Challenges and Opportunities for the Development of Single-Industry Towns in the Russian Arctic

Broad context of the dynamics and prospects of Russian Arctic development within the framework of achieving its strategic objectives indicates the magnitude of the tasks, the solution of which consists in the actualization of, firstly, the risks and opportunities for environmental and social responsibility of vertically integrated companies, whose production branches conduct their activities in the Arctic, and, secondly, the supportive role of the state as the regulator of conditions for the development of business initiatives. The aims of the study are to identify significant factors that influence the dynamics of socio-economic development and to determine the prospects for the development of single-industry towns in the Russian Arctic. Research methods include bibliographical, comparative, economic and statistical analysis. The study substantiates the critical factors limiting the development opportunities of single-industry towns in the Russian Arctic. The first group is represented by the state of mineral resource base, which determines natural limits and cyclicality of production activities of city-forming enterprises. The second group is the global crisis phenomena, producing the dependence of production of city-forming enterprises on the external conjuncture of prices for raw materials and main export items. The third group includes risks of fulfilment of budgetary obligations. Taken together, these factors limit the opportunities for economic diversification of single-industry towns in the Russian Arctic and the development of entrepreneurial activity there. It has been revealed that the promising opportunities for the development of single-industry towns in the Russian Arctic are limited by the priority areas of investment activities of vertically integrated companies and imperfect state instruments of development support. The practical significance of the study is determined by the current trajectory of territorial development within the framework of the global strategy for sustainable development of extractive industries of a city-forming nature that takes into account not only risks, but also opportunities.