External risks of Russian Arctic zone monotowns’ development

Implementation of “The Strategy for the Russian Arctic Zone Development and National Security Provision 2020” provides a significant increase in economic activity of the single-industry towns (monotowns). Such towns were established in the 30-80s for the purpose of commercial development of the North natural resources. Monotowns are classified into 6 groups according to the type of industry around which they are concentrated. Nine out of sixteen towns are identified as small ones due to the low level of population. Most of the core enterprises located in monotowns have specialized resources, are export-oriented, and constitute a productive part of the vertically integrated structures. However, in the long term they can be estimated as regional growth points in case a targeted elimination of external risks is secured. Eternal risks include depletion of mineral resources, dynamic changes in domestic and global markets, negative impact on the environment. The main mechanisms of external risks’ elimination are diversification of singleindustry economies and innovative modernization of the export-oriented enterprises on the basis of technological and competitive logistics considering environmental factors.