Urbanization of the Indigenous Peoples of Altai in the 20th – Early 21st Century (Based on the Example of the Kumandins of Biysk)

Purpose. The article discusses the urbanization of the indigenous peoples of Altai (Altaians, Kumandins, Telengits, Tubalars, Chelkans) based on the results of a sociological study among the Kumandins of Biysk. Results. Kumandins moved to the city from the nearest villages most intensively during the 1960s and 1970s. The liquidation of unpromising villages, the relatively large generation of young people and their command of the Russian language, the geographical proximity of cities and the need for working hands became the reasons for the move. The exhaustion of the migration resource was associated with a small number of people. Intensive urbanization has been replaced by equally active assimilation and acculturation since the late 1980s. This was facilitated by the widespread adoption of second-generation mixed marriages, and the loss of family ties. Kumandins in Biysk live dispersed. In 2002, more than half of the Kumandins lived in cities. Kumandins are the most urbanized indigenous people of Altai. They moved to Gorno-Altaysk and the cities of the Kemerovo region also. At the turn of the centuries, the pace of urbanization of other indigenous peoples of Altai began: Altaians, Telengits, Tubalars and Chelkans. At first, they were concentrated in large villages because of the geographical remoteness of the territories of traditional residence from Gorno-Altaysk. In the second generation, they moved to the city. Conclusions. Kumandins went through three stages of urbanization. Prior to the mid-1960s, a small number of Kumandins moved to the city. Most of the Kumandins migrated to the city in the mid-1960s – late 1980s. Then the process of assimilation began. The prospects of ethno-demographic development of the indigenous peoples of Altai were identified. In 20–30 years, Telengits, Tubalars and Chelkans will have problems characteristic of the Kumandins: assimilation and acculturation. The number of Kumandins will continue to decline. The demographic situation among Altaians will be the most stable due to their multiplicity. The number of urban Altaians will gradually increase.