Russia is embarking on a large-scale development of the Arctic territories. We are talking not only about the strategically important Northern Sea Route, but also about other equally important tasks. What is the first thing the state plans to do in the Arctic and how will these territories strengthen the country's security and eventually become profitable?
The Russian Arctic is five million square kilometers, almost 20 thousand km of the sea border. There are strategically important objects of both defense and economic nature along the entire length. Almost 2.5 million people live in 250 settlements beyond the Arctic Circle. During a recent visit to the Murmansk Region, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Center for the Construction of Large-Tonnage Offshore Structures (CSCMS) and held a meeting on the development of settlements in the Arctic. It was decided to pay special attention to the development of those cities and towns of the Arctic in which projects will be implemented that provide key tasks in the field of security and economy.
For the development of Arctic settlements, it is planned to use the experience that has proven itself in the development projects of the Far East. In particular, it is proposed to extend the Far Eastern Mortgage program to the Arctic zone. This will attract new developers to the Arctic and at the same time restrain the growth of housing prices. Under this program, a preferential mortgage at 2% will be provided only for new housing on the primary market and at the price of the Ministry of Construction.
But plans for the development of the Arctic consist not only of urban planning aspects. The arrangement of the places of residence of the inhabitants of the Russian Arctic should be subordinated to the logic of solving the strategic tasks facing Russia on its northern borders. There are four such tasks.
The Northern Sea Route is not only for domestic needs
Firstly, it is the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as an international transport corridor. There is not enough icebreaking fleet for this (which is being built at an accelerated pace and is already many times superior in its capabilities to all other icebreaking fleets combined). It is necessary that there be strong points along the entire length of the Northern Sea Route that provide the possibility of ice exploration, supply of passing vessels, and emergency assistance. Thus, the NSR will become an attractive route for international transport companies and, due to this, will begin to bring substantial funds to the Russian budget.
The passage along the Northern Sea Route should not be a dangerous expedition to uninhabited places, but a routine event, no more difficult than the passage of the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.
To do this, it is necessary to carry out a huge preparatory work. So far, the growth of cargo turnover along the Northern Sea Route is mainly due to an increase in the export of resources extracted in the Arctic zone and an increase in the import of equipment and materials intended for the development of production, the creation of infrastructure and the arrangement of settlements. But the importance of transit should also increase.
In the near future, it is planned to redirect oil shipments from the Baltic ports and, possibly, Novorossiysk to the Northern Transport Corridor. The port in the Nenets settlement of Indiga on the shore of the Barents Sea will open new opportunities for oil transshipment via the NSR. The federal project includes the construction of not only the port, but also the Indiga–Sosnogorsk railway.
Development of the Arctic pantry
Secondly, it is a comprehensive development of the natural resources of the region. Promising oil- and gas-bearing provinces are located in the Arctic. And besides, there are huge deposits of coal, which are of particular importance if it becomes possible to transport coal by sea.
Finally, there are rich deposits of ores of various metals in the Arctic.
And Norilsk, where 85% of Russian nickel and cobalt production, 70% of copper, and more than 95% of platinum group metals are mined (and smelted). Silver, selenium and tellurium are mined in the deposits of the Norilsk ore district.
But this is not the only pantry. The mining complex for lead extraction on Novaya Zemlya is currently being designed. It is planned to develop the Pizhem deposit of titanium ores and quartz sands in the Komi Republic. There are a number of other projects.
Production and industry
Third, industrial development. It is not only about expanding the traditional shipbuilding and shipbuilding capacities in the Murmansk region.
An example of what a small settlement can turn into is the village of Belokamenka, where the Center for the Construction of large–tonnage offshore structures (CSCMS) is located NOVATEK-Murmansk LLC. This is an enterprise that actually builds floating factories that are sent by water to their place of work and are already permanently installed in shallow water there. The possibilities of the new production are wider than the own needs of the company that built it.
In total, 715 new investment projects (both raw materials, production, and infrastructure) have been launched in the Arctic zone in recent years, totaling 1.6 trillion rubles.
Defense and security
And fourthly, the Arctic is the most important line of defense of Russia. During the Cold War, the possibility of a massive US missile and air strike across the Arctic forced the USSR to develop military infrastructure from Murmansk to Chukotka. Today, the growing tension in relations with the United States and NATO forces us to pay attention to the Northern strategic direction again.
Moreover, with Finland's accession to NATO, the strategic importance of the Murmansk Region increases significantly. It becomes necessary not only to strengthen the Northern Fleet, air defense systems and aviation components, but also to build up the grouping of Ground Forces. At least for this reason, as noted by the Governor of the Murmansk region Andrey Chibis, "soon the number of residents of these cities and towns will increase significantly: these are sailors, submariners, marines, motorized skirmishers, tankers, pilots and many others."
Build a self-sufficient economy
The ambitious nature of the plans and the tight deadlines for their implementation require significant funds from the federal budget. However, at the meeting, Putin stressed the need to find extra-budgetary funds. Moreover, initially the development program of the Arctic zone included the principle of creating a self-sufficient economy that would be able to maintain its own functioning and ensure the development of the territory.
The Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, Alexey Chekunkov, explained how this approach works using the example of TSKMS: "A unique plant, where not only the plant construction project itself, but also contractors received the status of a resident of the territory of advanced development... construction companies have registered in the region, and the regional budget has received an additional 4 billion rubles of revenue in two years."
Thus, the Arctic zone should eventually become not only a recipient of budget investments, but also a source of income for both the Arctic regions and the federal budget.
