Comparative Migration Trends in Russian Arctic Cities: Igarka and Norilsk By Genevieve Parente B.A. in History, May 2000, University of Virginia A Thesis submitted to The Faculty of Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts May 20, 2012 Thesis directed by Marie Price Professor of Geography © Copyright 2012 by Genevieve Parente All rights reserved ii Acknowledgments The author wishes to thank the Department of Geography at The George Washington University, particularly Dr. Nikolay Shiklomanov, Dr. Marie Price and Dr. Dmitry Streletskiy for the field study opportunity and research guidance. This research was made possible by a Campbell Graduate Student Summer Research Award, granted through the Department of Geography at The George Washington University. The staff at the Global Resources Center in Gelman Library also provided invaluable assistance. iii Abstract of Thesis Comparative Migration Trends in Russian Arctic Cities: Igarka and Norilsk Located above the Arctic Circle, the Siberian cities of Igarka and Norilsk are among the scores of Arctic settlements established through Soviet central planning which are reinventing themselves to survive in the market economy. The transition of the 1990s replaced Soviet government support with neoliberal imperatives and forced the region’s natural resource industry to restructure and shift costs to the municipalities, resulting in large scale outmigration from both cities. In this remote area marked by extreme climate and few transport links, both localities now employ migration management strategies to achieve their economic and social sustainability. Igarka and Norilsk attempt to shrink their large pensioner populations to minimize social service costs and grow the number of skilled professionals through selective recruiting, although they face challenges in their retention. However, over the years migration incentives have had the effect of retaining many pensioners, who are more sensitive to factors that discourage outmigration, such as high moving costs. They are also more likely to possess longstanding social networks and want to continue to earn the benefits on their pensions as residents of the northern regions. The political and economic climate has also changed significantly as corporate interests wax in importance compared to government influence. Powerful energy companies respond to changed incentives and improved technology to find more cost effective strategies to exploit the area’s natural resources. They are downsizing their permanent workforce and turning instead to temporary shift workers. Year-round workers iv and large municipalities are giving way to smaller cities with satellite worksites. A new kind of company town is developing as well-compensated laborers from other parts of Russia leave their families behind and live in company camps on a rotating basis. The growing number of temporary workers spurs the drawdown of the permanent population in Igarka and Norilsk through means that affect the quality of life for remaining residents, and with major implications for future migration and settlement patterns in the region. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments .............................................................................................. iii Abstract of Thesis .............................................................................................. iv List of Figures ................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………1 Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................... 10 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................... 24 Chapter 4: Norilsk ............................................................................................. 32 Chapter 5: Igarka ............................................................................................... 66 Chapter 6: Conclusion....................................................................................... 97 References........................................................................................................ 104 vi List of Figures Figure 1.1………………………………………………………………………………….3 Figure 1.2………………………………………………………………………………….6 Figure 3.1………………………………………………………………………………….29 Figure 4.1………………………………………………………………………………….33 Figure 4.2………………………………………………………………………………….35 Figure 4.3………………………………………………………………………………….39 Figure 4.4………………………………………………………………………………….41 Figure 4.5………………………………………………………………………………….49 Figure 4.6……………………………………………………………….…………………53 Figure 4.7………………………………………………………………………………….54 Figure 4.8………………………………………………………………………………….59 Figure 4.9………………………………………………………………………………….62 Figure 5.1………………………………………………………………………………….67 Figure 5.2………………………………………………………………………………….69 Figure 5.3………………………………………………………………………………….71 Figure 5.4………………………………………………………………………………….72 Figure 5.5………………………………………………………………………………….73 Figure 5.6………………………………………………………………………………….74 Figure 5.7………………………………………………………………………………….77 Figure 5.8………………………………………………………………………………….80 Figure 5.9………………………………………………………………………………….87 Figure 5.10…………………………………..…………………………………………….91 vii Figure 5.11…………………………………………………………………………….….92 Figure 6.1……………………………………………………………………………...….98 viii Chapter 1 Introduction: Igarka and Norilsk in Context Russia’s natural resource-rich and lightly populated Arctic region boasts more than its share of the country’s GDP (Whiteman 2010), and climate change may determine the area’s future economic expansion and urban settlement patterns. Smith (2010, 157-163) predicts a “New North,” where climate change will ameliorate the hostile natural environment, open ice-bound Arctic shipping lanes and attract new inhabitants. However, Russia's turbulent free market transition has already created a “New North” as the new capitalistic business model and high costs of residency have transformed the economic opportunities, migration patterns and settlement strategies in this remote region. In the post-transition context, what drives migration and settlement trends in Siberian cities? What migration management strategies do municipalities use to address the changing demographic structure of cities? This case study focuses on two Siberian cities, Igarka and Norilsk, which are experiencing substantial decline and compares their efforts to achieve their economic and social sustainability in a market economy. Igarka and Norilsk are among the scores of Arctic settlements established through Soviet central planning which are attempting to reinvent themselves in order to survive. In the new neo-liberal context, the state and the powerful natural resource companies in the region abandon their traditional paternal roles, shutter inefficient industry and shed jobs. Arctic residents move to larger towns or flee the region entirely, although some lack the means to do so. As a result, in the far north and other peripheral regions demographic changes are distributed unevenly, as 1 some cities, towns, and administrative districts shrink while more resource-rich areas maintain steady populations or even grow (Heleniak 2009a). Igarka and Norilsk exemplify the demographic disparities of the region. This thesis builds on and updates the spate of research during the 1990s and early 2000s on the adaption of Siberian cities to market conditions. I examine the efforts of localities twenty years after the transition as they to continue to evolve from company towns to settlements with less support from local industry or the central and regional governments. Most of the data for this study was obtained from field work in Igarka and Norilsk during the summer of 2011.1 We conducted more than a dozen individual interviews, meeting with representatives from city economic development bureaus, federal migration services, employment centers, and local elected officials. We also interviewed scholars from The Moscow State University and the Russian Academy of Sciences.2 The cities of Igarka and Norilsk are located above the Arctic Circle in the northern portion of Krasnoyarsk Krai, an administrative subdivision of the Siberian Federal District (Figure 1.1). The Siberian Federal District is located in the geographic center of the Russian Federation and is one of eight federal districts created in May 2000 1 Professor Nikolay Shiklomanov and Dr. Dmitry Streletskiy joined Parente and two other students from The George Washington University on a field research program in Russia with our counterparts from the Department of Geography at the Moscow State University (MSU). The research program was sponsored by the International Permafrost Association (IPA). We are grateful to the Igarka Geocryological Laboratory, Russian Academy of Sciences, Norilsk City Assembly and Polar Division of Norilsk Nickel for administrative and logistical support. This research was partially sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation grant ARC-1002119 and NASA grants NNX09AI94G and 09-040 to the George Washington University. Parente’s funding was provided by the Campbell Graduate Student Summer Research Award, granted through the Department of Geography at The George Washington University. 2 Drs. Streletskiy, Shiklomanov, and their colleagues arranged appointments and accompanied the lead author on site visits and interviews. Dr. Nikita Tananaev, Director of the Igarka Geocryological Laboratory,