Transformation of Traditional Natural Resource Management in the Russian North in 1900s - Early 1930s: Based on Materials of Arkhangelsk Society of Local History

The authors examine the main directions of research on the traditional economic activities of the population of the Russian North and attempts of their modernization in the 1920s - early 1930s. The aim of the study is to identify the nature of the transformation of traditional resource use amid a new stage of industrial development in the North. The research is based on archival materials from the Arkhangelsk Society of Regional Studies, documents of regional authorities, and local periodicals. The traditional means of livelihood for the population of Arkhangelsk Province in early 20th century are briefly characterized, highlighting the significant impact of aquatic and forest resources on the socioeconomic development of the region. The activities of the societies for regional studies, which played an important role in studying the region’s economy and developing measures for the growth of traditional industries, are analyzed. The difficult economic situation after the Civil War sparked interest among the new authorities and the expert community in the traditional occupations of the population, seen as a resource for overcoming the food crisis, restoring and developing industry. Key areas for the modernization of traditional trades included their technical and technological re-equipment, as well as the cooperation of resource users. Trades connected to industrial production (such as the forest chemical and fishing industries) received priority support. There were attempts to introduce new types of activities as part of traditional industries, such as the harvesting of seaweed for iodine production. The process of collectivization that unfolded at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, in the context of the transition to a planned economy, effectively marked the end of economic independence and individuality for the resource-dependent population of the Russian North.