Lyubov Moiseyeva, Far Eastern State Institute of Arts, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: 1977edward@mail.ru.
The paper analyzes the formation and development of modern Russian entrepreneurship as an element of a liberal economic model in the conditions of acute political struggle when the public recognition of the need for reforms was accompanied not only by the formation of a new legal mechanism but also by the presence of large barriers to its implementation including destructive practices of various social groups in post-Soviet society. The main attention is paid to the identification of development factors, peculiarities, contradictions and difficulties in the eastern periphery of Russia, which were not present in other regions of the country. Among them are the attitude of the state to the region as the richest natural storehouse, the development of industry in order to meet the needs of the Pacific Fleet, all branches of the region’s armed forces and state security on the eastern outskirts of the country, a small domestic market, lack of capital, the prevalence of the psychology of a “temporary man”, a sharp increase in territorial differentiation of ten Far Eastern subjects of the Russian Federation, the rupture of economic ties with more developed central regions. As a result, there was an increase in the marginal (or threshold) values of social risks. During the study period, entrepreneurs needed government information and coordination, especially in the Republic of Sakha, Kamchatka, Magadan and Sakhalin regions, the Chukotka and Koryak National Districts, whose vulnerable ecosystems were poorly adapted to the conditions of transition to a market economy. The specifics of the formation of entrepreneurship in the eastern periphery was the establishment of different forms of interaction between domestic and foreign entrepreneurs. The introduction of liberal forms of economic entities in the Far East contributed to the arrival of foreign capital from the Asia-Pacific countries in the raw materials industries, which can be considered as one of the factors of deindustrialization of the region that developed during this period.
Keywords: Russia, Far East, Asia-Pacific region, entrepreneurship, reforms, business, integration, periphery.

Angelina Vashchuk, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: va_lina@mail.ru.
Svetlana Kovalenko, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: ostina@list.ru.
Basing on the theoretical achievements of the predecessors and on the diverse source material, the authors identify the prerequisites that determined both general and specific features of deindustrialization in the North-East of Russia where the mining complex played the main role in the economic development and social and domestic development of Russians. These prerequisites include: the property reform, the state’s withdrawal from financing the industries that extract natural resources, the transition to a new form of investment in the gold mining industry in the North-East in the form of a “gold loan”, the reliance of both the Center and the local government on foreign investment, the refusal of the reformist government to industrial policy on the periphery. The first results of the impact of corporatization on the state of the mining industries are identified and characterized by concrete examples: the decline in gold production, the reduction in the number of employees, and the closure of entire villages. On the periphery, there was a clear link between the liquidation of mining and processing plants and decentralization, the emergence of private subsoil users and bankruptcy of a number of enterprises after their corporatization, the decline in mining exploration, obsolescence of equipment, depletion of deposits of gold and other non-ferrous metals explored in Soviet times, lack of funds of small and medium-sized owners to upgrade the technical base. The decision of the Magadan regional administration to profit from the establishment of jewelry production is a vivid example of the declining role of the gold mining industry in ensuring national security. It is established that among the main factors that determined the social manifestations of deindustrialization were the political decisions of the Government in the early 1990s in relation to the north-eastern periphery under the influence of the IMF and other international financial institutions.
Keywords: deindustrialization, Russia, peripheral territories, Magadan region, Chukotka Autonomous Region, radical reforms, corporatization of the mining industry, regional policy, closure of settlements, 1990s.

Elena Chernolutskaya, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok. Russia. E-mail: chvalery@mail.ru.
The paper analyzes the transformation of the fishing industry during Russian market reforms of the 1990s in the Kuril sub-region of the Sakhalin Region, which represents one of the extreme peripheral territories of the country through the prism of the theory of deindustrialization. Systemic and local factors of degradation/development of local enterprises of the industry in comparison with the late Soviet period are revealed, objective indicators of their activity by year (volumes of catches and food production), changes in organizational principles and forms of ownership are shown, and the specifics of each of the three municipal Kuril districts are reflected. The paper shows the zigzag dynamics of the industrial development of the islands during the post-reform period: recession from the end of the 1980s until the beginning of the 1990s, a slight rise in 1991, a further deep crisis and the beginning of recovery from it in the late 1990s. However, at the stage of recovery, only a small part of enterprises became economically successful while the rest remained low-power and unprofitable. The social environment of the territory, which in the Soviet period differed from the surrounding areas with a low level of development, was plunging deeper into depression in the 1990s. The author makes a conclusion about the relative applicability of the concept “deindustrialization” to the Kuril regions. A more accurate characteristic of their transformation is the general economic and social degradation with the gradual emergence of adaptation practices and “growth points” among which are both constructive phenomena (elements of industrial modernization, the creation of a holding company, targeted state support, legal exports) and destructive ones (smuggling, poaching, corruption, etc.).
Keywords: Kuril sub-region, fishing industry, Russian market reforms of the 1990s, deindustrialization.

Yuliya Kovalevskaya, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: tupa67@mail.ru.
The paper examines the general problem — degradation of communal infrastructure (reservoirs, pumping stations, networks) in the periphery as a result of post-Soviet deindustrialization basing on the example of the village of Shakhtyorsk (until 1947 — Toro, Jap. ??) in the Uglegorsk district of the Sakhalin Region. The field study was started during a trip to South Sakhalin in 2013 and expanded by analyzing the historical background and monitoring the development of the situation in subsequent years. The study of the “Japanese trace” in the collapse of utility networks provides an opportunity to examine the problem from the original perspective without reducing to technical (critical deterioration of networks), financial (lack of budgetary funds), purely managerial (inefficient local bureaucracy) and transformational (transition from Soviet to market conditions of economy) aspects. The author concludes that the reasons why the growth of income from the resource base of the region ceased to directly affect the maintenance of the life support system of the population (municipal and social infrastructure) lie in the institutional level and are explained in the theory of extractive institutions and the concept of “slow” violence. Political and social extractive institutions ensure the redistribution of public goods from one social group to another, deepening inequalities in access to basic life support resources between the center and the periphery, between the privileged and the disadvantaged.Extractive institutions in the “real sector” are inextricably linked with discursive practices that seek to rationalize such attitude towards disadvantaged groups in the form of economic expediency (optimization, palliative urban planning), belittling the social role of certain groups (“pensioners”, “private owners”). According to the results, the post-Soviet stage of communal infrastructure in the south of Sakhalin turns out to be inferior not only to the Soviet (non-market) but also to the Japanese one (market but colonial).
Keywords: Far East of Russia, Sakhalin, Shakhtyorsk, deindustrialization, infrastructural violence, slow violence, palliative urban planning.

Nikolay Vorontsov, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: nsv91@yandex.ru.
The paper is devoted to the problems of participation of the authorities of the Primorye Region, represented by the Soviets of People’s Deputies and executive committees, in the preparation for the construction of the Primorsky NPP during Perestroika and the collapse of the USSR. Based on archival materials, the details of the activities of the Soviets and executive committees related to the organization and control of design, survey, and research work as well as the selection of a site for the construction of the NPP were restored. Their interaction with the public, research organizations, ministries and departments are examined. The paper presents the plans of regional politicians and economists as well as the directorate of the NPP under construction to create new industrial hubs in Primorye, modernize production facilities, infrastructure and the agro-industrial complex considering the possibilities of nuclear energy. The paper studies the evolution of the opinion of the Primorsky Regional Soviet of People’s Deputies and the executive committee under the conditions of freedom of speech and the growth of protest moods — from active assistance for the construction of the NPP at an early stage to opposition in 1990 taking into consideration the arguments of supporters and opponents. The proposals for introducing alternative energy sources in the region are also analyzed. This topic is considered as part of the broader problem of deindustrialization in the periphery of the country. The freezing of plans to create new knowledge-intensive and high-tech industries was the first warning bell that foreshadowed the failure of the next stage of the region’s socio-economic modernization and the forced turn towards the coming deindustrialization and the loss of a significant part of the industrial potential.
Keywords: Primorsky NPP, Primorye Region, Russian Far East, Soviets of People’s Deputies, nuclear energy, Perestroika, deindustrialization.

Natalya Novikova, N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, RAS, Moscow, Russia. E-mail: natinovikova@gmail.com.
The paper is devoted to the study of the labor market for indigenous and local population of the North and the Arctic in the context of corporate social responsibility of business. Indigenous peoples see corporate social responsibility as a careful attitude of companies to natural resources and the promotion of the educational level of the local population, the creation of new jobs and job security. The study is based on field ethnographic materials collected in various regions of the Russian and foreign North and the Arctic in 2000—2021 and the analysis of international law and Russian legislation. Special attention is given to the resource legislation of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), to the policies of industrial companies on interaction with indigenous peoples and how they are put into practice. Ensuring employment is seen as an important component of the social license to operate. The paper analyzes the best practices of companies in providing jobs that take into account the labor preferences of indigenous peoples including home-based and temporary work and the use of traditional knowledge. Special attention is paid to the role of socio-cultural anthropology in preparing qualified specialists for work in industrial companies. The conclusions are made about the necessity to create legal, organizational, and educational foundations for providing employment to indigenous and local population in the areas of industrial development.
Keywords: employment, indigenous small-numbered peoples, local population, the North and the Arctic, industrial companies, corporate social responsibility, international law, legislation of the Russian Federation.

Svetlana Dudarenok, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: dudarenoksv@gmail.com.
Andrey Volkov, Khabarovsk Federal Research Center, FEB RAS, Khabarovsk, Russia. E-mail: ovseyr@mail.ru.
The paper is devoted to the analysis of the process of establishing and reforming the state pension system in the peripheral territories, particularly in the Far Eastern Federal District, which took place as part of the transformation of the socio-political system of the country between the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century. The adverse macroeconomic situation caused by the emergence of the market system, serious miscalculations in reforming the system of public administration of the economy, as well as unjustified and unreasonable main changes in the social security system led to the fact that the pension system of the Russian Federation could not adapt effectively to the changed reality and did not become autonomous with regard to the national budget. In addition, the ongoing reforms did not stop the growth of crisis phenomena in the field of pension support for Russians, especially for people in the Far East. Established in December 1991, the Pension Fund immediately began to form its territorial bodies in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, including the Far Eastern Federal District. The main functions of the offices included the collection of social insurance contributions for pensions and benefits; participation in financing regional social security programs; control over the targeted spending of the Pension Fund resources. They also coordinated and monitored the activities of Pension Fund commissioners in the cities and municipal districts of the subjects; conducted public awareness activities. The authors pay special attention to the problems and difficulties encountered by the subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District in forming the branches of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
Keywords: pension reform, social insurance, pension provision, Far Eastern Federal District, demographic crisis, funded part of pension, social justice, pensioners, distributive principle of pension provision, Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.

Oksana Fedirko, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: fedirko@ihaefe.ru.
The paper is devoted to the study of the transgression of religion into politics and the impact of these processes on the life of society in peripheral regions taking the Russian Far East as an example. The author identifies the main stages of the transgression of religion. It is noted that the first stage, covering the period from 1990 to 1994, was characterized by an increase of transgressive phenomena from religious associations. This happened due to the self-elimination of the authorities from the problems associated with the activities of religious associations, the lack of a legal framework for new state-confessional relations in Russia, the absence of special bodies involved in the implementation of the state-confessional policy and the excessive rapprochement of the state with the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. During the second phase, from 1994 to 1998, there was a shift in the balance of power in the national political arena. The time of dominance of radical-liberal forces was over. The religious sphere required the formulation of a new state policy. The Kremlin tended to restrict the transgression of religion, which was reflected in the normative legal framework of religious policy. The author distinguishes several directions of the transgression of religion in the political life of the Far Eastern society: the participation of representatives of religious associations in election campaigns as voters and candidates for regional, provincial and local councils, the involvement of religious associations in the rule-making activities of post-perestroika Russia. It is stated that the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate actively participated in the political life of the country while Protestants and representatives of other religions, which were common in the Far East, were not much involved.
Keywords: religion, transgression, state-confessional relations, peripheral territory, Far East, society, politics.

Elena Volkova, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: elenavolkova1@yandex.ru.
Using the anthropological approach, the author analyzes literary works that touch on the topic of deindustrialization in the Russian Far East revealing its impact on the social environment, everyday structures and the life of an individual. Among the consequences significant for the society the writers highlight the decline in the living standards of the population, growing unemployment, the destruction of social infrastructure, the compression and liquidation of settlements and the reduction of the population in the region. Many literary heroes in the new socio-economic conditions are deprived not only of a stable, guaranteed source of income but also of their usual habitat, they experience disorientation, uncertainty about the future, an identity crisis up to the loss of the meaning of life, which in some cases leads the heroes to destructive practices, impoverishment and even death. The literary works reflect both the survival practices of Far Easterners who lost their jobs during deindustrialization and the factors contributing to the individual’s adaptation to a changing reality. The study of literary texts allows us to conclude that Far Eastern writers mainly consider deindustrialization in the general context of de-Sovietization, market transformation and general degradation of the Russian socio-economic system, characterizing this process as a product of political will, as a consequence of neoliberal reforms and the corresponding regional policy of the federal government often against national interests.
Keywords: deindustrialization, Russian Far East, market reforms, 1990s, fiction, everyday life, identity crisis.

Chen Qiujie, Institute of Russia of the Academy of Social Sciences Prov. Heilongjiang of China, Harbin, China. E-mail:284748191@qq.com.
The Northeast region made an outstanding contribution to China’s industrial development, laying a solid industrial foundation for the country’s economy between the 1950s and the 1980s. But since the 2010s, the economy of the Northeast has shown only a weak upward trend. The author analyzes the current situation of the economic development in Northeast China, highlighting such features as slowing economic growth rate, transformations in the industrial structure, depletion of resources and serious environmental problems. In the context of changes of the global economic structure and the realities of China’s economic development, the region was found to have some shortcomings which could be considered as an important reason for the slowdown of its economic growth rate in the 2010s. The author states that revitalization of the old industrial bases in Northeast China faces such challenges as insufficient innovation power, brain drain and population aging, low level of marketization, unfavorable business environment, high operating costs for enterprises and weak growth of industries that were leaders in the region before. The author proposes the following measures to enhance the development of Northeast China: to exploit regional advantages for economic development, to promote optimal modernization of industrial structure, to establish a regional innovation system, to increase investment in human capital, to strengthen financial support from the central budget in order to develop and implement new ideas and approaches for the comprehensive revitalization of old industrial bases in Northeast China.
Keywords: Northeast China, old industrial base, revitalization.

Ivan Stavrov, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: stavivan@yandex.ru.
This paper is devoted to the study of the Chinese experience in implementing a policy regarding the sustainable development of resource-type monotowns. Single-industry towns as a component of the territorial structure of the PRC economy have played an important role in the process of accelerated modernization of the country. They became an important link in the creation of China’s industrial power supplying heavy industry enterprises with the necessary resources, not only minerals themselves but also the products of their processing (e.g., steel). Such centers played a special role in the mechanism of the planned economy, which focused primarily on domestic production tasks. However, after the start of the policy of reforms and openness, such enterprises were forced to interact with global markets, which made many of them uncompetitive. The situation was exacerbated by the depletion of natural resources that presented the government with a number of acute social problems: rising unemployment, falling incomes, worsening quality of life. For several decades, China’s leadership developed a series of measures aimed at overcoming the crisis which included re-profiling production, creating new industries, primarily in the service sector, and improving the environmental situation. However, the results of these policies have been half-hearted, as indirectly evidenced by the silence of Chinese researchers. On the one hand, the local government usually manages to achieve some economic growth; on the other hand, this growth is not sufficient to overcome the problem of growing territorial inequality. It is not always possible to solve the problem of unemployment and real income growth of the population. It is concluded that the problem of single-industry towns is to some extent unsolvable, it can only be bought out, as evidenced by the experience of developed countries of Western Europe and the USA. In this regard, the main measures of the Chinese authorities are aimed precisely at reducing the scale of contradictions.
Keywords: PRC, single-industry towns, resource towns, regional policy, Rust Belt.

Vitaliy Elizariev, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia. E-mail: vn_sakh@mail.ru.
More than 380 years separate us from the first expedition of Russian explorers led by I.Yu. Moskvitin along the Eastern Ocean (the Sea of Okhotsk) to the mouth of the Amur River in search of silver ore. In the history of tsarist Russia, Moskvitin’s campaign did not leave a noticeable trace, but from the mid-50s of the twentieth century he began to be credited with the discovery and possible reaching the shores of Sakhalin Island. Shortcomings in the evidence base were most often explained by the loss of documentary sources of the past. Created in the second half of the twentieth century, the historiography of Moskvitin’s campaign to the mouth of the Amur River divided the opinions of researchers, thoroughly confusing the history of discovery of Sakhalin Island. Until now, there is no definitive answer to the question whether Russian pioneers reached the shores of the island opposite the mouth of the Amur River, which later got the name “Sakhalin”. In this work, in order to form a new version of the solution to I.Yu. Moskvitin’s expedition and to determine the result of the journey, additional sources were used which give a new perspective on the history of the issue. The maps and pictures of the Amur River mouth were used which were made by Russian sailors (including G.I. Nevelskoy) and specialists who studied the hydrology of the sea area of the mentioned region between the second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. New research sources help to better understand the meaning of the speeches of the participants of I.Yu. Moskvitin’s expedition in 1640 and give a precise answer whether the brave explorer reached Sakhalin Island and saw its outlines.
Keywords: I.Yu. Moskvitin, the mouth of the Amur River, Shantar Islands, Sakhalin Island, Gilatskaya Horde Islands, Petrovskaya Spit, G.I. Nevelskoy.