Social-psychological well-being of rural population in the White Sea coastal area as the risk factor for the Arctic policy

Annotation

The article represents a generalized data from sociological survey of social-psychological well-being of the rural population of the coastal areas in Arkhangelsk region (included into the Russian Arctic zone) held in 2015. The data shows a critical level of social pessimism, assurance of residents in continuation of negative social-economic dynamics, deficiency of motivation and readiness for active participation and inclusion into the development of territories. Such a status is based on a deep degradation of local industries, infrastructures and social sphere, which has been confirmed by statistic data. The revealed indicators explain high migration preparedness, especially in groups of working ages, proceeding, in the middle-term prospective, to the risk of depopulation and disintegration of social carcass in the coastal areas which, in their turn, possess a significant resource potential. At that, residential population on these areas considered as strategic factor from the perspective of Russian geopolitical interests in the Arctic. A positive trend may be provided through implementation of spatial approach to the social-economic development, which has been already applied in activities held by the Russian State Commission on the Arctic Development. With that there is obvious relevance of correction of the Russian legislation toward transformation of residential population into the beneficiary party of the macro-regional development, which may be provided by establishing of special regimes and preferences in spheres of natural resource use, tax assessment, entrepreneurship and crediting for all groups indigenous (resident) population, including aboriginal people of the North.

About authors

Candidate of Historical Science, head of laboratory, Federal Research Center for Integrated Arctic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation), member of Social and Humanities Working Group, International Arctic Science Committee (IASC SHWG).

Keywords

Russia, Arctic zone, coastal rural areas, indigenous (resident) population, social-psychological well-being, migration, labor force balance, degradation of local economy, spatial development

DOI

10.17238/ ISSN2221-2698.2016.24.27

UDC

316.346