Composition and structure of population of small towns of Irkutsk province in the second half of the XXth c.: dynamics of social differentiation

Volume 3, Number 4, 2018, P. 67–73

[ SOCIOLOGICAL SCIENCES ]

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Abstract:

The article considers the demographic characteristics of small towns in Irkutsk province of the second half of the nineteenth century, changes in the social composition and employment structure of their population. It cites statistical indicators of gender, age and confessional composition, population dynamics of Balagansk, Verkholensk, Ilimsk, Kirensk, Nizhneudinsk and shows the characteristics of the class structure of small towns. The influence of the differentiation level of the small towns’ class structure on the characteristics of their population social identity is revealed. The author proves that changes in the class structure of some towns in Irkutsk province were largely specified by the features of the town’s historical and geographical conditions, its administrative position and economic development. The analysis of the major indicators of the social composition and employment structure is based on the materials of the first All-Russian population census of 1897. It is proved that the underdevelopment of the commercial and industrial sector of the economy contributed to the preservation of the important role of agricultural and commercial activities in the structure of employment of residents of many small towns of Irkutsk province and increased the leaving for seasonal work. The article discusses the quantitative indicators of handicraft industry, the role of trade in the economy of small towns of the province and the structure of employment of residents of chief uyezd and provincial towns. It reveals the influence of population size, its employment structure, specifics and level of economy development of Irkutsk province towns on formation of city budgets, towns’ economic activities. The information about the features and pace of housing development and planning of the province small towns is provided. This article finishes the series of author’s publications devoted to the analysis of the dynamics of the social structure of the urban population of Irkutsk province in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries.

Keywords:

capitalist modernization, Irkutsk province, small town, social composition of urban population, employment structure of urban population, economic development of the town, town budget, social differentiation

Author:

Natalya I. Gavrilova, Cand. Sci. (History), Associate Professor of Sociology and Psychology Department, Irkutsk National Research Technical University, Irkutsk, Russia

For citation:

Gavrilova N.I. Composition and structure of population of small towns of Irkutsk province in the second half of the XXth c.: dynamics of social differentiation. Sotsial’naya kompetentnost’ = Social Competence. 2018;4(3):67–73. (In Russ.).

References:

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