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

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).