The Asymmetry of the Present-day Social and Demographic Conditions of the North

Abstract

The integral analysis of the current socio-demographic conditions in the North Caucasus, the specific features of naturalpopulation development, migration and their influence on the dynamics of the ethnic structure are presented in the article. Substantial regional disparities in the demographic development of the territories have been found. The regional differences in the reproduction and the ethnic composition of the population of the mountain and plain landregions have been shown. The four types of regions with their specific way of population generation have been identified. Special attention is paid to the processes connected with the transformation of the ethnic structure of the population. The increasing number of the areas rapidly changing their ethnic composition, the growth of multi-ethnicity in the plain land regions, derussification and ethnic homogenization in the mountain areas have been noted. A significant asymmetry of the North Caucasus regions in terms of their social and economic developmentproving the territorial disparities between the republics in the south-east and the relatively developed plain regions in the north-west has been revealed.