Specifics of the socio-economic development of a northern region: Strategies and expectations (the case of the Arkhangelsk Region)

Drawing on the case of the Arkhangelsk Region, this article uses methods of economic-statistical and sociological analysis to uncover various aspects of the contemporary socio-economic development of a typical northern region. The findings indicate that the situation in the Arkhangelsk Region continues to deteriorate: the region's share of the country's gross regional product is declining, as are the size of its population and the number of its enterprises. Drawing on expert interviews conducted by the authors in 2025, three groups of investment projects of the greatest strategic importance for the region were identified: 1) “transport and logistics”; 2) “utilization of the resource base”; 3) “the military-industrial complex and shipbuilding”. Examples of projects within each group, as set out in the territory's long-term development plans, are examined. However, given the time lag between investment and economic return, and given that most of the projects are still in their early stages of implementation, no substantial improvement in the socio-economic indicators of the Arkhangelsk Region can be expected in the medium term. The article also presents the findings of a representative mass survey of the region's residents. The aim of the survey was to obtain subjective assessments of the current socio-economic situation in the country and the region and to identify the public's vision of the key directions for the territory's development. The majority of respondents consider the current economic situation in the Russian Federation, and in the region in particular, to be satisfactory. At the same time, those surveyed perceive the current economic position of the Arkhangelsk Region in a more negative light than that of Russia as a whole. The study reveals a mismatch between the population's social expectations and the vision of the region's “image of the future” that is being put forward by the authorities. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility that its results might be used by the authorities as an information base for adjusting the goals and objectives of regional economic policy .