Microdemographic processes in the agrarian field: growth points and islands of stability. Tambov Region, late 20th – early 21st century

Importance. In modern conditions of depopulation and migration outflow of rural population it is important to study the facts of sustainable development of rural population and factors of such stability.Materials and methods. The research is based on the published and Internet statistical materials of the settlement level. A sample of several dozens of urban-type settlements and suburban rural councils located in rural areas is created as an object of study. Sociological materials on the issue of marriage of rural population are also involved.Results and Discussion. The research show that the population dynamics in the selected group of settlements at the beginning of the 21st century developed unevenly. Along with the reduction in the number of residents in most settlements and villages there were facts of the indicator growth due to migration inflow. The cases of population growth and decline in some segments of the last decades indicate the non-linearity of demographic processes. The revealed order of figures in the indicators of natural and migratory movement of residents of the studied settlements indicates the absence of extreme values. The study of the problem of economic employment of residents of suburban rural settlements and urban-type settlements show a considerable number of jobs to retain the population in these settlements.Conclusions. Demographic data at the micro-level do not allow us to speak about widespread depopulation and devastation of the rural population of the Tambov Region. But “islands of stability” and “growth points” should be studied more thoroughly, using interdisciplinary approaches of humanitarian, socio-political, natural and other exact sciences.