial department in the Vologda Oblast. The methods of cartography, structural-dynamic analysis of resettlement characteristics and demographic indicators, the typology of municipal entities by the ratio of the components of population change, and the main indicators of the demographic situation were used. We have identified the following trends in the transformation of resettlement systems in the region: increasing polarization of urban and rural resettlement, expressed in the concentration of residents either in large or in small settlements; depopulation of rural areas; weakening of the supporting framework of urban resettlement (system of small towns); strengthening “focality” rural settlement. In more than half of the Vologda Oblast municipal entities the urban and rural population decrease is caused by the double effect of natural and migration losses. At the same time, the number and the share of such municipalities have grown significantly over the past 20 years. Some municipalities have the potential of migration growth or age structure, but only in Kaduysky District there is an increase in population due to the migration growth of urban residents. In the conclusion the threats and opportunities for development for different types of municipalities are outlined.