Spatial relationships of the local community (the case of the village Pronino, Vesiegonsky district, Tver region)

Abstract

The article is devoted to topical issues of the study of population migration at the local level. On the example of a specific rural settlement — the village of Pronino, Vesyegonsky district — the spatial relations of the rural community are considered. The article gives a comprehensive description of the village of Pronino over the past 150 years. The influence of the geographical factor on the development of the settlement is estimated, specialization is analyzed, and trends in demographic development are considered. A relationship is established between the evolution of the functions of a settlement and the change in its population. Based on the data from field studies, the real ties of local residents with other settlements and regions are analyzed. Most of the inhabitants of Pronino are natives of the village and the surrounding settlements. A completely opposite picture is observed in the distribution of Pronino inhabitants’ children who move. Most of the children moved to St. Petersburg or Vesyegonsk. In recent years, migration trends have changed, and more and more children of local residents choose the regional capital — Tver. The geography of subscribers of the virtual community of the village of Pronino in the social network VKontakte largely reflects the real spatial relations. Most of the community’s subscribers live in St. Petersburg; in second place, the district center, Vesyegonsk; in third place, Tver. A comparison of field research data and data from social networks allowed us to conclude that the virtual mobility of the rural population has spatial trends almost the same as real ones. Particular attention is paid to the seasonal migration of the population, using a survey of summer residents who identified their permanent residence and the main reasons for choosing Pronino. The survey data confirmed the hypothesis that the target users of the “distant summer cottages” are natives of these settlements.