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Abstract. The article studies the prospects of economic development as a consequence of a long war. A specific region is taken for analysis — the north of European Russia (Arkhangelsk province), which got a chance to escape from the depressive state due to its geopolitical position during the First World War (as having an outlet to the open world ocean for important contacts between the Entente countries in the conditions of the war). The specificity of this region is the impossibility of independent development, without the support of the state center or other forms of export-import activity. The reason is the natural and climatic conditions, which, with large reserves of natural resources, made the population dependent on external food supplies. The history of the region shows that periods of increasing state interest are replaced by indifference, which leads to the outflow of population and archaization of economic life. The proximity to sea routes made Arkhangelsk province an attractive source of raw materials for the world market, and the First World War, when the presence of representatives of allied countries became noticeable in the region, increased this attractiveness even more. At the same time, the economically active public of the province sought to take advantage of the created conditions (attention from the Government) and start independent development of the region, with minimal foreign investment. However, the post-war events associated with the detachment of the region from the center of the country aggravated the external dependence of the population on vital supplies in exchange for raw materials. Further industrialization of the region was carried out again in the conditions of its special role for the development of the country, including planned economy and rigid prioritization.
Keywords: European North of Russia, World War I, Civil War, raw material dependence, economic prospects, foreign investments.