Territorial features of demographic development of mountain settlements of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania

Abstract

Purpose of the study. Identify the spatio-temporal transformations of the demographic development of mountain settlements in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania over the past decade. Research methods: during the research, traditional geographical methods were used - comparative geographical, statistical, descriptive and analytical, field field observations. Results and discussion. Mountain settlements of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania are located in the Vladikavkaz urban district, as well as in the Prigorodny, Alagirsky and Irafsky districts. They are mainly concentrated in low-mountain and mid-mountain zones. At the same time, the dominant part of the population lives in low mountains, which testifies to the predominance of the small-settlement structure of settlement in the middle and high mountains as compared to the low mountains. By the nature of the position in the relief, mountain settlements are divided into two types - located on slopes and high plateaus and in intermontane basins and valleys. The latter have undeniable advantages associated with more favorable natural conditions, the development of transport and social infrastructure, which contributes to the preservation of the population and curbing depopulation processes. In general, the mountainous areas of the Republic are experiencing a steady demographic decline, which is manifested in a decrease in the population and a decrease in its share in all mountain municipalities. At the same time, in a number of settlements, natural growth remains weakly positive. The increase in depopulation is mainly associated with the migration outflow of the population, which is most pronounced in the high-mountainous, with an unfavorable geographical position of the settlements. In the Prigorodny District, the migration loss is mainly due to the village of Tarskoye (which may be a kind of reminiscence of the well-known negative events). At the same time, in a number of administrations, tendencies of a decrease in the migration loss or even a slight migration growth have been revealed. Thus, an almost zero balance of migration is characteristic of the settlements of the Dargav administration, and in the settlements of the Karamadon, Koban, Fiagdon administrations, a migration increase was found. An unexpected increase (albeit very weak) is demonstrated by the settlements of the Galiat, Gular, Zadale, Makhskoy rural administrations. Conclusions: The study revealed significant intraregional, intraregional and intersettlement spatio-temporal imbalances in demographic development associated with natural and socio-economic circumstances. It has been established that sustainable development of the mountainous territories of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania is possible provided that human potential is preserved, since allows reproducing the original culture of the Ossetians and preserving the mountainous traditional architecture. The most favorable situation is developing in settlements that are involved in agglomeration processes and located in the suburban area close to Vladikavkaz (with the exception of the village of Tarskoye), as well as villages with an advantageous transport and geographical position and located on the main highways. It seems promising to involve the local population in tourist activities and the development of various types of tourism in mountain settlements.