Socio-Economic and Demographic Analysis of Spatial Development of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Abstract

The article deals with several relevant socio-demographic issues in the largest by territory constituent entity of the Russian Federation – the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), based on Rosstat data and information arrays obtained in the course of sociological study conducted in 2019 and 2020 by the staff of the Department of Geo-Urban Studies and Spatial Demography of the Institute for Demographic Research (IDR FCTAS RAS).The introduction notes the relevance of the study and methodological approaches to the analysis of the problems under review.The frst part of the article describes the general economic and socio-demographic situation in the region. It demonstrates how the industry specialization of Yakutia determines the socio-economic policy in the region. It is noted that the developing mining industry, along with the construction of large infrastructure facilities, requires an influx of labor resources.In the second part of the article, after formulating the concept of sampling within the framework of a sociological survey (a model using key characteristics of the general population, based on the principles of quota-proportional and territorial methods), the social status of the population, its migration moods, attitudes towards labor migrants from abroad are analyzed, as well as the economic situation in general and the dynamics of the development of key enterprises in the region.It is argued that, despite the active industrial development of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the existing socio-economic problems in the future may influence the pace of spatial development of the region. First and foremost, it is a problem of migration outflows. Although the demographic indicators at the republic level are high, there is a division of the region's territory into a decreasing periphery and a growing centre. As in most other constituent entities of the Russian Federation, in Yakutia, there are processes of population concentration in the most prospective areas.The authors drew up conclusions and proposals which, in their view, offer a targeted approach to developing programmes on improving the quality of life of the local population, establishing compensatory mechanisms in various spheres, taking into account the huge territory of the republic and its severe climatic conditions