ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE RUSSIAN NORTH:  A CASE STUDY OF ARKHANGELSK REGION COMMUNITIES

Original article

Download article

Marina V. Nenasheva1, Anton M. Maksimov2

1Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M. V. Lomonosov, Arkhangelsk, Russia, m.nenasheva@narfu.ru, ORCHID 0000-0002-2875-5638

2Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, Russia, amm15nov@yandex.ru, ORCID 0000-0003-0959-2949

 

Abstract. The purpose of this study is to enhance the empirical and theoretical understanding of the local aspects of resilience,  which makes it possible to assess resilience levels in rural communities in the Russian North under new economic conditions.  The study shows that during the Soviet era, the state provided economic support to sustain the viability of northern villages.  As a result of the market reforms of the past century, most collective and state farms fell into decline, which led to labor migration.  Despite negative demographic trends, the difficult economic situation, and limited transportation access, there is still a permanent resident population in northern villages. Based on the theory of resilience, methodological approaches to its assessment,  and the results of field studies conducted in villages located on the island and coastal territories of the Primorsky district  in the Arkhangelsk region between 2017 and 2022, the authors identify factors that determine the resilience of rural communities in the new economic conditions. These include location, local economy, and social capital. Indicators were established for each  of the factors to propose a methodology for their assessment. As a result, an integrated resilience index was calculated for rural communities in the island and coastal territories of the Primorsky district in the Arkhangelsk region. It is concluded that  the assessment of resilience levels of rural communities can provide information about society’s preparedness to face external challenges and identify which resources (economic, social, or natural) are robust or vulnerable. The novelty of the research lies  in considering resilience as a new research paradigm for studying social systems and validating a methodology for its assessment based on qualitative indicators. The results of the study can be used to develop new strategies for the social and economic progress of rural areas and specific plans to facilitate the adaptation of rural residents in the Russian North to emerging economic challenges.

Keywords: rural communities, economy, changes, resilience, Russian North, Arkhangelsk region, Primorsky district

Acknowledgments: this research was funded by the Russian Science Foundation, Grant No. 22-28-20286, https://rscf.ru/project/22-28-20286/.

For citation: Nenasheva M. V., Maksimov A. M. Assessing the resilience of rural communities in the Russian North: A case study of Arkhangelsk region communities. Sever i rynok: formirovanie ekonomicheskogo poryadka [The North and the Market: Forming the Economic Order], 2023, no. 2, pp. 175–188. doi:10.37614/2220-802X.2.2023.80.012.

References

  1. Fauzer V. V., Smirnov A. V., Lytkina T. S., Fauzer G. N. Vyzovy i protivorechiya v razvitii Severa i Arktiki: demograficheskoe izmerenie [Challenges and contradictions in the development of the North and the Arctic: demographic dimension]. Arktika: ekologiya i ekonomika [Arctic: Ecology and Economics], 2022, vol. 12, no. 1, 111–122. (In Russ.).
  2. Sever i Arktika v prostranstvennom razvitii Rossii: nauchno-analiticheskii doklad [The North and the Arctic in the spatial development of Russia: a scientific and analytical report]. Moscow, Apatity, Syktyvkar, Publishing House of the KSC RAS, 2010, 213 p. (In Russ.).
  3. Alekseev N. A. Modernizatsiya sotsial’no-ekonomicheskoi sistemy severnykh regionov Rossii [Modernization of social and economic system of northern regions of Russia]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta imeni S. Yu. Vitte. Seriya 1: Ekonomika i upravlenie [Moscow Witte University Bulletin. Series 1: Economics and Management],  2014, no. 4, pp. 11– (In Russ.).
  4. Pilyasov A. N., Zamyatina N. Yu. Osvoenie Severa 2.0: vyzovy formirovaniya novoi teorii [Development of the North 2.0: challenges of making a new theory]. Arktika i Sever [Arctic and North], 2019, no. 34, pp. 57– (In Russ.).
  5. Bodrova E., Gusarov M. Ob opredelyayushchikh faktorakh promyshlennogo spada v Rossiiskoi Federatsii v 1990-e gg. [On the determining factors of industrial decline in the Russian Federation in the 1990s]. Vlast’ [Power], 2013, no. 7, pp. 152– (In Russ.).
  6. Gorozhane v derevne. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya v Rossiiskoi glubinke: Dezurbanizatsiya i sel’sko-gorodskie soobshchestva [Townspeople in the country. Sociological research in the Russian countryside: Deurbanization and rural-urban communities]. Moscow, University Book, 2016, 404 p. (In Russ.).
  7. Denisenko M. B., Nikolaeva U. G. Chto proiskhodit s sel’skim naseleniem na Blizhnem Severe Rossii? [What happens to the rural population in the Russian Near North? (The case of Kostroma region)]. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological studies], 2015, no. 12, pp. 70– (In Russ.).
  8. Kiseleva A. M. Demograficheskaya bezopasnost’ severnykh regionov: problemy depopulyatsii i migratsii naseleniya [Demographic security of the northern regions: problems of depopulation and migration]. Vestnik Omskogo universiteta. Seriya “Ekonomika” [Herald of Omsk University. Series “Economics”], 2016, no. 4, pp. 181– (In Russ.).
  9. Ilyin V. I. Khozyaistvennaya zhizn’ derevni [Economic life of the village]. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya v Rossiiskoi glubinke: Dezurbanizatsiya i sel’sko-gorodskie soobshchestva [Townspeople in the country. Sociological research in the Russian countryside: Deurbanization and rural-urban communities]. Moscow, University Book, 2016, 404 p. (In Russ.).
  10. Pilyasov A. N. I poslednie stanut pervymi: Severnaya periferiya na puti k ekonomike znaniya [And the last will be the first: The Northern Periphery on the way to the economy of knowledge]. Moscow, Knizhnyj dom “Librokom”, 2009, 544 p. (In Russ.).
  11. Kashnitsky I. S. Styagivanie naseleniya s periferii v regional’nye centry: Rossiya i Evropeiskii Sever [Population movement from the periphery to regional centers: Russia and the European North]. Potentsial Blizhnego Severa: ekonomika, ekologiya, sel’skie poseleniya [The potential of the Near North: economy, ecology, and rural settlements]. Moscow, “Logos”, 2014, pp. 123– (In Russ.).
  12. Fal N. P. Organizatsionno-upravlencheskie resursy razvitiya sel’skikh mestnykh soobshchestv. [Rural community development is organization and management]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Tomsk State University Journal], 2008, no. 316, pp. 148– (In Russ.).
  13. Didyk V. V. Sever i Arktika v novoi paradigme mirovogo razvitiya: aktual’nye problemy [The North and the Arctic in the new paradigm of global development: current problems]. Ekonomicheskie i sotsial’nye peremeny: fakty, tendentsii, prognoz [Economic and social changes: facts, trends, forecast], 2012, no. 3, pp. 37– (In Russ.).
  14. Sangadieva I. G., Shadonova T. M. Grantovaya podderzhka mestnykh initsiativ sel’skikh soobshchestv kak faktor ustoichivogo razvitiya sel’skikh territorij [Grant support of local initiatives of rural communities as a factor of sustainable development of rural area]. Vestnik Buryatskoi gosudarstvennoi sel’skokhozyaistvennoi akademii im. V. R. Filippova [Vestnik of Buryat State Academy of Agriculture named after V. Philippov], 2014, no. 1, pp. 111– (In Russ.).
  15. Salakhutdinova R. R., Nechiporenko O. V., Minnigulova D. B., Kurmanov A. S. Rol’ mestnoi vlasti v sokhranenii i razvitii lokal’nykh sel’skikh soobshchestv: regional’nyi opyt [The role of local authorities in the preservation and development of local rural communities: a regional experience]. Evraziiskii yuridicheskii zhurnal [Eurasian Law Journal], 2015, no. 11, pp. 323–325. (In Russ.).
  16. Shmakov V. S. Innovatsionnaya sostavlyayushchaya razvitiya sel’skikh lokal’nykh soobshchestv [The innovation component in the development of rural local communities]. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Filosofiya [Bulletin of Novosibirsk State University. Philosophy], 2013, no. 1, vol. 11, pp. 90– (In Russ.).
  17. Krasnoshtanova N. E. Osobennosti administrativnogo upravleniya v raionakh novogo promyshlennogo osvoeniya Severa: problemy i preimushchestva sotsial’no-ekonomicheskogo razvitiya [Features of administrative management in the areas of new industrial development of the North: problems and benefits of socio-economic development]. Sever i rynok: formirovanie ekonomicheskogo poryadka [The North and the Market: Forming the economic order], 2022, no. 2, pp. 82– (In Russ.).
  18. Nechiporenko O. V., Šljukić S. Sotsial’nyi kapital lokal’nykh soobshchestv v strategiyakh razvitiya sel’skikh territorii: evropeiskii opyt i rossiiskaya spetsifika [Social capital of local communities in the development strategies of rural areas: European experience and the Russian context]. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of Novosibirsk State University], 2014, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 69– (In Russ.).
  19. Nechiporenko O. V. Adaptatsionnyi potentsial soobshchestva kak faktor ustoichivogo razvitiya sel’skikh territorii: ponyatie, struktura, izmerenie [Adaptive capacity of the community as a factor of sustainable development of rural areas: the concept, structure, measurement]. Sibirskii filosofskii zhurnal [The Siberian Journal of Philosophy], 2015, no. 4, vol. 13, pp. 151–158. (In Russ.).
  20. Shmakov V. C. Sistemnyi analiz razvitiya sel’skikh lokal’nykh soobshchestv [System analysis of the development of rural local communities]. Sibirskii filosofskii zhurnal [The Siberian Journal of Philosophy], 2019, no. 3, vol. 17, 181–193. (In Russ.).
  21. Regiony Severa i Arktiki Rossiiskoi Federatsii: sovremennye tendentsii i perspektivy razvitiya [The regions of the North and the Arctic of the Russian Federation: current trends and development prospects]. Apatity, KSC RAS, 2017, 171 p. (In Russ.).
  22. Dregalo A. A. Sotsiokul’turnaya dinamika sotsial’nogo prostranstva Severa [Sociocultural trends in the society of the North]. Arhangel’sk, SAFU, 2017, 252 p. (In Russ.).
  23. Nikolaeva U. G., Denisenko M. B. Blizhnii Sever: territoriya, lyudi i khozyaistvo [The Near North: territory, people and economy]. Potentsial Blizhnego Severa: ekonomika, ekologiya, sel’skie poseleniya [The potential of the Near North: economy, ecology, and rural settlements]. Moscow, “Logos”, 2014, 200 p. (In Russ.).
  24. Nenasheva M. V. Zhiznestoikost’ arkticheskikh soobshchestv: kontseptsiya, metodologiya i napravleniya issledovanii. [Arctic communities’ resilience: conception, methodology and directions of research]. Arktika i Sever [Arctic and North], 2023, no. 51, in press (In Russ.).
  25. Klimanov V., Kazakova S., Mikhailova A. Regional’naya rezilientnost’: teoreticheskie osnovy postanovki voprosa [Regional resilience: theoretical basics of the question]. Ekonomicheskaya politika [Economic policy], 2018, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 164– (In Russ.).
  26. Odintsova A. Ot strategicheskogo planirovaniya k territorial’noi rezilientnosti [From strategic planning to territorial resistance]. Federalizm [Federalism], 2020, vol. 25, no. 4 (100), pp. 26–41. (In Russ.).
  27. Korezin A. S., Murashov S. B. Rezil’entnost’ sotsial’nykh sistem: sushchnost’ kontsepta i ego primenimost’ na raznykh urovnyakh sotsiuma [Resilience of social systems: the essence of the concept and its applicability at different levels of society]. Teleskop: zhurnal sotsiologicheskikh i marketingovykh issledovanii [Telescope: Journal of Sociological and Marketing Research], 2021, no. 1, pp. 17– (In Russ.).
  28. Zhikharevich B. S., Klimanov V. V., Maracha V. G. Shokoustoichivost’ territorial’nykh sistem: kontseptsiya, izmerenie, upravlenie [Resilience of the territory: concept, measurement, governance]. Regional’nye issledovaniya [Regional studies], 2020, no. 3, pp. 4– (In Russ.).
  29. Zamyatina N. Yu., Medvedkov A. A., Polyachenko A. E., Shamalo I. A. Zhiznestoikost’ arkticheskikh gorodov: analiz podkhodov [Resilience of Arctic cities: An analysis of the approaches]. Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Nauki o Zemle [Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Earth Sciences], 2020, no. 65 (3), pp. 481– (In Russ.).
  30. Vazhenin S. G., Vazhenina I. S. Zhiznestoikost’ territorii v konkurentnom ekonomicheskom prostranstve [Resilience of territories in a competitive economic environment]. Region: ekonomika i sociologiya [Region: Economics and Sociology], 2015, no. 2, pp. 175– (In Russ.).
  31. Aarsæther N., Riabova L., Bærenholdt J. O. Community Viability. In: The Arctic Human Development Report. Akureyri, Stefansson Arctic Institute, 2004, pp. 139–155.
  32. Bene C., Doyen L. From Resistance to Transformation: A Generic Metric of Resilience through Viability. Earth’s Future, 2017, no. 6 (7). pp. 1–18.
  33. Norris F. N., Stevens S. P., Pfefferbaum B., Wyche K. F., Pfefferbaum R. L. Community Resilience as a Metaphor, Theory, Set of Capacities, and Strategy for Disaster Readiness Community Psychol. American Journal of Community Psychology, 2008, no. 41, pp. 127–150.
  34. Davidson D. J. The applicability of the concept of resilience to social systems: some sources of optimism and nagging doubts. Society and Natural Resources, 2010, no. 23, pp. 1135–1149.
  35. Barrett C. B., Ghezzi-Kopel K., Hoddinott J., Homami N., Tennant E., Upton J., Wu T. A scoping review of the development resilience literature: Theory, methods and evidence. World Development, 2021, no. 3. Available at: https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/103506.
  36. Convertino M., Valverde Jr. Toward a pluralistic conception of resilience. Ecological Indicators, 2019, no. 107. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334113656_Toward_a_Pluralistic_Conception_of_Resilience#fullTextFileContent.
  37. Foster K. A. A case study approach to understanding regional resilience. Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California, Berkeley, Working Paper, No. 2007-08. Available at: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/59413/1/592535347.pdf.
  38. Pilyasov A. N., Molodtsova V. A. Zhiznestoikost’ arkticheskikh gorodov Rossii: metodologicheskie podkhody i kolichestvennye otsenki [Resilience of Russian Arctic cities: methodological approaches and quantitative assessments]. Izvestiya Komi nauchnogo centra Ural’skogo otdeleniya Rossiiskoi akademii nauk [Proceedings of the Komi Science Center Ural Branch Russian Academy of Sciences], 2021, no. 2 (48), pp. 5–26. (In Russ.).
  39. Korobov V. B., Kochurov B. I., Tutygin A. G. Metodologiya raionirovaniya slozhnykh geografo-ekologicheskikh ob”ektov ekspertno-statisticheskimi metodami [Methodology of zoning of complex geographic and ecological objects using expert statistical methods]. Problemy regional’noi ekologii [Regional Environmental Issues], 2020, no. 5, pp. 42–48. (In Russ.).