Polarization of the Russia’s Socioeconomic Space to the Northeast of the Capital Core

— This article considers the history of the territorial and economic development in the pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet times of the northeastern sector of the Central area of Russia as part of Vladimir, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl, and Kostroma oblasts, as well as the ratio of the dynamics of the population of the regional centers and other settlements. The economic and psychic separation of large cities from the surrounding territories forced the authors to pay attention to the problems of the cultural heritage in the center of Russia. Yaroslavl oblast serves as a clear example of the influence of the geographical position near Moscow on the regional development, the accumulated traditions, sweeping Soviet industrialization, and modern directions of economic transformation. The rapid industrialization and urbanization of Yaroslavl oblast had begun almost half a century before the Soviet era, which stimulated the migration of the population. The history of the emergence and decline of industrial enterprises, the characteristics of some small towns with specific examples, and the contrasts of rural areas are considered. The evolution of rural settlement pattern in Yaroslavl oblast proves that the polarization of the populated space and its shrinkage are not phenomena of the post-Soviet or even late Soviet periods. Throughout history, there have been waves of expansion and shrinkage. The specificity of the modern period is the strengthening of rural depopulation with the active modernization of agriculture and its concentration. The features of the functioning of modern agro-industrial complexes between Moscow and Yaroslavl are considered. Attention is paid to the influence of the historical heritage on modern processes, including in the area of Lake Nero, as well as the activation of dacha use of the territory by Muscovites and residents of large cities and the formation of a shadow “dachas economy.” The article is illustrated with graphs and photographs of some cities, enterprises, and rural areas.