Languages of Northwestern Siberia are traditionally characterised by a strict Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) constituent order in both main and embedded clauses, yet many of them exhibit an ongoing shift towards SVO word order, often attributed to long-term contact with Russian. However, the extent to which non-verb-final patterns result from contact-induced change rather than language-internal mechanisms remains unresolved, as illustrated by the contrast between Tundra Nenets, which remains strictly verb-final despite intense contact, and Northern Khanty, where both verb-final and non-verb-final orders are attested. This talk argues that Information Structure plays a crucial and underexplored role in mediating the OV–VO shift. Focusing on a verb-initial construction associated with verum focus, attested across several West-Siberian languages, I show that apparent deviations from SOV order arise in highly constrained discourse environments where the finite verb occupies a left-peripheral focus position and backgrounded material is obligatorily realised postverbally. I argue that such constrained constructions provide a structural basis for the reorganisation of constituent order, opening a pathway towards broader word order reanalysis in verb-final systems.