The Russian Arctic Image at the Present Stage of Development: Romance or Pragmatism?

Every year, the Arctic agenda becomes increasingly relevant in the context of economic and geopolitical development priorities of the circumpolar countries. Such attention and interest in the Arctic stimulates the dynamic growth of this topic in the discourse of modern mass media around the world. In the studies of the international Arctic media discourse, the following trends are observed: high frequency of publications, coverage of the Arctic development problem through informational and analytical genres, as well as the internationalization of the Arctic [1, Dolgoborodova S.O., Avdonina N.S., p. 77].

The rise of interest in the Russian Arctic in the 21st century as a macro-region of the future, which determines the power and capabilities of Russia, is associated with the beginning of a new stage of its “re-development”, declaration of priorities, goals and objectives, as well as mechanisms for implementing the state policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic for a long-term period up to 2035. Various aspects of Russian Arctic development, the problems of its exploitation

NORTHERN AND ARCTIC SOCIETIES

Anna V. Simakova, Irina S. Stepus. The Russian Arctic Image at the Present Stage… are becoming the subject of the information agenda of the Russian mass media of various formats, directions and levels.

Mediatization of the Russian Arctic, in turn, contributes to an increase in the number of scientific studies devoted to the context of the broadcast information agenda. A.Yu. Zhigunov [2, p. 104], based on the analysis of documentaries and publications in the federal Internet media and for the period from 2013 to 2020, has identified the main thematic dominants of materials about the Arctic; the key among them are the militarization of the region, its economic potential, climatic conditions, tourism, research into understudied areas and new hydrocarbon deposits. On the basis of the results of the analysis, the author concludes that the Russian media are fully involved in the idea of developing the Arctic. Interestingly, according to the author’s research, the media image of the Arctic in the Soviet era (1930–1970) was focused on its development, the construction of the Arctic infrastructure and its conqueror-polar explorer.

The multifaceted image of the Russian Arctic is also emphasized in the monograph by Yu.F. Lukin “The many faces of the Arctic in the flow of time and meanings” [3, p. 4], which comprehensively examines all the main spheres of life in the Arctic countries — economics, geopolitics, society and culture.

T.A. Kovrigina’s work [4, p. 71] compares the Arctic content presented in domestic and foreign media. Despite some differences in the information agenda of the circumpolar states, the media agree that the exploration and development of the Arctic territories is a long process, in which the problems of ecology and environmental protection deserve special attention.

It is important to note that the interest in the Russian Arctic is qualitatively different from the Soviet era. Today the state, the business community, Russian and international corporations, public organizations, cultural and art organizations, politicians, bloggers and ordinary people from different parts of the country and the world are interested in the Arctic. Sheila Watt-Cloutier defines it briefly but concisely: “The Arctic is a lot for many people” [5, p. 37].

However, the Arctic has always fascinated with its mystery, beauty, strength, attracted many generations of people who come to “conquer” and “develop” these territories, to study and travel. O.S. Kryukova notes that the Arctic in Russian literature was perceived as “the territory of a severe struggle with the recalcitrant forces of nature, polar romance, northern exoticism, exceptional feelings, true friendship, camaraderie, collectivism and mutual assistance, heroism in peacetime” [6, Kryukova O.S., p. 21].

Today, the Arctic is not just a harsh territory that attracts romantics, but also a strategically important part of the country that requires a new conscious and integrated approach. As part of this study, we decided to look at the Russian Arctic from this side. First, to analyze the image of the Arctic created in the media from romantic and pragmatic perspective.

Since media resources have a great influence on the mass perception of the Arctic, forming the image of the region and the opinion on the socio-economic processes in the Arctic [7, Bol-sunovskaya L.M., Dibrova Yu.A., p. 148], the second task of this study is to analyze the images de- veloped directly among the inhabitants of the Arctic zone of Russia, and to find an answer to the question — “Is the modern Arctic romantic or pragmatic in the minds people”?

Materials and methods

Achieving the objectives of the study necessitates the collection and analysis of factual information, which consists of a selection of media, followed by a study of the content and a survey of the local population. With the help of the indicated methods, on the one hand, the image of the Arctic, broadcast to the general reader in the media, is analyzed, on the other hand, the image of the Arctic, which has developed among the local population as a consumer of media content, is revealed.

Analytical framework, coding system and sampling frame for content analysis

On the basis of the study’s focus, let us outline the territorial framework for the study. Federal media content analyses the image of the Russian Arctic as a whole, and in order to study the regional media context and the perceptions of local residents, the regions of the European part of the Arctic zone of Russia were selected — the Murmansk Oblast, the Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Komi Republic and the Republic of Karelia.

As a source of information for content analysis, electronic media were chosen, which have recently been gaining more and more popularity [8, Ilchenko D.A., Maykova V.P., p. 18]. By the criterion of popularity, three federal level media 2 and eight regional level media have been selected 3 — the leaders in the ratings of media resources by citation rate according to Medialogy as of January 2022. The selected media position themselves as the leading information platforms, promptly covering the latest information and events.

For the study, manifest and latent methods of coding information were chosen [9, Newman L., p. 123], that were used for quantitative analysis, determination of context and search for explicit and latent (implicit) meanings of text. For example, when examining a text, a researcher decides whether it contains a pragmatic or romantic image of the description of the Russian Arctic and records the characteristics of content, key words and sentences. Thus, the unit of analysis is an article published in the media, the unit of context is a characteristic of the context, the construct is the “pragmatic”/“romantic” image of the Arctic broadcast in the media, as well as the context of the population’s perception of information about the Arctic. The fact of mention was used as a conceptualization; positive/negative context, and the frequency characterizes the num-

NORTHERN AND ARCTIC SOCIETIES

Anna V. Simakova, Irina S. Stepus. The Russian Arctic Image at the Present Stage… ber of mentions of the categories of analysis (and their variations) in the articles selected for analysis.

Thus, content analysis in this study has two directions — quantitative and qualitative. A set of scoring units is formed for each region based on the analysis of the broadcast content. For the content analysis of federal and regional media, a search of relevant news content on media websites for 2019-2021 was conducted. Taking into account that the federal media also covers information about individual Arctic regions, reports that present the Arctic as a macro-region were selected for analysis.

On average, a single federal media source contains 450 articles about the Arctic per year, while the regional media contains 30-100 articles on Arctic topics. There are approximately 900 articles per year, for a total of 2700 articles over three years (2019–2021). Thus, the sampling frame is set by the list of all these articles. Since the volume of articles for analysis is large, we will limit the sample to a quantitative ratio of 200 articles in the regional level media and 100 articles in the federal level media. Thus, the representativeness of the sample in the total population is about 10%. Since all issues and years of media outlets are important for the study, a stratified sample type was chosen. Stratification is done by regions, 250/4=62 articles per region. In order to represent the articles for each year, for each region, the sample is divided into 3-20 articles for each of the three years in one region. For the selection of articles, a complete list of articles that mention the Arctic Zone of Russia was compiled. Then, with a given step, every third article gets into the sample.

Population survey as an additional research method

As an additional research method, a population survey was chosen, the purpose of which was to identify the image of the Russian Arctic that has developed among the population of the European part of the Arctic zone of Russia (romantic or pragmatic). The answer options to the questionnaire contain features describing romantic and pragmatic evaluation of the Arctic through associative representations. The object of the study is the permanently residing population of the Murmansk Oblast, the Arctic territories of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia and the Republic of Komi aged over 16.

The survey was conducted by means of an accessible sampling method using an online questionnaire, which was published in the thematic communities of the Arctic regions on the VKontakte social network. The total minimum sample size is preliminarily determined — at least 100 people from each region under study, that is, a total of 400 people, with a gender distribution of 72% women and 28% men, the average age of respondents is 39 years old. The study is characterized as a pilot one, conducted with the aim of probing public opinion. The results of the survey on the implemented sample population, due to their small representativeness, can only be extended to the audience represented in the study.

Research resultsThe image of the Arctic, broadcast in the media at the federal level

In the official discourse, the Arctic is traditionally presented in different semantic categories [10, Nazukina M.V., p. 40]; therefore, during the analysis of the media at the federal level, various images of the Russian Arctic were also identified. It should be noted that the study period of 2019–2021 coincides with the period of adoption of new strategically important documents on the development of the Arctic zone of Russia, so most of the content is related to the implementation of Russia’s state policy in the Arctic. Most of the articles that highlight the Arctic as a national priority contain references to the top government officials.

The second most popular image of the Russian Arctic in the media is the “ investment attraction zone ”: at the current stage, one of the priorities of Russia’s economic policy in the Arctic is to stimulate entrepreneurial and investment activities ⁴. The image “Arctic as a zone of investment attraction” was detailed in 24% of the articles selected for analysis, which deal with investment projects, residents of the Arctic zone, and the system of benefits and preferences for business development.

In third place in terms of publications in the federal media is the image of the Arctic as a place for human life (Fig. 1). These publications raise important topics about creating a social ground — the development of social infrastructure and conditions for a comfortable long-term stay of people, curbing the migration outflow of the population, attracting personnel to the Arctic and developing human capital. Relevant for coverage in this direction was the program of providing land plots up to one hectare — “Arctic hectare”.

space for international               r

„ J                      outpost of national security collaboration national priority                                      area °f investment attraction

Russian Arctic ° p^^f^^

unique ecosystem          /V global transportation corridor pearl of tourism       л л/   ^^^^—

area for research mineral resource base

• Fig. 1.    The most popular images of the Russian Arctic, broadcast in the discourse of the federal media.

The image of the Arctic as a unique ecosystem is identified in 20% of the analyzed articles. This image is revealed through the coverage of the problem areas of the Arctic ecosystem — the need for general cleaning of the Arctic, the climate agenda and global warming, the preservation of biodiversity.

It is impossible to talk about the sustainable development of the Arctic without science, which accounts for 18% of the total messages. Scientific research in the Arctic is carried out in a fairly wide range of areas: military topics, climate and wildlife, geological exploration, historical research, etc. The image “ Arctic as a territory of research ” is also broadcast in articles on the creation of world-class scientific and educational centers in the Arctic, as well as international Arctic stations “Snezhinka”.

The Arctic, in terms of the richest diversity of the mineral resource base , is also quite often covered in the federal media. Articles focus on current and prospective oil, gas and other mineral production, on the activities of large corporations in this sector, as well as on the exploration of Arctic mineral deposits. The field of “Arctic topics in the media is expanding”: for example, a study of media content in 2011–2015, conducted by D. Gritsenko, showed that the agenda of both federal and regional newspapers was mainly devoted to the development of hydrocarbon resources [11, p. 10].

The image of the Arctic as a global transport corridor is devoted to 16% of the analyzed articles, where the main focus is on the development of the Northern Sea Route.

The next two images, “ Arctic as a space for international cooperation ” and “ Arctic as an outpost of national security ” occur with equal frequency and are interconnected with each other. Nowadays, interest in the Arctic is shown not only by the countries of the circumpolar space, but by other leading world powers (China, India, Singapore, etc.). Media coverage is aimed at broadcasting the need to build an effective dialogue with these states, reliable protection of Russia’s state borders in the Arctic.

The development of the Arctic goes hand in hand with increasing accessibility for tourists from different countries, which must be combined with efforts to preserve the unique nature and original culture of the region. The image of the tourism Arctic is not so often covered in the federal media (10% of articles), but there are forecasts that the Arctic will become the pearl of tourism in five years.

In general, the media discourse in the federal media presents the Arctic in a positive way as a special priority territory of Russia. The identified images of the Russian Arctic emphasize the power and strength of the Arctic territories, reveal their special potential. Of course, the federal media does not ignore problematic points (military claims, social infrastructure, climate change, etc.), but in general, all the analyzed information content is optimistic — long-term goals have been set, long-term strategic plans on the development have been outlined. This content corresponds to the slogan “Arctic is the macro-region of the future”.

As for the predominance of a romantic or pragmatic orientation of messages, the highlighted key images of the Arctic suggest that, on the federal level, the Arctic is presented in a more pragmatic way. Only every fourth analyzed article in the media contained some elements of romanticism, mystery, dreaminess. This type of content is found in news reports about the unique Arctic nature, the history of research, the representation of the Arctic in photography, cinema and painting, and descriptions of the culture and traditions of the northern peoples. All statements in the media about the Arctic are generally positive, highlighting specificity, importance and priority of the Russian Arctic. At the same time, attention is focused on the complexity of its development, which is broadcast even in statements that have a “romantic” connotation.

The image of the Arctic, broadcast in the media at the regional level

A separate consideration of the content of the regional media is due to the reflection of the regional context, which forms specific ideas about the Arctic, revealed through images, but in a more detailed dimension. Already at the stage of identifying categories for media content analysis, it can be concluded that pragmatic attitude towards the Arctic (20 categories of analysis) predominates romantic content (5 categories of analysis). Each of the selected articles was then checked for coverage of the topics in the categories shown in Table 1. The largest number of news related to the Arctic topics was recorded in the Murmansk Oblast, followed by the Arkhangelsk Oblast. In the Komi Republic, there is noticeably less news about the Arctic, and in the Republic of Karelia, there is the least amount of “Arctic” news. At the same time, in each of the regions the number of news reports dedicated to the Arctic is growing from year to year.

Similarly to the federal media, in the regional news resources, the most popular content is also about the development prospects of the regions, individual Arctic territories, attraction of investments, general socio-economic development, creation of comfortable life, development of deposits, etc. (Table 1). The intentions of federal and regional authorities and residents of the Arctic zone are broadcast in the media, and the results already achieved are described. In the regions, whose territories are partially included in the AZRF, the information space broadcasts the Arctic as a concentration of serious opportunities for the development of the entire region.

The context of media coverage is predominantly positive. This often includes the identification of particular “pressure points”, which are often described as areas for future development, and which could be further advanced through the implementation of plans for the economic development of the Arctic territories. In the regional media, the Arctic is perceived not as a poor and lagging area, but as a region which has certain limitations that can be overcome with the full attention of the government and the region. From an economic development point of view, the declared objective is to stimulate economic growth, especially in the development of enterprises, the mining sector, the activities of AZRF residents, and social growth is seen as a consequence of successful economic development.

Table 1

Number of articles presenting categories of analysis, broadcast in regional media 5

Categories of analysis	Arkhangelsk Oblast	Murmansk Oblast	Republic of Karelia	Komi Republic
Content categories that characterise coverage of the Russian Arctic from a pragmatic perspective
Development of the Arctic territories	15	24	22	23

Compiled by the authors.

NORTHERN AND ARCTIC SOCIETIES Anna V. Simakova, Irina S. Stepus. The Russian Arctic Image at the Present Stage…					207
Attracting investments, specific investment projects, increasing investment attractiveness	18	20	21	30
Residents of the Russian Arctic, including residents of the Murmansk Oblast’s PDA	6	11	19	8
Development of the socio-economic sphere, creation of a comfortable environment for life, improvement of the quality of life	13	11	18	25
Inclusion of new territories in the Russian Arctic, a reminder of which areas are already part of the AZRF	-	-	18	11
Creation of new jobs, implementation of personnel policy, including the involvement of specialists and special personnel programs	9	17	16	8
Tax preferences, benefits for investors	8	10	13	12
Arctic package - new laws, measures to support entrepreneurs	6	6	11	10
Arctic hectare	2	-	10	3
Development of the Russian Arctic infrastructure (transport and communications, energy, roads, ports)	6	5	9	16
Mining and development of mineral deposits, modernization of enterprises and their capacities	4	7	7	17
Tourism potential, tourism	3	-	6	6
Coverage of federal and regional events (forums, conferences, commissions, etc.)	7	10	6	14
Northern Sea Route	7	4	4	6
AZRF Strategy-2035	8	7	3	7
Conducting scientific research in the Arctic	13	12	-	6
Ecology in the Arctic	10	-	-	10
Cooperation in the Arctic, including international, interregional cooperation	5	9	-	-
Ensuring national and military security in the Russian Arctic	2	8	-	-
Indigenous peoples of the North	2	4	-	4
Content categories that characterise coverage of the Russian Arctic from a romantic perspective
Description of the nature and beauties of the Arctic, sights and heritage	5	5	2	-
Educational activities about the Arctic in the form of expeditions and educational events	12	14	1	3
Exhibitions, art objects, films, events, conferences, festivals	12	21	-	6
Separate reports dedicated to photo and video sketches about the beauties and nature of the Arctic	7	10	-	4
Expression of first-person emotional state of the narrator (reports, stories)	7	-	-	2

In the context of regional media news reports, it is also possible to identify key collective images transmitted to the mass reader. For example, in the media of the Republic of Komi, the Arctic is characterized as “a rich region with great infrastructure potential”, “a territory for the implementation of large-scale and significant infrastructure projects”, “a region whose resources will help in the development of northern municipalities”, “a region with great opportunities for expanding mining”, “a region with prospects and worthy of investors”, “a promising region for tourism development”, etc. The images of the Arctic broadcast in the media of the Arkhangelsk Oblast are similar: “a region for the implementation of profitable projects”, “a unique and naturally rich region”, “a unique and fragile region requiring special care”, “an artery of the Northern Sea Route”, “a foothold for scientific research and cooperation”. The images broadcast in the media of the Murmansk Oblast have much in common with other regions, in which the Arctic is presented as a “region for a new generation”, “a region of profitable investment and business development”, “a region rich in minerals and having a high industrial potential”, “the region is the main artery of the Northern Sea Route”, “the region is the base of the Northern Fleet of Russia”, “the capital of the Arctic”. In general, the images of the Arctic, presented in the regional media, have much in common with the images broadcast by the federal media.

As for the content that broadcasts a romantic image of the Arctic, it is not presented so actively. The Murmansk and Arkhangelsk oblasts stand out in terms of such content. In the Republic of Komi and the Republic of Karelia, is almost not covered from a romantic point of view. It should be noted that the “romantic” content is mainly associated with a description of the beauties of nature, the uniqueness of the climate and the environment, focusing on educating the reader about the most remote territories of the Arctic zone, its exclusivity, fragility and pristine nature. For example, in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, much attention is paid to educational activities, especially among the younger generation: the subject “Arctic studies” has been introduced in schools, and festivals are held. One of the important aspects of broadcasting a positive image of the Arctic among the population is the “first-person” narrative, where the narrator shares his or her impressions about life, work and travels in the Arctic. In one of the articles, the narrator, a volunteer from Moscow, explained in two sentences what the Arctic is like on his personal example: “I thought that polar bears, snow, severe cold are everywhere in the Arctic. But it turned out that so far it is even warmer here than in Moscow. I was also surprised by nature — I did not expect such beauty” 6. Photographs and first-person impressions of Arctic space are not only useful, but essential tools for fully understanding and managing the quality of experiences in unique travel destinations where little is known about the visitor experience [12, Fefer J.P. et al.].

The image of the Arctic in minds of the population

When identifying images of the Arctic in minds of the local population, an open-ended question was used, containing a prompt to guide the respondent’s reasoning using standard stereotypes about the Arctic, associating the Arctic with cold and snow and polar bears, on the one hand, and mining, on the other. The resulting associative series are presented in the form of a word cloud, which is a visual model of text content compression in the form of lexemes differentiated by size depending on the frequency of their use. The obtained associative representations of the population of the Arctic regions contain standard stereotypes, including those reflecting the main characteristics of the Arctic (northern) territories (Fig. 2).

In general, the description of associative representations — images of the Arctic, given by the respondents, contains a more romantic context than a pragmatic one, while the statements are often dominated by the judgment as a statement of fact — “The Arctic is cold, frost, ice”, etc. , description of natural phenomena and emotional attitude to the Arctic, indicated by every third respondent.

• Fig. 2.    Associative representations of the Arctic by local residents of the studied regions, presented in the form of key images, N=409.

It should be noted that negative characterizations of the Arctic among the local population are rare. In the statements of residents about the Arctic, pride for their region and love for the North, the “features” of northern people, are read between the lines. It is also important to note the regional specificity in the associative series. For example, residents of the Murmansk Oblast provided the most detailed answers: images associated with nature and natural phenomena are more common. Every third respondent (33% of the number of respondents from the Murmansk Oblast) noted that the word “Arctic” brings up the image of the northern lights, which is symbolic, since the main symbol of the region and the city of Murmansk — the emblem, depicts the northern lights. As for pragmatic images, the inhabitants of the Murmansk Oblast, in relation to romantic ones, represent 3% and they are expressed through ideas about minerals, work in ice on ships of the merchant and icebreaking fleet. Interestingly, every tenth respondent from the Republic of Karelia associates the Arctic with white nights, while in the Murmansk Oblast, there are more associations with the polar night.

The directions of romantic or pragmatic view of the population about the Arctic are supplemented by the identification of the personal value of the Arctic territories by answering the open question: “What is the value of the Arctic (northern) territories for you personally?”. During the primary data processing, the responses were grouped by region into a number of thematic blocks classified as romantic (6 categories) or pragmatic (3 categories) images. The unequal number of selected categories is due to the prevalence of the description of the value of the Arctic ter- ritories for respondents in a romantic context. Figure 3 shows the share distribution of analysis categories by region. The romantic context is expressed in the fact that for every third respondent, the Arctic territories are valuable by nature, which they describe as unique, pristine, special, beautiful, etc. In second place in terms of value, the Arctic territories are important to respondents because it is their homeland, their place of residence, indicating the importance of being rooted in the Arctic zone and their Arctic (northern) identity. This is most pronounced among residents of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, where every third respondent noted that the Arctic territories are important to him precisely because “this is his homeland”. For every fifth respondent from the Murmansk Oblast, the surrounding beauty of the Arctic space is important. Separately, the importance of the category “people” should be noted, in the description of which the respondents indicate the peculiarity of the northern people, their kindness, hardened Nordic character, and resilience.

Fig.3. “What is the value of the Arctic (northern) territories for you personally?”, in % of respondents by region, N=409.

In addition to personal value, the respondents also described the value of the Arctic for the country as a whole in a closed-ended question. The responses to this question are also regionally specific. Thus, for residents of the Murmansk Oblast, where the largest ice-free port in the world is located, the value and importance of the Arctic territories for Russia lies mainly in the Northern Sea Route and fish, bioresources (these answers were chosen by more than 60% of respondents). Every second respondent from the Arkhangelsk Oblast believes that the Arctic territories are valuable and important for Russia with minerals, northern peoples and their traditions, as well as pristine northern nature (Fig. 4). According to the majority of respondents from the Republic of Karelia, the value and importance of the Arctic territories for Russia lies mainly in the unique flora and fauna and pristine northern nature (57% of respondents).

mining unique climate security of state borders large territory northern peoples and traditions

Northern Sea Route fish and bioresources unique flora and fauna special people permafrost, glaciers, water

large industrial enterprises

pristine northern nature

Arhangelsk region Murmansk region Republic of Karelia Komi Republic

Fig. 4. Distribution of respondents’ answers to the question “What is the value and importance of the Arctic territories for Russia?” in %, N=409.

Based on the results of the survey and the analysis, a typology of the image of the Arctic in minds of the local population was formed. This typology is based on a set of respondents’ opinions on the questions posed. According to the results of the analysis, “pure” types of romantics and pragmatists were identified. The survey data set for the formation of the typology is deciphered in Table 2.

The type is defined under the condition of simultaneous selection of a set of semantic units. Thus, every third respondent belongs to one or another “pure” type of romantics or pragmatists, the remaining 42.7% belong to a mixed type, where romantic and pragmatic attitudes to the Arctic are mixed.

Table 2

Typology of Arctic images in minds of the local population, according to the survey 7

Type	Characteristic	Share of respondents
Romantics	They believe that “to be a northerner” means to be born in the North, to live in the North all your life, to love the North and feel like a northerner. The value of the Arctic territories lies in the unique flora and fauna, special people living there - northerners, unique climatic conditions. Among the advantages of life in the North, closeness to nature, enjoying winter, northern weather are distinguished.	27.3%
Pragmatics	They believe that “to be a northerner” means to be born in the North, to live in the North all your life. The value of the Arctic territories lies in the extraction of minerals, large industrial enterprises, the Northern Sea Route and jobs. Among the advantages of living in the North, they	30%

• ⁷ Compiled by the authors.

  note social support, preferential (northern) vacation, wage supplements, possibility of earning money and early retirement compared to other regions of Russia.

Conclusion

The results of the study showed that the “Arctic” content of modern media at the federal and regional levels is dominated by a pragmatic focus. In general, the Arctic is presented positively as a special priority area of the country. The revealed images of the Russian Arctic, broadcast in the media, emphasize the power, strength, “diversity” of the Arctic territories, reveal their special potential, while drawing attention to “pressure points”, which are points of growth and development.

In people’s minds, the images of the Arctic are presented in a more romantic way. The Arctic is associated by locals with the state of nature, love for the North and beautiful winter. For every third respondent, the Arctic territories are valuable precisely because of nature, is described as unique, pristine, special, beautiful. Every third surveyed resident has a romantic idea and attitude towards it; about half of them have mixed romantic and pragmatic views. The people have mostly positive opinions about the Arctic and no more than 5-7% of respondents have pessimistic views.

The combination of romantic and pragmatic elements is also relevant to specialists working in the Arctic. Today, the integrated development of the Arctic territories requires qualified personnel who are not only filled with romanticism of the northern beauty, but also pursue specific practical goals. Leading employers of the Arctic zone of Russia consider the professionally important qualities of employees, first of all, the desire to live and work in the conditions of the Far North, sufficient health, endurance, readiness for new and complex tasks [13, Stepus I. et al., p. 10004].

One cannot but agree that “the pragmatics of the current moment in the development of the Arctic territories has shown that now it is not so much the northern romance that is important, but the change in the quality of life of the northerners, the creation of conditions for comfortable living in urban and rural areas by arranging infrastructure for people” [14, Fedotov-skih A.V., p. 263]. The attraction and retention of human resources requires clear educational, professional and life trajectories, modern jobs and vibrant socio-cultural environment [15, Stepus I.S., Simakova A.V., p. 1880]. This will ensure the dynamic development of the Arctic territories, which have a unique potential and are filled with the romance of northern splendor.