Population Redistribution in Soviet Russia: A Re-examination

Studies on interregional migration during the Soviet era have shown that government control on population redistribution was effective in the early Soviet period, but the effects of incentive mechanisms including national investment became limited in the late Soviet era. Although these effects were predictable, such an assertion was inconsistent with the phenomenon. There was a continuous population influx in the Far East and Extreme North regions even in the late Soviet era, suggesting the likelihood of effective governmental management on geographical redistribution of population. The present study confirmed the effectiveness of governmental control on population migration in the late Soviet era using recent data. The present study suggests that the economic regions or cities considered in previous studies might have had issues with the accuracy of the influence of various factors. Further verification of the results obtained during the Soviet era is needed.