Assessment of the Potential of the Arctic Zones of the Russian Federation: Development Prospects

Abstract

This article raises the urgent and at the same time little-studied issue of the Russian Arctic territories’ exploration and development. According to the authors, the Arctic territories’ development is partly the key to the future prosperity of Russia. The Arctic is not only a quite large territory of our country, but also a zone of economic interests of the whole world. Thus, an assessment of the development potential of the Arctic territories is necessary. The authors proposed their own methodology for assessing such potential. The article provides a comparative analysis of nine regions included in the Russian Federation Arctic zone, according to important social and economic parameters: GRP; GRP per capita; population; life expectancy; the land area; production of the mineral reserves (oil, gas); level of tourism development. In the conclusion of the study, based on the data obtained from a comparative country analysis, the authors identified the strengths and weaknesses of each Russian Arctic region, proposed some recommendations for improving the mechanisms for the development of the Russian Arctic regions.