The Significance of the Economic and Human Potential of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug for the Scenario Development of the Russian Arctic

Abstract

AbstractOne of the toughest challenges that Russia faces today is the need to adopt policies that would help the country to solidify its positions in the Arctic region. Progressive development of this region will allow the Russian Federation to protect its national interests. The present study is aimed at predicting the scenario development of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YNAO), the Arctic through the prism of its economic and human potential. The YNAO performance is analyzed according to the target indicators of “The 2035 Development Strategy of the RF Arctic and National Security Provision”. The following ones are the indicators that reflect the economic performance of the region: the proportion of households that use broadband Internet against the total quantity of households in the Russian Arctic; the proportion of gross regional product (GRP) produced in the Arctic against the total amount of GRP produced by the country; the share of investments made into fixed capital in the Arctic zone against the total investments made in the RF, etc. Human potential is evaluated using indicators such as: life expectancy of those born in the Arctic; the average salary of employees working for organizations that operate in the Arctic. The findings of the research study cover the possible scenarios of further development of the YNAO drawing on the current situation, reveal the dynamics of the target indicators and describe some new fuel and energy, infrastructure and tourist projects the region implements.KeywordsArctic regionSocio-Economic DevelopmentArctic economy infrastructure