The arctic council as an international forum of the state cooperation: the participation of Russia

Introduction. The article estimates the activity of Russia in the Arctic Council by highlighting the following criteria: the number of Russia’s delegates to participate in the Council meetings; the number of projects funded by Russia; the number of projects initiated by Russia; the number of comments made by Russia’s representatives at the Council meetings. Aims. To assess Russia’s activity in the Council’s work, the intensity of Russia's interaction with this institution, to identify correlations between Russia’s participation in the work of the Council and the implementation of environmental policy in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Methods. Neorealism, the systems approach and the documents analysis. Results. The activity of Russia in the work of the Council was evaluated; correlations between the intensity of Russia's participation in the Council’s projects and the implementation of the Russian environmental policy in the Arctic zone were established. Conclusion. Russia started modernizing its policy in the Arctic region and taking an active part in the work of the Arctic Council in 2004, with the peak of this activity being in 2004-2006. Since 2013 Russia has re-activated its activities in the Council. Now the number of delegates from Russia is proportionate to the number of other member countries representatives. The country is the leader in financing the Council’s projects, along with Canada. Within the framework of its obligations, Russia is actively implementing the policy of ensuring environmental security in its Arctic region, the work being carried out in 5 main areas. In general, ensuring environmental security and protecting the unique natural environment of the Arctic region are priorities for all Arctic countries.