Small Towns as a Phenomenon of Historical Urbanization from a Western European Methodological Perspective

JVF Conference Papers

One of the main questions of urban history in Russia is the theoretical understanding of the small town phenomenon. In this paper I analyze the main methodological concepts of historical urban development in Europe.

I begin with Karl Marx and continue through modern trends in the humanities and historical studies which examine cities from different perspectives. The object of this article is to answer the question of when and how small towns have become the subject of scientific research in the West.

It implies comparing these theories and applying them to the Russian and Siberian models of urbanization with a view to elaborate a new approach in the studies of historical urban development in Siberia.

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