Vera Anatolievna Zhuravleva,
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, South Ural State University (National Research University), the Branch in Zlatoust, Zlatoust, Rossia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Maria Ilinichna Miroshnichenko,
Doctor of Historical Science, Associate Professor, Department of Russian and Foreign History, South Ural State University (National Research University), Chelyabinsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Nuptiality of the Urban Population of the Urals in the Conditions of Industrial Modernization of the Region (1926–1939): Historical and Demographic Aspect
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2022-6-5
The study of the transformation of the nuptiality of the urban population under the influence of industrial modernization is carried out within the Ural region, after its liquidation in 1934 – within the boundaries of the Sverdlovsk (in 1938 the Perm region separated from it) and Chelyabinsk regions based on the results of the All-Union population censuses of 1926 and 1939 and data of current statistics. The nuptiality of the urban population of the Urals developed under the influence of changing family legislation, unfolding in the region the industrial modernization and the socio-political situation in the country. Marriages concluded in the registry office, were finally approved but at the same time the law recognized actual marriages, divorces were simplified. In 1926–1939 in the cities of the Urals there was an unstable increase in the absolute number of marriages, but since 1930 the unstable dynamics of the total coefficient nuptiality found a downward trend. De facto marriages spread among the urban population of the region, but it is difficult to estimate their number, since they did not fall into the state registration and were not taken into account by statistics. The simplification of the divorce procedure led to their growth among the urban population. Marriages became less stable. Howewer, the increasing complexity of filing divorces in 1936 strengthened marital relations for a short time. Industrial modernization was accompanied by a rapid increase in the population of cities due to migrants. But difficult living conditions forced the townspeople to postpone entering into a legal marriage. In 1931, in the cities of the Urals, the share of singles increased to 15.5 %, and in 1926 it was 6 %. This affected the birth rate. Migrants contributed to the spread of interethnic marriages, but their proportion among the citizens of the Urals was lower than in neighboring regions. The rapid economic development of the Urals contributed to the inclusion of women in social production; education and career growth became important for them. As a result, women’s age at marriage increased, the bulk of women married at the age of 30–39, as shown by the results of the All-Union Census of 1939, and not at 25–29, as in 1926. In general, the emerging changes in nuptiality connected with to industrial modernization of the late 1920s – 1930s failed to destroy the values of marriage, as before, the majority of the urban population of the Urals was married and had families.
Publishing: 28/12/2022
The article has been received by the editor on 21/04/2022
How to cite: Zhuravleva V.A., Miroshnichenko M.I. Nuptiality of the Urban Population of the Urals in the Conditions of Industrial Modernization of the Region (1926–1939): Historical and Demographic Aspect // Historical Courier, 2022, No. 6 (26), pp. 73–87. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2022/ISTKURIER-2022-6-05.pdf]
Links: Issue 6 2022
Keywords: nuptiality; nuptiality structure; marital status; legal and de facto marriage; urban population; population census; divorce; Ural