No 10 (2024)

Demographic studies can be categorized on the basis of demographic variables into studies of fertility, mortality, population migration, population structure, population distribution, population quality, and marriage and family in demography, while migration, along with births and deaths, determines the size of the population and its growth rate in the region, as well as determining the demographic characteristics of the region. The most important demographic problem of the Russian Far East is migration, which consists in the movement of people from the countryside to the towns, from one region of the country to another, from one’s own country to another. The past era could well be called the ‘age of migration’. Migration is often the result of economic and social development, which can contribute to the improvement of economic and social conditions or, on the contrary, lead to economic stagnation and social imbalances.

In the process of implementing the 1861 reform, in a number of uyezds of the northern provinces, regional authorities encountered difficulties caused by the small number of landowners’ possessions, which were not only scattered over their territory at a considerable distance, but were also small-scale. In order to reflect the general picture of the settling of the serf population in the European North of Russia, the author turned to the analysis of the quantitative composition of the categories of serfs listed on the eve of the abolition of serfdom in the Arkhangelsk, Vologda and Olonets provinces and the specifics of their settlement. The study is based on statistical data contained in the published work of A. Troinitsky, as well as in the office documentation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Vologda and Olonets governors. These materials were based on the results of the X People’s Census (revision) conducted in 1858. As a result, it was established that five groups of the serf population lived here, among which landowner peasants and household people significantly prevailed. It was revealed that the main concentration of serfs was observed in the Vologda province, while in the Arkhangelsk province they were practically absent. The highest percentage of them was concentrated in three southwestern uyezds of the Vologda province and in two southern uyezds of the Olonets province. The remaining part was scattered across six uyezds of the first and four uyezds of the second region.

The paper considers some issues related to peasant seasonal work in the Pechora Uyezd of the Arkhangelsk Province at the beginning of the XX century, based on statistical materials of the Department of Agriculture and State Property. The general tendencies and peculiarities of seasonal work in the volosts of the Pechora Uyezd are revealed. The most profitable type of work was haulage, which was widespread in the most populated volost of the Uyezd - Ust-Tsilma, bringing the highest earnings among all other occupations. Data on the number of peasants of four volosts engaged in the most significant seasonal work and the gender ratio of those who left their villages for seasonal work are considered. The number of issued passports and short-term tickets was analyzed. Men who preferred semi-annual passports prevailed among the seasonal workers, while among women short-term tickets were more popular. The importance of income from the main seasonal work, as well as their “specific weight” in the overall structure of seasonal revenues of peasant households is shown. The conclusion is made about the significance of seasonal work in the economic life of the Uyezd population.

The population size depends on a number of factors, the determining one being mortality. Mortality of the population consists of a number of reasons, both biological (age, illness) and social (material well-being). In the 1930s, socio-economic and political events took place in the Southern Urals, as well as throughout the country, such as forced industrialization, collectivization, famine of 1932-1933, which had a significant impact on mortality among the population. Significant differences in mortality rates were observed among such categories of the population as rural and urban, male and female. By the 1930s, the male population was inferior in number to the female population, which was due to losses during the First World War and the Civil War. In addition, the male population is more susceptible to injury due to employment in heavy industrial production. In turn, the female population is most vulnerable during and after pregnancy (maternal mortality). The results of the first All-Union Population Census of 1926 and the last pre-war Population Census of 1939 were used as sources on the problem under consideration. Materials from central and local archives were used to identify the movement of mortality among the population. The current population accounting, its forms, were subject to changes throughout the 1930s. In 1935, form 3 was introduced, which made it possible to assess the mortality rate and its dynamics among the male and female population. During the period under consideration, a gender imbalance is observed: in terms of population size, women predominate, in terms of mortality rates, men.

The paper considers the peculiarities of the transformation of the age structure of the Russian population of Estonia in the period from 2000 to 2021. Using the methodology of Z. Dlugosz, a quantitative analysis of the dynamics of the age structure of Russian population in the largest administrative-territorial entities of Estonia in the specified period was carried out, which allowed us to identify the direction and rate of changes in the age structure of the Russian population. The differences in the dynamics of the age structure of the Russian and Estonian populations are also analyzed. As a result of the study, it is concluded that currently the age structure of the Russian population of Estonia can be defined as moderately old (Harjumaa uyezd), old (Valgamaa and Ida-Virumaa uyezds) and very old (all other uyezds of the country), and the Estonian population in different uyezds of the country is characterized by a young age structure, an age structure on the eve of old age, a moderately old age structure and an old age structure, which indicates a younger nature of the age structure of the Estonian population. Another conclusion is that in the period from 2011-2021, the proportion of Russians in Estonia in the 20-29 and 30-39 age groups decreased by 6,33%, which, in turn, may indicate a risk of a decrease in the number of women in the most reproductively active age groups by another 22,5% during the 2020s.

The paper presents the results of a pilot online sociological survey of Russian relocators, which was conducted in February–March 2024. The survey involved 98 Russian relocators living in different countries. The survey was conducted using the snowball method through the media, WhatsApp, Telegram, and e-mail. The subject of the study was a comparative analysis of the sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes of Russian relocators obtained during our study in comparison with other sociological surveys. In the course of the work, the results of sociological surveys of other studies involving Russian relocators were used - the projects “OUTRUSH”, “Russian Field”, the issue of “SocioDigger” (VCIOM), published works of scientists. Russian relocators who left Russia after the start of the special military operation were the object of the study. In the paper, relocators are people who have moved to another country, changed their location, place of residence. The relevance of the study is due to the intensification of migration activity of the Russians of working age after the start of the SMO. Given the growing demographic deficit, the exodus of young people can negatively affect the socio-economic and socio-cultural dynamics of the country.

The paper deals with the problem of the attitude of representatives of the Black Hundreds movement to the organization of the resettlement movement by the authorities of the Russian Empire in modern historiography. It is pointed out that in modern studies, special emphasis is placed on the fact that, in the opinion of the Black Hundreds, the government failed to adequately link the national issue and the organization of resettlement. Modern researchers pay close attention to the fact that, in the understanding of the right, resettlement and colonization should have become an effective mechanism for changing the ethno-demographic structure of the outskirts.

The paper analyzes the study of the Old Believer family in post-Soviet historiography within the framework of historical and demographic research. In post-Soviet historiography, there is a tendency to expand the scientific problems for which the Old Believer family is studied. This is most relevant when studying the history of the Soviet period. The reason is a significant and abrupt transformation of society. The closed nature and traditionalism of the Old Believer society relied on the religious factor. Identifying the role of the family in preserving tradition is one of the main areas of studying the history of the Old Believer family in post-Soviet historiography. Similarly, the preservation of religiosity in the context of anti-religious pressure; the existence of traditional religious education are studied. Due to the fact that the institution of the family is one of the most traditional and least susceptible to change, the entire spectrum of the discovered changes has significant scientific value for researchers. The specificity of interpretations of the identified changes depends on the subjective views of the researchers. The historiography of the history of the Old Believer family is distinguished by clearly expressed regional specifics. This is explained by the specifics of the territorial residence of the followers of the Old Believers and the degree of study of the problem in different regions. At present, there are no general studies covering the entire territory of Russia. At the same time, there is no significant methodological difference between regional studies. The differences are associated primarily with the specifics of the historical situation in a particular place and in a particular period. Such a historiographic situation increases the effectiveness of comparative analysis in studying the history of the Old Believers.