– In the current situation, the significance of the Arctic for the national security and steady economic development of the country is growing. The economic foundation for controlling an area is development of the transport and energy infrastructure, maintenance of the population system through advancing economic growth poles and classification of regional economies. At present, however, the economic space of region remains highly differentiated. Negative socio-economic tendencies prevail in most regions, – Alexander Volkov remarked, starting his presentation.
In the study, which included a large-scope questionnaire survey of local people, the scientist revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the regional socio-economic system as well as the strategic opportunities and threats for its development.
As the region’s weaknesses, Alexander Volkov named the limited human resources, uneven spatial distribution of productive forces, and complex land-related formalities. The key threats are curbing of specialized Arctic development programs, growing competition for highly qualified personnel against large economic centers, mainly Moscow and St. Petersburg, and external global shocks.
The main constraints for the region’s development appear, first of all, in the loss of population from all parts of the Karelian Arctic. People leave the North because of a deficit of high-paying jobs, lack of continuing education institutions, and poor access to adequate medical services.
Junior Researcher at the Institute of Economics KarRC RAS Alexander Volkov and KarRC RAS Secretary for Science Natalia Fokina
A planned output from this study will be recommendations on anchoring the human capital to the Karelian Arctic.
The hot topic of Alexander Volkov’s presentation sparkled a great discussion among the participants. In particular, the speaker was asked about his opinion on how well-grounded was the decision to include some districts of Karelia into the Arctic zone. Among the natural-geographic criteria, he named belongingness of part of the territory to the White Sea drainage basin. What matters most, however, is the economic expediency of including these districts in the Russian Arctic zone, seeking to “invigorate these territories”.
In his question, Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy Alexander Slabunov asked to evaluate the population loss from northern regions from the perspective of saving the resources that would otherwise be invested in small communities – growth points with on/off worker rotation.
– Performing economic activities and maintaining the social infrastructure for the population of the Arctic is far more costly than in southern regions or Central Russia, – Alexander Volkov concurred. – Yet, the significance of the Arctic zone has been growing immensely. Deployment of extractive industries and rising significance of the Northern Sea Route meet the government-adopted strategic objectives. Fulfillment of these objectives depends on the territory being involved in economic activities and on tougher control over the territory. This requires both a functional transport infrastructure and active economic use of the territory.
Pavel Druzhinin, Head of the Department for Regional Development Modeling and Forecasting, Institute of Economics KarRC RAS
Alexander Volkov’s Research Supervisor, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Economics KarRC RAS, Doctor of Economics Pavel Druzhinin told about how the problems specified in the study are handled in the neighboring Nordic countries. One of the solutions is revival of educational centers.
– Finland started developing universities in its northern periphery. The first one to open in 1958 was the university in Oulu; then, in the 1970s, universities were opened in Rovaniemi and Joensuu. So when we look at how the pattern of population migrations over the country was changing, we see that it remained stable and anchored in places with educational centers. The availability of training arrangements enables part of the population to either start their own business or get involved in the businesses already operating in the region, – the scientist remarked.
In Karelia on the other hand, educational organizations in its districts got massively shut down in the 1990s.
– Only three towns [of the Karelian Arctic] have specialized secondary education institutions, while three district centers have none, meaning that people to leave the place. This is a big problem, as well as the health care problem, for creating a favorable living environment. Judging by surveys all over the Russian Federation, two things matter the most for the youth: career opportunities and good living conditions, – Pavel Druzhinin added.
Wrapping up the discussion, Alexander Slabunov highlighted the important role of the Karelian Research Centre RAS in shaping the program for wise development of the Arctic region. He proposed adding a note on the need to promote interdisciplinary studies of the Karelian Arctic to the draft resolution of the Learned Council meeting.
KarRC RAS Director General, RAS Corresponding Academician Olga Bakhmet
In her turn, KarRC RAS Director General, RAS Corresponding Academician Olga Bakhmet remarked on the attention that the Government of Karelia pays to scientific studies of Arctic regions. “Sociological surveys are especially important. They provide the feedback from the public that is so much needed”, - stressed the Director General, suggesting that the scientists prepare a memo for authorities based on the results of the study.
In addition to the scientific presentation, the agenda of the September meeting of the KarRC RAS Learned Council included awarding of post graduate diplomas and elections of the leader for the Biological Sciences research area.
