TRANSFORMATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF URBAN SETTLEMENTS OF BELARUS IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE XX – BEGINNING OF THE XXI CENTURIES

Abstract

The article presents the results of assessing the impact of changes in the administrative status of the regional and district levels on the demographic and socio-economic development of settlements in Belarus in the second half of the 20th – early 21st centuries. All district centers of Belarus are characterized by an evolutionary or stable model of urbanization development, which confirms the role of the administrative factor. During the period 1938–2023, 189 settlements were district centers, of which 118 retain this status at present and 71 lost it in 1940–1962. The loss of the district center status deprived the settlements of a significant impetus to socio-economic and demographic development. During the period 1959–2019, former district centers lost 29% of their population, while in existing district centers the population increase was 204 %.