Home – Home – Jornals – Geography and Natural Resources 2019 number 5S

The description of the Asian territory of Russia in the format of an economic region, which is traditional for Siberian ge ographers, is continued in this article. The Eastern Siberia (the Irkutsk region, the Krasnoyarsk Krai, the Zabaykalsky Krai, and the Republics of Buryatia, Tyva, and Khakassia), which occupies almost a quarter of Russia, is populated by less than 6 % of Russians. It is established that resource-oriented productions commenced during the planned economic system and using the raw-materials base of the region continue to dominate during the period of market relations, with oil and gas production ac tively developing in the 21st century. According to the Spatial Development Strategy of Russia (until 2025), seven urban areas in the Eastern Siberia are identified as promising for the first time, including Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk as world-class scientific and educational centers. At the same time, there is an unprecedented outflow of population (since 1990, the population of the region has decreased by more than a million people, with the Irkutsk region being the leader in absolute terms) and a large-scale increase in “ metropolitan ” residents in all regions of the Eastern Siberia, with the city of Ulan-Ude being the leader. However, one may also observe positive construction dynamics and the active demand for housing mortgages, which are due to government programs for the development of housing of various hierarchical statuses (federal, regional, and municipal).