| Abstract: | The assimilation of Siberia's northeast frontier has been a subliminal goal of Soviet planners since the 1930s, but economic problems, including inaccessibility, have thwarted their aim at almost every turn. The completion of the Baykal-Amur Mainline (BAM) and the renewed planning and construction of the Amur-Yakutsk Mainline (AYAM) at first promised to inspire new regional development efforts. The new policies of the Gorbachev administration appear to have altered the course, at least temporarily. This article analyzes these developments and relationships. |
