Urbanization in the Russian Far East: Amur Oblast, 1989–2019

Introduction. Accelerated development of the Far East has been — and still is — one of the main priorities of Russia’s regional policy in the 2010s. The cities and urban agglomerations of the region are proclaimed by the Russian government as key basic points of further economic growth in this part of the country. At the same time, despite the efforts of the federal and regional authorities, the processes of urbanization in most regions of the Far East are still in crisis. Goals. The study aims to analyze the results of the Soviet urbanization in Amur Oblast and the dynamics of urbanization processes in the region over the past three decades. Materials and Methods. Analyzing official statistical data, as well as statutory instruments at the national, regional and local levels, the paper uses a set of general scientific methods, the statistical method, and special methods of historical research, in particular, the problem-chronological one. Results. The entire system of urban settlements in Amur Oblast experienced a dramatic socioeconomic, infrastructural and demographic crisis in the 1990-2010s. Even the first half of the 1990s witnessed a weakening of urbanization processes and an outflow of population from the region caused by the restructuring and crisis of production, the weakening of state social policy, a decrease in investments in the engineering and household development of territories, and insufficient solution of housing problems. In the structure of urban settlements, the greatest changes have affected workmen’s settlements most of which have lost the prospects for industrial development. In the early 2010s, the development of urban settlements in the region was still constrained by a number of economic factors (the regional budget deficit and its dependence on federal subsidies, the ongoing production crisis of most of the city-forming enterprises, etc.). Large infrastructure projects in the region (construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Power of Siberia gas pipeline, Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, creation of advanced development areas) have supported urban settlements of the region’s industrial center in the 2010s. However, cities and towns in the north of the region have not received tangible sources of growth as a result of the Baikal–Amur Mainline project crisis. Conclusions. By the end of the 2010s, the general crisis of urbanization processes in the region resulted in that the network of urban settlements acquired more linear features — along the Trans-Siberian railway line — that be accompanied by concentrate resettlement towards Blagoveshchensk. 

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