No. 172: Russian Arctic Sustainability

Author(s): Vladimir Didyk, Tobias Holzlehner, Aimar Ventsel
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder, Aglaya Snetkov
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 172
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2015

This edition examines sustainability issues in the Russian Arctic. Firstly, Vladimir Didyk considers the case of a single-industry mining town in the Murmansk region, asking how federal and regional government efforts to support such towns interact with local efforts to cope with the challenges of development. Secondly, Tobias Holzlehner assesses the relationship between official efforts to move towards urbanization in Chukotka, and the choice of some of its populations to return to their old traditional coastal villages. Thirdly, Aimar Ventsel outlines how many individuals in the Sakha Republic become entrepreneurs as a matter of survival, suggesting that these 'reluctant entrepreneurs' do not necessarily try to expand successful enterprises, but instead seek to diversify their holdings in order to avoid risks.

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