Journal articles - Arctic and North
All articles: 1028
Scientific article
The team of authors of the article conducted a sociological study aimed at analyzing and assessing the interaction of enterprises in the real sector of the economy and organizations of higher and secondary education in the field of personnel training for the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation using the example of the Arkhangelsk region. The results of the study allowed us to conclude that the growing shortage of specialists with higher and secondary vocational education in the shipbuilding, forestry and fishing industries of the Arkhangelsk region in recent years has stimulated the interest of enterprises in cooperation with educational organizations. The study revealed significant differences in the level of interaction by enterprise size. The most intensive cooperation between educational organizations is carried out with large enterprises planning staffing for the medium term, having the greatest personnel needs, as well as human and financial resources to build interaction in their interests. The study also showed a trend towards establishing long-term connections between educational organizations and large enterprises using a variety of cooperation tools and involving students in work activities during their studies with a view to subsequent employment. At the same time, quantitative and qualitative data indicate the vulnerable position of small and medium-sized enterprises in terms of cooperation with educational organizations and, as a consequence, the provision of personnel. This is due both to the limited human resource for planning personnel policy, and to the fact that the few educational organizations in the region, as a rule, give priority to cooperation with major players, due to their status and ability to provide material support to the educational institution.
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Intercensal Dynamics of the Komi Population in the Regions of Russia since 1970: Trends and Factors
Scientific article
The Komi are among the indigenous peoples of Russia’s republics with the fastest-declining populations, yet they are characterized by a high level of concentration within their own republic. The aim of this study is to identify trends and the main factors influencing changes in the concentration of the Komi people in the regions of Russia during the intercensal periods from 1970 to 2021. The study primarily relies on a statistical and cartographic research method. From 1970 to 1989, the dynamics of Komi concentration in the regions of Russia were influenced by the positive natural increase of the Komi in their republic, which served as a source for their migratory distribution to other regions. Leningrad and Moscow, along with their surrounding regions, acted as the main centers of migration attraction for the Komi, but in the 1980s, the direction of migration through the Volga region to the South of Russia became evident. The concentration of the Komi people declined in Southern Siberia, where they had previously been represented by fairly large groups. In the post-Soviet period, assimilation processes, accompanied by a natural decline in the population of this ethnic group, began to influence the dynamics of Komi concentration across the country’s regions to a greater extent. Their concentration levels decreased in most regions located outside the Komi’s main area of habitation. Komi migration in the post-Soviet period no longer played as significant a role in their distribution across the country as it had during the Soviet era, but St. Petersburg and Moscow retained their role as centers of migration attraction for the Komi.
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Scientific article
The article analyzes the possible ways of the decision of problems of management of the Arctic zone of Russia from the position of the interdisciplinary approach.
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Scientific article
In the given article we represent our final results of the inter-disciplinary expeditions of the students, post-graduate students and tutors of the 4 universities of Krasnoyarsk to the villages and localities, inhabited by the indigenous minorities of the North of the Krasnoyarsk Region.
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Scientific article
The article examines the problem of intergenerational dynamics of the religiosity level in post-Soviet Russia in the context of cultural transformations, combining the movement towards postsecularity and the domination of secular values of late modern societies. The paper analyzes the all-Russian data, obtained within the framework of the project “World Values Survey”, as well as data on religiosity and value orientations of the population of some Russian Arctic regions, obtained with the direct participation of the author. As a result of the analysis, the author verifies several hypotheses and comes to certain qualitative results. Firstly, there is a generational shift from traditional values to secular-rational values in modern Russia (according to R. Inglehart). The beginning of this process falls on the period of the socialization of the Millennial generation, the context of which is the economic and political reforms of the 1990-2000s. Secondly, the process of the intergenerational transformation of values is organically associated with a decline in the level of religiosity, but it is “delayed” by one generation. The author offers an explanation for this desynchronisation. Thirdly, it is shown that the religiosity level of the population of the Arctic territories is lower (in general and by generations) in comparison with the all-Russian religiosity level. The factors contributing to these differences, according to the author, are the relatively low share of Muslim population in the Russian Arctic and its high level of urbanization.
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Scientific article
The International Arctic Forum “Arctic: Territory of Dialogue", held at the end of March 2017 in Arkhangelsk, has become one of the most representative events devoted to the Arctic issues in Russia in recent years. The business program of the event included a plenary session with the participation of the Presidents of Russia, Finland, Iceland, as well as 13 thematic sessions. The theme of the forum "People in the Arctic" was most actively discussed at four thematic sessions, as well as at the special event — the Forum of the Arctic Municipalities. The article presents the main results of the discussion of the participants of the event at the sessions "The Arctic is the territory of professionals", "The Arctic is the Territory of History, Culture and Tourism", "The Arctic is the Territory of Health", "The Arctic is the Territory of the Favorable Life Environment", and also at the Forum of the Arctic Municipalities.
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International environmental cooperation in the Arctic
Scientific article
Key challenges and threats to the Arctic environment are associated with progressive pollution and degradation of environmental components in the face of increasing anthropogenic load, the accumulation of waste, climate change and others. International cooperation in the field of envi-ronmental safety, unprecedented speed and energy cooperation in the Arctic can serve as a positive example and a lesson for humanity. An important role in environmental cooperation play an international environmental organization, the Arctic Council, states. On the con-Jania cooperation affects contradictory trends determining the current state of international co-relations. It is concluded that joint efforts need to create a system of global interaction, which, taking into account the interests of all parties, would be enabled to make rational use of natural resources in the Arctic.
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International shipping routes for cargo transportation in the Arctic
Scientific article
The main purpose of the article is to study the problems of the functioning and competition of sea routes of cargo transportation in the Arctic region. Methodologically, the work is of a research nature within the framework of the global integrated and northern regional studies, based on interdisciplinarity and complexity. A complex of interdisciplinary tasks is synthesized: to show, against the background of the history of the development of the water area of the northern seas, begun in the era of Velikiy Novgorod, the priority of Russians in the Arctic; the geopolitical and economic significance of the new projects of the Northern Sea Transport Corridor (SMTC), the National Arctic Transport Line (NATL) at the present time; to reveal the presence of many actors in the Arctic region of planet Earth. Operating water area of the Northern Sea Route in 2012-2020 based on legislative acts 1998, 1999, 2012. And while it does not provide a significant share of international transit, it is developing as an internal sea route. The article analyzes the literature of domestic and foreign authors and primary sources, including: Novgorod Chronicles, cartography, current legal acts, Decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation and departmental documents of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for the development of the Far East and the Arctic, FSBI “Administration of the Northern Sea Route”, directorates Northern Sea Route of Rosatom State Corporation, International Monetary Fund (June 24, 2020), China White Book (2018), the Polar Silk Road project, etc. The plurality of sea routes for cargo transportation in the Arctic along the coast of Russia, off the coast of Canada, the Arctic Bridge, the Trans-Arctic sea route, the Polar Silk Road of China; modernization of the NSR infrastructure; implementation of investment projects of the oil and gas and mining complex of global significance generates new challenges and opportunities for the development of the Russian Arctic.
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Internationalization of vocational education in the Arctic council member-states’ universities
Scientific article
Nowadays, the potential for international cooperation in the Arctic is concentrated within the framework of such an influential international structure as the Arctic Council, where Russia is presiding over soon in 2021-2023. The article is devoted to international cooperation evaluation of 15 Arctic universities from 7 Arctic Council member-states with a student contingent of at least 3,600 people (2 in the USA, 1 in Iceland, 5 in Russia, 2 in Finland, 2 in Sweden, 2 in Norway, 1 in Canada). It seems possible to evaluate international cooperation potential between Arctic universities through the prism of 10 quantitative indicators, including the number of international students admitted to the university; number of courses taught in English; number of educational programs for international students; a number of foreign scientists invited to the university, etc. We can evaluate both academic mobility within the Arctic universities and vocational education internationalization due to accumulated statistical data.
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Scientific article
In this special section of journal “Arctic and North” renowned and younger scholars from Finland and Norway take on the topic of research on the Sámi, from the era of “Lappology” to the era of “Sámi research”. The focus in the articles varies between research history, historiography and history of science. Thematically, the articles range from longer overviews of the historical evolution and transformation of “Lappology” in their national settings to more focused articles on individual scholars, as well as an article on Sámi historiography with a methodological approach. Two articles focus on the genesis of more culturally sensitive Sámi research.
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Is It Possible to Change Arctic Fish Pricing?
Scientific article
The purpose of the article is to show the necessity of reducing wholesale domestic prices for Arctic fish and to propose economic methods for solving this problem. The relevance is associated with an unreasonable increase in wholesale prices, which are the basis of retail prices, resulting in a decrease in the consumption of local fish. The increase in wholesale prices of fisheries in 2014-2015 and in the subsequent period is analyzed. The fundamentals of the world doctrines of cost and value are given, and the absence of factors to justify the increase in wholesale prices on the basis of the labor theory of value is shown. The data on the unreasonably close relationship between wholesale prices for fish in the domestic market of Russia and the exchange prices at which fish products exported to the European Union countries are presented. The possibility of reducing wholesale domestic prices by increasing the supply of fish to the domestic market of Russia in order to achieve the threshold values of the figures indicated in the Doctrine of Food Security is shown. In order to replace exchange foreign prices used in the domestic market of Russia, the need to develop a methodology for determining wholesale prices for the main types of Arctic fish, primarily currency-intensive ones, is substantiated.
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Is the Extraction of Fossil Mammoth Bone a Form of Traditional Nature Management?
Scientific article
This article is devoted to solving the question of whether it is possible to consider the extraction of mammoth bone as one of the types of traditional nature management of the indigenous peoples of the North. The solution to the problem is considered on the part of three criteria — the formation of a tradition of economic activity within an ethnic group, the focus of economic activity on use for their own needs, a balanced approach ensuring sustainable environmental management. As a result, the author concludes that the extraction of mammoth bone is a type of activity that cannot be called fully consistent with the criteria for traditional nature management. At the same time, in the article, the author proposes to consider broader the concept of traditional nature management in the modern capitalist world, supplementing it with a view from the world-system analysis of the dichotomy of traditional and capitalist society.
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Is the arctic on the brink of a hybrid war?
Scientific article
The article examines the phenomenon of hybrid war in relation to Arctic politics. The goal of the study is to show how valid this concept is, who Western experts consider the main source of hybrid threats, and what they consider hybrid threats in the Arctic. The empirical grounds of the study are documents of international organizations and publications of Western authors. A critical analysis of documents and publications shows the concept of hybrid war was introduced into scientific circulation by the military, but it is also used in a broader meaning. Military experts have not yet come up with a clear definition of hybrid war. Representatives of political science use the concept of hybrid war in an even more amorphous meaning, which leads to its unlimited expansion. Based on specific examples, it is shown that any manifestations of Russian politics potentially fall under the concept of hybrid threats, which is conducive to the creation of political mythology that covers up the political goals of Western opponents. There is no consensus in Western publications regarding the productivity of the concepts of hybrid threats and hybrid wars, but a more common radical point of view, which limits down to the imposition of confrontational relations in the Arctic and in international politics in general.
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Scientific article
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, local communities have been adapting to new political and socioeconomic realities. These changes have prompted dramatic outmigration among rural populations, es-pecially in the Russian Arctic. Despite these changes, some communities remain viable, with some residents exploring new economic opportunities. This study uses findings from qualitative interviews to understand what factors shape community viability, interviewing residents and relevant regional stakeholders in two case areas in the Arkhangelsk oblast: the Solovetsky Archipelago in the White Sea and islands in the delta of the Northern Dvina River. The results indicate that community viability and the reluctance of community mem-bers to leave their traditional settlements are shaped by livelihoods, employment opportunities, and social capital. Social capital is characterized by such empirically identified factors as shared perceptions of change and a willingness to address changes, place attachment, and local values. We conclude that further develop-ment or enhancement of community viability and support for local livelihoods also depends on 1) bottom-up initiatives of engaged individuals and their access to economic support and 2) top-down investments that contribute to local value creation and employment opportunities.
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Issues of Application of the Customs Procedure of a Free Customs Zone in the Arctic
Scientific article
The current regulation provides for the possibility of creating special (free) zones and equivalent territories (hereinafter — SEZ) in the Arctic (territories of advanced development and the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation). Within the framework of SEZs, the customs procedure of a free customs zone (hereinafter — FCZ) can be applied, which provides opportunities to conduct economic activities with foreign goods without paying customs duties. The purpose of the study is to investigate the peculiarities of applying the customs procedure of a free customs zone in the Arctic. The following research methods were used in the preparation of the article: economic, analytical methods, method of comparison and generalization. This simplification can be demanded by Russian organizations — residents (participants) of the territories of advanced development and the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The proposed article is devoted to the consideration of the mechanisms of the above-mentioned simplifications provided for the residents of the “Arctic” SEZ. At the same time, the application of the customs procedure of FCZ in the SEZ territories is an important tool of the state economic policy, designed to ensure the creation of comfortable conditions for taxation of foreign goods. Issues related to the status of goods manufactured in SEZs using foreign goods that are placed under the FCZ customs procedure are largely related to Russia’s international obligations underlying the current regulation. In practice, the set of legally established simplifications analyzed in the article creates conditions for more effective activity of SEZ residents.
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Itelmeni - are of the most ancient population on the planet
Scientific article
Analyzed the following factors: 1) the time of the birth of the Itelmens, their ancestral home, belonging to a group of languages, 2) check the specified region 3) religious beliefs, customs and traditions, arts and crafts 4) the social organization of the society. Attention is paid to the process of assimilation itelmens in Russian culture, the perspectivs for its survival.
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Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s Rhetoric on the Arctic
Scientific article
This paper examines the evolution of US Arctic policy by comparing the approaches of the Trump and Biden administrations. An analysis of The New York Times shows that Trump shifted the focus from the traditional balance of interests to economic development, especially oil and gas production in Alaska, including drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. His administration justified this by economic benefits and the need to compete with Russia, planning infrastructure development, including the construction of icebreakers. The media image of Trump’s policy reflected a pragmatic and unilateral approach, putting economic interests above environmental issues and international cooperation. Despite participating in the Arctic Council, Trump preferred bilateral negotiations, while proposals such as the purchase of Greenland undermined international trust. Militarization of the region to contain Russia and China was presented as a necessary measure. Biden, despite his declared commitment to international cooperation and the environmental agenda, continued Trump’s confrontational course towards Russia and China, expressing concern about their activities in the region and using hostile rhetoric. Although the 2021 summit with Putin demonstrated a willingness to engage in dialogue on security and climate issues, mistrust persisted and was exacerbated by subsequent geopolitical events.
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Scientific article
The article presents a scientific approach to the actual problem of the formation of a full-fledged economic potential (industrial and consumer) of the agro-industrial complex of the northern regions. The key premise of the study is that the content of the economic potential makes it possible to identify not only the dynamics of the accumulation of production capacities, but also to determine the trends and prospects for socio-economic, environmental, infrastructural, demographic and market transformations. The principle of conducting a systematic analysis of the state, composition and structure of the agro-industrial complex of the regions of the North of potential was chosen as the main prerequisite for the study. The most reliable method that reveals the directions of the prospective development of the agro-industrial complex of the regions of the North is a retrospective analysis of the state of their technical, economic and other indicators. Given the interrelated and interdependent properties of the economic potential, it is proposed to develop the production and consumer potentials of the agro-industrial complex of the regions of the North in a single context of relevant economic relations and development strategies. Emphasis should be placed on the constant renewal of the elements of the economic potential of the agro-industrial complex of the Northern regions. An important role in increasing the economic potential of the agro-industrial complex of the Northern regions should be played by the formation of regular state financial, economic, legal and other support for the agro-industrial complex of the regions of the North. The long-term strategic line for the development of the agro-industrial complex of the regions of the North should be determined not only by the level of production and sales of marketable products, but also by the combination of state and non-state program measures into a clear and coordinated effective system of strategic measures. It is recommended to regularly transform the elemental structures of the agro-industrial complex of the Northern regions from a passive state into an active carrier of intellectual capital, fixed assets and investments.
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Scientific article
The current economic and environmental agenda presents complex challenges for enterprises in the energy sector. In the context of simultaneous growth in global energy consumption, the continued dominance of fossil fuels in the energy mix, and increasingly demanding international climate policy requirements, oil and gas companies are compelled to transition toward more sustainable operational models. One of the key directions of such transformation is decarbonization. This study aims to conceptualize decarbonization in relation to the specific characteristics of the Russian oil and gas sector. Four dominant approaches to interpreting this phenomenon are identified, and a refined definition is proposed, adapted to the operational conditions of oil and gas companies. Particular attention is paid to the specific features of the Russian oil and gas industry, including the concentration of production capacity in the Arctic region, which is highly sensitive to the consequences of climate changes. Based on empirical data from major Russian companies, current trends in greenhouse gas emissions reduction are analyzed, including instances of decreased decarbonization efficiency and, conversely, emission growth. The study systematizes the key internal and external factors influencing the choice of decarbonization strategies: the political and legal conditions, the structure and quality of the resource base, the degree of state participation, the geographical distribution of assets, and emission dynamics. It is revealed that there is a lack of unified targets or regulatory guidelines for emission reductions in the oil and gas industry, which leads to fragmentation in the strategies and variability in the selection of instruments for achieving carbon neutrality. As a result of the study, a conceptual vision of decarbonization for Russian oil and gas companies is developed, encompassing promising development directions and the specific nature of industry transformation under the conditions of Northern and Arctic resource development.
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Scientific article
Migration issues are considered through the stratification and globalization approaches. Emphasizing the importance of the classic theories, the author reviews the key studies of migration, as well as the empirical projects implemented by various research centers. Theoretical statements are supported by the analysis of statistics on migration in the Circumpolar region. The article is aimed to demonstrate the heuristic possibilities of solving the urgent problems of migration in the Arctic.
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