The development of the Arctic is still taking place in line with the pre-industrial and industrial development of the world economy, typical for the colonization of both America, Africa, Indochina, the annexation of Siberia or the development of virgin lands in the USSR. This conclusion was made by the scientists of Tyumen State University, having analyzed the economic transformation of the regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.
“Due to the prevailing factors of historical development in the Arctic territory of Russia, various combinations of state-territorial formations have formed - republics, territories, regions and autonomous okrugs. The formation of the structure of the gross regional product (GRP) in them has always occurred under the influence of the random distribution of natural resources and territorial distance from the central part of the country, regardless of what it was called - the Moscow kingdom, the Russian Empire, the USSR or the Russian Federation, - explained the professor of the department Economics and Finance of Tyumen State University Valery Gamukin.
- The formal entry of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation into the Arctic zone since 2014 could not have a significant impact on the change in their GRP structure. This indicates the inadequacy of measures of purposeful impact on the development of this macroregion on the part of the main stakeholders - federal, regional authorities and business structures. It should be recognized that this is based on the underdevelopment of modern mechanisms for centralization and effective use of financial, human and other resources required for large-scale development of the Arctic zone."
The study showed that in the past 15 years, the trend of a decrease in the share of agriculture and forestry, hunting, manufacturing, transport, communications and financial activities continues. At the same time, there is a dynamic increase in the share of mining, construction, hotels, restaurants and the provision of other utilities, social and personal services.
For example, the extraction of minerals has increased in all constituent entities of the country included in the Arctic zone: in aggregate, it has grown from 29, 81 to 37, 47%, while manufacturing production has decreased from 20, 84 to 12, 84% (from 2005 to 2015). With regard to the Arctic, the increase in the rate of extraction of minerals with a low degree of their processing gives reason to assume an increase in the negative impact on the ecology of the region, experts say.
“The global trend in the transformation of the economic structure of the Arctic macro-region is the trend towards a more balanced participation of the subjects of the Russian Federation due to the high dynamics of the extractive sector of the economy,” says Valery Gamukin. - In the Arctic, the industrial logic of development is strengthening, involving large-scale industrial development of natural resources. The decline in the share of transport can be stopped due to the practical implementation of projects for the use of the Northern Sea Route. But the risks of conservation of the vectors of economic development required in the post-industrial era remain."