Russia possesses abundant natural resources of global and macro regional scale. Because of proximity to Northeast Asia countries, including China, North and South Koreas, Mongolia and Japan, natural resource development and its coevolution with population in Russia’s East may have direct impact on the economy those countries. Thus, the findings of this research are not only of domestic (Russian), but also international importance.
This proposed research will find out the general tendencies, geographical peculiarities, and problems of coevolution of natural resources development and population in eastern regions of Russia and its local areas. The population dynamics in eastern regions of Russia in 1990 -2019 and the linkage between regional and intra-regional differences in population dynamics and spatial transformation of natural resources utilization and ethnic breakdown of the population will be clarified.
This study is to identify the geographical differences in the stability/instability of population dynamics and human setting in Russia’s regions in relation to natural resource use based on traditional statistical and geographical approaches and the field research in Chukotka and Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). We expect to identify the conditions that promote the stability and instability of local socio-demographic systems and human settlements in eastern regions of Russia.
This study will contribute to further understanding of the local people’s (ethnic people in particular) adaptation and response to evolution of natural resources development and would improve our understanding of social ( human settlements in particular) resilience and vulnerability.