Re-colonising the Arctic: The preparation of spatial planning policy in Murmansk Oblast, Russia

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadir Kinossian
Keyword(s):  
Policy Making ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Murmansk Oblast ◽  
Central State ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
Arctic Policy

The Russian state is strengthening its positions in the Arctic in order to exploit its resources, develop transport routes, and reverse depopulation trends in the country's northern regions. The ambitions of the Russian state to ‘recolonise’ the Arctic pose questions about the role of the region in the policy-making process dominated by the central state and the emerging geography of the Arctic. This article analyses these relationships using Murmansk Oblast’ as a case study. It argues that (i) there is a shift in Russia's Arctic policy – from withdrawal to re-engagement via mega-projects in energy and transport infrastructure sectors. Changes in global energy markets suggest that Arctic expansionism driven by energy projects is not sustainable; (ii) the policy framework remains incoherent as the central state revises its priorities; (iii) within the emerging polity, regions are neither ‘transmission belts’ of national policy nor independent players; instead, regions such as Murmansk Oblast’ are produced via multiscalar processes of policy making, institutionalisation, and discursive practices.

Internal Contradictions and External Anxieties: One ‘Coherent’ Arctic Policy for the European Union?

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-289
Author(s):  
Adam Stępień
Keyword(s):  
Dominant Role ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
European Arctic ◽  
Arctic Policy ◽  
The Impact

The European Union’s overarching policy towards the Arctic is an umbrella policy of complementary and coordination nature composed of internal, external and foreign policy elements. This article examines the policy framework from the perspective of ‘coherence’. What could a coherent and integrated EU Arctic policy entail – as called for by the Council and the European Parliament? I problematise the notion of coherence and offer an understanding of coherence deemed workable in the context of a regionfocused policy-making. Different dimensions of coherence are discussed: internal (lack of contradictory objectives), institutional (coherence between EU institutions), vertical (between the EU and its member states) and external (interaction with other Arctic actors). A number of interrelated contradictions or dichotomies are identified with focus on: Circumpolar versus European Arctic, maritime and terrestrial, internal and external, environmental and developmental goals. There is also a tension between the eagerness to adjust to narratives prevalent in the Arctic – owing to the anxiety of Arctic actors regarding the EU’S presence – and the need to respond to internal voices and retain EU values. While coherence as an ideal goal is a necessary principle of policymaking, its practical application may be counterproductive to a cross-cutting policy field, unless the meaning of ‘coherence’ is specified. I argue that the umbrella Arctic policy should be characterised by procedural rather than outcome coherence. That includes developing and maintaining durable mechanisms for dialogue with Arctic partners, management of the impact of EU policies, ongoing identification of gaps, effective internal coordination frameworks, and modes of continued involvement in Arctic governance structures. The Arctic policy could provide input into general EU decision-making processes, especially if inconsistencies are revealed. Institutional setting with a less dominant role of services focused on maritime and external aspects should be considered.

scholarly journals Mobility, Telecommunication and Energy Regimes in Svalbard

2019 ◽  
pp. 1506-1521
Author(s):  
Andrian V. Vlakhov
Keyword(s):  
Policy Making ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Study Data ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Svalbard Archipelago ◽  
The Public ◽  
Arctic Policy

This paper deals with the role of mobility and telecommunication of the residents of Svalbard archipelago. The main focus of this study is the role of those factors in creating the energy regimes of the archipelago. The field study data shows that mobility and telecommunication are, first, intertwined factors of the local social space; second, their physical and social dimensions are also inseparable. The issues of mobility and telecommunication and their role in creating the local energy regimes are also an important topic of the public discourse of the Arctic policy-making

scholarly journals Remaking Arctic governance: the construction of an Arctic Inuit polity

Polar Record ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Shadian
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Resource Extraction ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Arctic Policy ◽  
Inuit Peoples

This article focuses on the construction of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), the aim being to offer the historical context within which the ICC came to serve as a significant voice for Arctic policy making and as a representative of Inuit peoples in general. It explores the role of the ICC in relation to the domestic, regional, and international political events taking place during its formative years in order to provide the basis through which the ICC came to be a political authority in the Arctic. While the main coalescence of events was around the theme of Arctic resource development, each event significantly helped lay the foundation for, and structures under which, Arctic policy would proceed into the future. This includes a changing Arctic narrative that has transformed the Arctic from a being a region concentrated on resource extraction and Cold War security into a region serving as a symbolic pinnacle for global sustainable development. Through the expanded political agency of the ICC and an international focus on the Arctic, a vision of the Arctic has emerged under which it is defined by its natural environment and by the indigenous peoples who inhabit this space. This is an INDIPO project paper (Tennberg 2006).

scholarly journals Peculiarities of Financing Road Activities in the Arctic Region: the Experience of the Murmansk Oblast

2021 ◽  
pp. 36-47
Author(s):  
Natalia A. SEROVA ◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Murmansk Oblast ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
The Road ◽  
Arctic Regions ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Murmansk Region ◽  
The Arctic Region

The article presents the results of a study of the peculiarities of financing the road economy of the Murmansk region — the Arctic region, the development of transport, including road, infrastructure of which acquires particular importance in the light of the implementation of national interests and priority directions of Russian state policy in the Arctic. In the course of work, the author considered the dynamics of spending funds from the Road Fund of the Murmansk region for 2012–2020. It has been determined that the existing volume of financing of the regional road infrastructure does not allow the region to fully implement the tasks of developing road infrastructure and improving the quality of highways (primarily local ones). It is concluded that additional funds are needed to finance the road infrastructure of the Arctic regions, including through the use of public-private partnership mechanisms. The results of the study can be used in the formation of a policy in the field of road facilities in the Murmansk region, as well as in further research on the financial support of road activities and the functioning of road funds.

scholarly journals Polar Views on the Arctic: Arctic Policies of Russia and Circumpolar Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 145-159
Author(s):  
E. A. Korchak ◽  
N. A. Serova
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Local Population ◽  
National Policy ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Zone ◽  
Territorial Development ◽  
The North ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Arctic Policy

The article discusses current issues of Arctic governance. The main motives of the growing interest of the world community to this region are revealed. Comparative analysis of the conceptual framework and key priorities of the Arctic policy of the Russian Federation and other circumpolar powers based on a study of their national Arctic strategies. It was determined that the main difference between the Russian model of managing the Arctic zone lies in the priority of exploitation of natural resources on the basis of creating an optimal configuration of the main factors of industrial production, while the policy of foreign northern countries is aimed primarily on the sustainable development of the Arctic territories and at achieving their social sustainability through the comprehensive development of Arctic local communities. In our opinion, it is advisable for the Russian Federation to apply such a model where the state vector of Arctic policy is oriented, first of all, to the social component of territorial development as for the basis for a comprehensive balanced development of the Arctic zone and for ensuring the country’s national security. Namely, – the implementation of the model of sustainable development of the Arctic territories, the main elements of which are rational and careful nature resource use in the Arctic zone, limitation of negative environmental impact and conservation of the biodiversity of the Arctic territories, orientation on the national policy not only on the indigenous peoples of the North, but also on the local population living here, improving the quality, conditions and standard of living, as well as close mutually beneficial international cooperation on municipal, regional and global levels.

scholarly journals Municipal Management of Ethnocultural Development in the Arctic (Case of Yakutia)

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Elena Gavrilovna Maklashova
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Traditional Culture ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Municipal Management ◽  
Ethnocultural Diversity ◽  
Municipal Level

The study presents the results of researching man-agement in the unique multi-ethnic environment of Yakut Arctic territories. The author attempted to show the features of the activities to implement the tasks of the Russian state national policy in terms of supporting ethnocultural diversity at the municipal level and specifics of the formation of young peo-ple's attitude to ethnicity and traditional culture. The main research methods were the methods of socio-logical science: questionnaires and standardized interviewing. The significance and correlation of public and administrative space in the organization of the ethnocultural process is presented in the study. In view of the opinions of different groups of young people living in the Yakut Arctic, the founda-tions of ethnicity and the institutions that support them and require special attention of local govern-ment in order to increase the effectiveness of activi-ties to preserve the traditional culture and languages have been established.

scholarly journals Transportation and subsoil use: integration for the Arctic economic development in Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 00023
Author(s):  
Anatoliy Sleptsov ◽  
Violetta Gassiy ◽  
Jean-Pierre Desideri ◽  
Afanasiy Postnikov
Keyword(s):  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Russian Arctic ◽  
Resource Potential ◽  
Investment Projects ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Full Capacity ◽  
Arctic Policy ◽  
Two Sectors

The issues of the Russian Arctic development are considered in the paper. The authors study the trends and factors in the formation of the Arctic transportation. The subsoil use is researched as an industry that stimulates the active development of the Arctic at the present stage. The analysis of the interdependence of the two sectors of the economy is carried out as well as the reasons for their integration are substantiated. The authors consider government incentives for investment in the Arctic. The article discusses the reasons why it is still not possible to use the resource potential of the Arctic to its full capacity. According to the authors, the transport infrastructure does not meet the needs of investment. They suppose that an obstacle to the further inclusion of the Russian Arctic in an active economic turnover is the delay in the construction of the infrastructure to support the Northern Sea Route: ports, icebreakers and rescue vessels. A breakthrough in transportation is required for further successful implementation of investment projects for the extraction of hydrocarbons and other minerals. Therefore, the development of the Arctic should be considered only in the context of the integration of subsoil use and transportation. In conclusion, the authors outline the main tasks that the state needs to solve for the Arctic policy implementation.

Light Railways as the Basic for Transport Infrastructure Development in Northern Territories of Russia

2020 ◽  
pp. 97-101
Author(s):  
P.I. Tarasov
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
New Type ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Northern Territories ◽  
Mode Of Transport

Research objective: studies of economic and transport infrastructure development in the Arctic and Northern Territories of Russia. Research methodology: analysis of transport infrastructure in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the types of railways used in Russia. Results: economic development of any region is proportional to the development of the road transport infrastructure and logistics. When a conventional railway is operated in the Arctic conditions, it is not always possible to maintain a cargo turnover that would ensure its efficient use, and transshipment from one mode of transport to another is very problematic. A new type of railway is proposed, i.e. a light railway. Conclusions: the proposed new type of transport offers all the main advantages of narrow gauge railroads (high speed of construction, efficiency, etc.) and helps to eliminate their main disadvantage, i.e. the need for transloading when moving from a narrow gauge to the conventional one with the width of 1520 mm, along with a significant reduction in capital costs.

THE PRINCIPLES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY IN THE ARCTIC ZONE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Bubynin ◽  
Mikhail Bubynin ◽  
Valery Abramov ◽  
Valery Abramov ◽  
Gennady Zabolotnikov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Scientific Development ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Arctic Zone ◽  
The Russian Federation

The paper considers the priorities of the state policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic, from the point of view of the development of scientific research, identified by the main strategic documents of national policy and security in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Measures for implementation of priorities in the development of scientific research in the Arctic can be divided into three main sections: 1. Scientific projects and expeditions in the Arctic; 2. International activities; 3. Coordination and implementation of integrated research in the Arctic. Note that currently the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation develops the Analytical Coordination Program “Comprehensive research of the Arctic and Antarctic”, in cooperation with the federal state bodies and Governance of the Subjects of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The mechanism of the Program will ensure coordination between state bodies for integrated scientific researches in the Arctic in the interests of economic and scientific development of the region, and the creation of the scientific, technical and technological reserve in order to ensure of national security in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.

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