Causes of the population growth in the town of Izberbash (Dagestan)

The article analyzes the factors of positive dynamics of a small city population throughout the post-Soviet period using the example of the town of Izberbash. In 1989–2020, the population of Izberbash increased 2-fold – from 28 to 60 thousand people and the city moved from the category of small to medium-sized cities in terms of population numbers. The development trends of Izberbash are similar to those of small cities in North Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia. The main reason for the demographic growth of the city is a significant migration inflow from the neighboring predominantly rural areas of mountainous and pre-mountainous Dagestan. This resulted in a significant growth of the city’s built-up area. Along with the actively growing private sector, new residential quarters are being built in the city center, and high-rise buildings are being densified. The results of questionnaires and interviews with the local people revealed the elements of false urbanization: residents who migrated from the surrounding rural areas in the 1980–2000s, and even their children born in the city, do not have a clearly defined urban identity. The city has undergone a radical transformation of the population composition in the post-Soviet period. At the same time, there is still social tension between old urban dwellers with modernized value system and new ones who are more traditionalistic. The observed processes take place under active migration exchange between the city and the surrounding rural areas which is facilitated by a combination of mutually reinforcing groups of factors pushing the rural population out of the mountainous area and attracting it to the nearby city with more developed infrastructure. The socio-economic situation is further complicated by a significant growth of tourist flow to the city from other regions of Russia and the Republic of Dagestan in the last five years.