Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2016 number

The purpose of the article is to identify and substantiate principles of city grouping according to the city types and classes in historical research. The research problem deals with peculiarities of urbanization in the Angara-Yenisei region in the second half of XX century, along with specific aspects of its study. The key research objectives are: to analyze the most widespread ways of classification in urban studies; to define specific characteristics of East Siberian cities; and to identify the main problems of city grouping while suggesting possible solutions. The author considers a city as a historical phenomenon, represented in the historical process as a special social organism, complex and multi-layered. Thus, typologies also have complex structures. Fr om the historical point of view, the most efficient approach in this case is a genetic method which classifies the cities according to the time and reason for their origin as well as to the extent of preservation of various historic features as seen in the modern plans and images of the cities. The key research findings are as follows: the paper demonstrates the efficiency of genetic typology used in historical studies on urbanization; defines four main types of the cities (regional, historic (old), early industrial, and late industrial). Intra-typological classification is performed on the basis of conventional features: population size, functions, economic and geographical characteristics. It is notable that the need in such classification arises only in regard to the last two city types due to their great number and significant differences in various features. As for the late industrial type, there is a need to distinguish a separate group of industrial cities - closed cities (Zheleznogorsk and Zelenogorsk), which is determined by their unique nature. The author also observes a phenomenon of “rebirth” of those historical (old) cities wh ere large enterprises were localized during the late industrial period (the case of Minusinsk). This phenomenon deserves further consideration in a separate study.