The Russian Arctic: The Logic and Paradoxes of Change

Abstract

Large-scale transformation processes in the territory of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF), which the authors identify as Arctic “redevelopment,” are analyzed. These processes combine the use of the huge “Soviet legacy” and the creation of principally new economic, social, and infrastructural facilities. It is proved that redevelopment is the main content of transformation processes in the entire Russian territory and that the AZRF can serve as their most adequate pattern at the level of the country, as well as its regions and municipalities. The genesis and essence of Arctic problems are shown to systemically depend on the realities of transformation processes under way in the entire country due to the policies and reforms of recent decades. It is substantiated that the success of Arctic redevelopment will decisively depend on the early revision of the basic provisions of the current nationwide industrial, energy, transport, demographic, ethnic, educational, and personnel policies. The concept of a macroregion as a target object of state control, formed to implement specific state interests, is used to prove the advisability of detaching the AZRF as an independent object of state policy. Paradoxes of the demographic situation in the AZRF are considered, and directions for organizing Arctic health care are justified in terms of (a) the specifics of urbanized and rural territories in the western and eastern (Transural) parts of the AZRF and (b) the specific needs for medical services among miners, metallurgists, military personnel, sailors, rotational employees, and representatives of indigenous ethnic minorities of the North. Specific interrelations between the state and large corporations in the Arctic, including those aimed at mitigating climate risks during development, are revealed, and the state regulations concerning greenhouse gas emissions, proposed by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, are assessed critically in this respect. In conclusion, the consistency of recent changes in managing AZRF development by a special federal body for Arctic affairs is substantiated.