New publication on the strategic management system for the development processes of Northern Russia

At the begining 2014, the publishing house of Syktyvkar State University has released a new scien--‐ tific monograph "The Strategic Management Process Spatial Development of the north of Russia: problems and perspectives", in which the mature field--‐ investigation mechanisms of the political control of processes of strategic development of the Arctic and subarctic areas of Russia [1].

Reviewers of the research were highly skilled specialists: Department of humanities and social sci--‐ ences Syktyvkar Forest Institute; K.Cherkasov G., Ph.D., Professor, Head of the Department of Phi--‐ losophy, Sociology and Political Science Komi State Pedagogical Institute; YP Shabayev, doctor of historical sciences, professor, head of the Institute of Ethnography of the language, literature and history of the Komi Science Center.

Theoretical foundations of the steel works of the domestic and foreign scientists, docu--‐ mentary sources, analytical, statistical and sociological materials. The used source base has al--‐ lowed a study of the strategic planning processes of the northern territories of Russia and to de--‐ velop recommendations for their improvement.

The general direction of the research should be defined as the analysis methods of the strategic planning processes of the development of the north of Russia. Work performed as part of the operations research and the political and managerial forecasting.

In the first chapter the authors analyze the approach to the process of the strategic man--‐ agement of the northern Russia. Exploration undergo major factors affect conductivity in modern Russian policy towards the arctic and subarctic regions. In particular, political, mental, social, eco--‐ nomic, scientific and etc

An important aspect of this part of the monograph was to identify the specifics of the con--‐ trol system in Russia in comparison with European and Asian models of governance.

The Russian system of governance characterized by mixed type includes both authoritarian tradition of making and implementing policy decisions and liberal elements needed to make the country a system of the interaction with European democratic countries in global political, eco--‐ nomic, social and cultural processes [2].

Important place in the book is the study of the mental peculiarities of Russian society and the identification of the impact of these features on the development processes of the country. The researchers conclude that in the modern Russia as a whole formed an unfavorable politica culture for the perception and realization of the democratic values and norms of life.

Analyzing the administrative mechanisms of the strategic management, the authors carried out the dichotomy of the governance in the North and the South of Russia. While in the North, a system of management of the development, in the South --‐ a system of controlled chaos.

Currently clearly built managerial hierarchy in the management decisions on the develop--‐ ment of the Russian North: decisions are taken by the Security Council of Russia, then through the federal district "down" in the regions where the process takes place in the future of their imple--‐ mentation. It does not always take into account the specifics of the region, leading to a slowdown and the imbalance of the development.

The second chapter studies the main mechanisms of regional development planning pro--‐ cesses of the north of Russia. This specificity is considered in comparison with the systems of the political planning of the similar processes in developed countries bordering Russia in the Arctic zone. In particular, the systems development planning in the US, Canada and Norway.

Comparing the management practices in Russia and the countries competing in the Arctic region, the authors conclude that the domestic management system is significantly inferior to for--‐ eign models. This is reflected in the low efficiency of the control system, along with the presence of a large resource base in the country that maintained the existing control mechanisms. This analysis was conducted as part of the disclosure of ideas, Sallust wrote: "Any position of power could claim only those means and art, through which it was originally purchased" [3].

Exploring the competing sides in the Arctic, the researchers identified three clusters:

• 1)    The countries of the former USSR (Russia and Belorussia);

• 2)    Countries of NATO (Denmark, Canada, Norway, USA);

• 3)    Neutfral countries (Iceland, Finland, Sweden).

Each of these clusters has its own specific management culture: 1) --‐ messianism; 2) --‐ prag--‐ matism; 3) --‐ possibilism. This fact is one of the main factors in the formation of the internal and foreign policies of the individual countries on the strategic development of the Arctic.

By analyzing the threats and contradictions of the northern Russia, the researchers con--‐ clude that the existing system of strategic management of the northern territories of the country allows for weakly basic contradictions of the development. Among the contradictions noted: be--‐ tween increasing geopolitical importance of the Arctic and the intensification of the struggle for resources, and the reduction of the protectionism and compensation in the management process--‐ es of the Arctic exploration; between the growth of the value of the Arctic resources and the de--‐ velopment of the destructive processes in the economy and the social sphere in the region; be--‐ tween the zones of occurrence of the alleged innovations and extractive industries; between the need to ensure socio--‐economic development in the Arctic on the basis of long--‐term, strategically defined priorities, goals, objectives, and the lack of a consolidated vision (managers, scientists, communities) strategic development perspectives of the region [4, 5, 6].

Based on the research experience of the process management and the development of the Arctic Arctic regions of Russia and its competitors in the Arctic, the authors develop recommenda--‐ tions for improving the strategic planning processes of the development of the northern territories of the country. In particular, the developed model: a balanced system of the regional governance, balanced system of the innovative strategic management, effective strategic decision--‐making on the development of the arctic and subarctic regions of the country, a comprehensive system of strategic management in the north of Russia, a strategic planning system and others.

These recommendations may be useful in the formation of the effective management sys--‐ tems development processes of the northern territories of Russia.