I heard that in the Soviet days the government offered extras/freebies for settlers to move to Siberia. Something like free jacuzzi’s or extra rations of black bread.
Did this incentive program exist? What freebies did the settlers get? Why didn’t more Russians/Soviets accept them? What was the point of the settlement?
I don’t know about the incentives, but I can say that many Soviet citizens in Russia really wanted to live in Moscow. Some couples supposedly would even divorce, arrange to “marry” people in Moscow, get Moscow residency, then divorce and marry each other again. The farther away from Moscow, the tougher it would get.
My gut says that the point of the settlement was to hold the land from China, as well as develop Siberia’s amazing natural resources.