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Arctic Yearbook 2013
The Russian Arctic Strategy to 2020
2.
If we compare the Russian Strategy with previous Russian Arctic documents of the last 20
years we can distinguish a clear breakthrough:
i)
in new priorities regarding the innovative modernization of the Arctic economy,
Arctic zone in all directions. What is important is that innovative and economic
priorities are mentioned more often than defense priorities;
ii)
in a new social agenda – first is development for the Arctic people, then for state
interests. Social priorities of Arctic development are declared much more clearly
than before;
iii)
the topic of international cooperation has never been addressed in the Arctic federal
documents in Russia in such a condensed and precise manner.
3.
As we can see in all Arctic strategies of the polar states, Arctic federations understand their
sovereignty fundamentally different from unitary states, and Russia is not the exception.
Because of this, a special block of questions in the Russian strategy is related to property
rights on the resources of the Arctic land and sea, that is Russia‘s sovereignty rights in the
Arctic region. The document covers the issues of the delimitation of the space in the Arctic
sea in the region of the Lomonosov Range; issues related to the Russian presence in the
Svalbard archipelago; and on the utilization of the results of research in history, culture and
economics prove that Russia does have historic rights of the concrete areas in the Arctic
seas.
4.
Russia was and is the world leader in issues of the polar navigation. Not surprisingly, this is
one of the priorities of the Russian polar policy. The Russian strategy mentions
infrastructural issues connected with the development of the Arctic transportation system
very broadly understood as the national transportation artery, oriented on the all-season
functioning and including the Northern Sea Route, meridian river and rail communications
and airports network; development of the Arctic ports and new logistical complexes; and
development of the coastal infrastructure in general not only for navigation but also for the
fisheries. Arctic transportation system and infrastructural mega-projects should provide not
only lateral integration of the Arctic territories, but also integration in a north-south direction
with the developed regions of Russia.
5.
Arctic business services are a new phenomenon in the Russian strategy. The document
mentions Arctic business services as an entity embracing polar hydrographical provision;
monitoring of the extraordinary natural and social events; industrial safety services to react
rapidly to emergency situations in exploratory and exploitation drilling activities; marine
seismic exploration, etcetera. Inside the Arctic Service Strategy is addressed knowledge-
intensive marine service complexes with marine geology, satellite communications, mobile
telephone networks, Internet wireless access and other elements.
6.
In the period till 2020 the speed of development of the Arctic knowledge-intensive business
services will be higher than in the rest of the sectors of the Arctic economy.