Assessment of the transport connectivity of the European North of Russia

Transport connectivity has been and remains one of the key endogenous factors in the socio- economic development of the Russian Federation. At the same time, in relation to the northern regions of Russia, connectivity is a factor not so much in terms of development as retention and preservation of the development of their territories, which is strategically important for the country due to the existing natural resource potential. The article analyzes the trends in the development of the transport system of the European North of Russia based on official statistics. As a result, its strengths have been identified, including the presence of all types of transport and related infrastructure on the territory, international transport corridors, etc., as well as its weaknesses, including a low density of highways, a high degree of depreciation of fixed assets, etc. The assessment of the transport connectivity of the largest settlement nodes in the European North has been carried out. As a result, it was found that the existing configurations of road and rail networks between them are significantly inferior to “ideal” options. Thus, the routes within the automobile network are about 51% longer than the shortest possible ones, and the railway is 1.7 times longer. It is shown that weak transport connectivity is a consequence not only of natural limitations but also of the weak efficiency of mechanisms for the development of the transport system.