Role of seasonality in the socio-economic development of rural areas of the southern part of the Republic of Karelia

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this work is to analyze the impact of seasonality on the socio-economic development of rural areas of the southern part of Karelia. This study is based on the field data obtained via semi-structured in-depth interviews with experts from the local community. The results show that the influence of seasonality is rather indirect, being a constituent of other factors: economic, infrastructural, institutional, social, etc. Although seasonality is most often perceived as a negative phenomenon regarding socio-economic development, modern types of economic activity characterized by a peak of activity in different seasons of the year mitigate the effect of seasonality and even benefit from being seasonal. Based on the materials collected, a typology of rural settlements of the southern part of Karelia based on the nature of the effect of seasonality has been developed (with a predominantly positive and predominantly negative effect).