The Other Arctic: Experience in System Diagnostics

The difference between the Russian Arctic and other territories of Russia is not limited to the extreme climate, low population density and weak transport links. There are many more such differences and they must be taken into account when forecasting and making decisions about the development of this territory. The first of these differences is the delineation of the Arctic into a single object of federal regulation, thus creating an area that has no analogs either in Russia or in the world in terms of heterogeneity of its structure. Special decisions are required to redevelop the Arctic “Soviet legacy,” the result of the unique genesis of the economic, social and infrastructural potential of the Arctic. Threats, challenges and risks for all types of Arctic activities are different from other territories. These and other features shape the real image of the “other Arctic” as a subject of new research and regulatory activity.