Long-term dynamics of the social space in the Russian Arctic

Abstract

Social development processes in the Russian Arctic are of special importance. Arctic mineral, fuel and energy resources play a key role in satisfying the demands of the Russian national economy for strategically important types of raw materials. The nature of work activities in the Russian Arctic is distinctive so that labour as a production factor requires a special approach due to stressful climate, which makes living conditions uncomfortable. Dispersion dynamics, distance barriers, small population size in remote settlements, and transport accessibility level contribute to increased resource intensity and energy consumption for life-sustaining activity. Furthermore, the local population is adapted to the harsh Arctic climate and natural environment so that a special Arctic policy of keeping people in the region comes to the forefront. Nevertheless, Russian Arctic is currently remaining a challenging zone due to its complex and non-uniform territorial social and economic development, lack of scientific-based territory management and ineffective social and economic policies implemented there. Nowadays, we need new approaches to elaborate a research and practical agenda for the development of the Russian Arctic. A scientific research methodology must be formulated to transform the system of government control of Arctic region development. An important aspect is to analyse long-term dynamics of the social space in the Russian Arctic of the social space of the Russian Arctic. The article addresses the study results for the dynamics of the social space in the Russian Arctic regions between 1950 and 2018. Transformations in the long-term consistent dynamics of the Russian Arctic were identified to have been determined by the intensity of the region’s industrial development, the scale of government support, and long-term interests of the national economy. Researchers identified stages of the long-term consistent dynamics of the social space in the Russian Arctic region as follows: 1950 to 1990, 1990 to 2000, 2000 to 2008 and 2008 to 2017. This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 19-18-00025 «Socio-economic dynamics and forecast for the development of the Russian Arctic, taking into account geopolitical, macroeconomic, environmental, and mineral factors».