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Manakov A., Bocharnikova A., Terenina N. Factors of Population Dynamics of Small-Numbered Vepsi and Setus (Setos) Peoples Separated by Borders

A. Manakov
Pskov State University
Pskov, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0002-3223-2688
E-mail: region-psk@yandex.ru

A. Bocharnikova
Center for Ecological Safety Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0001-7292-9351
E-mail: aleksandra.bocharnikowa@yandex.ru

N. Terenina
Pskov State University
Pskov, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0002-5288-9409
E-mail: brazelon@yandex.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The article aims to identify the factors influencing the population dynamics of indigenous small-numbered Baltic-Finnish peoples of Russia separated by political and administrative borders – the Vepsians and the Setos. The study assessed the long-term population dynamics of four groups of Veps living in Karelia, Leningrad Oblast (Oyat and Southern regions), and Vologda Oblast, as well as two groups of Seto residing in Estonia and Russia. It has been determined that the most significant demographic stability is demonstrated by those ethnic groups which have long lived on the territory of states and republics where the related Baltic-Finnish peoples (Estonians and Karelians) are the titular nations. The least demographically stable were the Seto people living in the Pechora district of the Pskov region and the Southern Veps in the Leningrad region. The Vepsians of the Vologda region suffered somewhat fewer demographic losses. The average level of depopulation characterizes the territory inhabited by the Oyat Vepsians (Leningrad region). The analysis focused on assessing the factors of the population dynamics not directly related to the national policy of the state. The study considered the following factors: natural landscapes, peripheral location, transport connectivity of the territory, the duration of existence and permeability of administrative and state borders, the compactness of the ethnic massif, the nature of the settlement, etc. It was revealed that the low transport connectivity of the territory contributes to the increasing depopulation of Veps’ marginal lands. The prospects for developing Russian Setos in the Pskov region largely depend on the degree of “transparency” of the state border between Russia and Estonia.

 

KEYWORDS: indigenous small peoples, boundaries, peripherality, ethnodemographic processes, depopulation

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-86 0 0-2022-3 (17)-49-9 6
УДК 316.72

 

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