From the Continental and Resource Curse of Siberia to Institutional Harmony

Abstract

—The positioning of Siberia in the Russian and global economic space is considered, taking into account the opportunities, challenges, and threats of the 21st century. The driving forces and directions of development of Siberia in the historical, economic, geopolitical, and geographical aspects are investigated. Particular attention is paid to the question of whether the space and resources are the “Siberian curse” or the strongest strategic advantage of the macro-region. It is concluded that we should rather talk about Siberia’s “institutional curse,” associated with the inability of the state to use its space and resources rationally and with the reluctance of business to implement projects for deep processing of extracted raw materials and fuel on Siberia’s territory. It is shown that there is no need to contrast the raw materials and innovation-oriented path of development of the Siberian economy, since in modern conditions the raw materials sector is one of the largest consumers and generators of demand for modern technologies and scientific and technical solutions. In this context, elements of a new paradigm for the development of the Siberian Arctic and a new Arctic policy are considered. Proposals are formulated for the socioeconomic and regional policies of the Russian Federation, as well as for the state policy in the field of subsoil use, which should contribute to solving the main problems of development in Siberia. They relate to the improvement of the institutional conditions for interaction of the Federal Center and Siberian regions, mining companies with regions and their population, as well as the forms and mechanisms of regional integration interactions on the territory of Siberia. The emphasis is on investing in people and the development of science and education.