Transformation of the rural settlement network in Northwestern Siberia during the Soviet modernization period (1930s-1970s)

The object of research in the presented work is the rural settlement network of Northwestern Siberia. The subject of the study is the transformation of this settlement network during the 1930s to the 1970s, the main manifestations of which included a reduction in the number of populated areas, changes in their typological structure and size (population), as well as industrial and sociocultural functions. The source base for the research comprised archival and statistical materials from the All-Union population censuses of 1939, 1959, and 1970, containing information on the size and distribution of the rural population in the administrative-territorial units of the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets regions. Analyzing these data allowed for the identification of key stages in the transformation of the settlement network: from the period of forced resettlement of hamlets and consolidation of villages in the 1930s to 1950s to the formation of a system of basic supporting settlement centers during the oil and gas development in the 1960s to 1970s. The methodological basis for writing this work was modernization theory, within which the transformation of the rural settlement network of Northwestern Siberia is interpreted as a response to the challenges of accelerated industrialization and urbanization. The work employs historical-genetic, historical-comparative, and problem-focused research methods, as well as methods for graphical visualization of statistical data. For the first time, the transformation of the settlement network in the northern territories of Western Siberia has been comprehensively traced as a holistic process from the 1930s to the 1970s. The dynamics of the number of populated areas in the regions and their constituent districts have been reconstructed, changes in population and functional structure of settlements analyzed, and key patterns and specific features of the transformation process of the rural settlement network identified. It is concluded that the transformation of the settlement network was managed and formed part of the state policy aimed at restructuring the settlement system to ensure the industrial development of the region and create conditions for the concentration of labor in zones of active industrial growth. The result of this transformation was the formation in the 1970s of the modern settlement network of Northwestern Siberia, characterized by urbanized focal settlement, high population concentration in cities and urban-type settlements, while much of the region remained sparsely populated.