The very reason for these settlements' existence is to exploit the region's resources in order to take them down south again. A high proportion of the newcomers stay in these towns for only a limited time before returning, perhaps much richer, to the south. In the Soviet Union, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s, a white person would receive double or treble wages for working in the North and could also jump the queue for scarce housing when they got home to Moscow or other cities in the western part of the country.

Make this lower case.
the very reason for these settlements' existence is to exploit the region's resources in order to take them down south again. a high proportion of the newcomers stay in these towns for only a limited time before returning, perhaps much richer, to the south. in the soviet union, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s, a white person would receive double or treble wages for working in the north and could also jump the queue for scarce housing when they got home to moscow or other cities in the western part of the country.