The ethnodemography of the Taiga peoples in the vicinity of the Vitim-Olekma gold mines during the first quarter of the 20th Century

This article presents an ethno-demographic analysis of a regional group of Tunguses and Iakuts residing in a gold-mining area, whose traditional economy underwent profound changes at the beginning of the twentieth century. This article uses original sources to reconstruct the population of these groups, and to determine their major demographic characteristics. The authors posit that the most cogent demographic indicator, and the key factor for the dissolution of the traditional social structure is the gender imbalance, favoring males, which existed in the area as a result of industrial development.