The article notes that the lack of demographic statistics is a significant problem for studying the history of Russian colonization. One of the ways to solve it may be the reconstruction of demographic data on the sources of primary population accounting, in particular, on parish registers. This article presents some results of processing the Orthodox parish registers of the Murmanskiy coast of the Barents Sea for 1873−1920. The resulting picture significantly complements and corrects the ideas

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... existing in historical science about the project of «government colonization» launched in this area of the Russian Arctic during the era of the «Great Reforms», based on the provisions approved by Alexander II in 1868 and 1876. The revealed demographic statistics show that in the process of «government colonization» of the Murmanskij coast, the social adaptation of the Orthodox population had a positive dynamics. Not only the number of residents increased, but also the family-related structure was actively formed. The local population preserved their moral character and observed Orthodox church customs, as evidenced by the data on the extreme rarity of the «third marriage», the refusal to marry during the fasts before Easter and Christmas, as well as a decrease in the proportion of conception during these periods. The success of the social adaptation of Orthodox believers on the Barents Sea coast was prepared during the seasonal colonization by Russian fishermen who for many centuries came to the Murmanskij coast from the shores of the White Sea. The territory of the Arkhangelskaya guberniya has become the main supplier of residents of the Murmanskij coast. At the same time, since the beginning of the XX century, migrants from other places of the Russian Empire have also moved here. (P.V. Fedorov), malashenkov_84@list.ru (A.A. Malashenkov)