Human Capital of the Russian Arctic
and the Role of Sustainable Cities in Its Preservation and Development
By Evgeny Shepelev,
editor of electronic scientific journal “Arctic and North”
(Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Arkhangelsk, Russia)
Human capital may be called the most important resource of any state, any society in the
21st century. It consists of people, their knowledge, skills, and will. Numerous mineral resources,
vast territory, powerful military – all these things are significant. But if there are no people to use the
resources, to explore and develop the territory wisely and effectively, a state will not last long.
The role of human capital can be seen very well, if we look at the example of Singapore. In
1960-s, when this city became independent, it had no industry, no natural resources, no skilled
workers, no reputation in international affairs. Finally, it was nothing but a small island between
Malaysia and Indonesia. This city was predicted to lead a miserable life forever. But within 20 years
it became the center of economy in the region, its financial and transportation centre, the richest
country with well-educated population. Why? Because they knew that the only resource they had
were their people, and only education and adequate laws could give Singapore advantage. They have
saved and fortified their human capital, and they have succeeded in state building and development.
The Arctic nowadays is becoming more and more interesting for many countries because of
its natural resources and prospects in transportation due to climate changes. For Russia, the Arctic is
a strategically important region due to its military role and the amount of natural resources, which are
necessary for Russian economy.
If we think of the development of the Russian Arctic, necessity of which is evident, we see
at least two obstacles:
1) climate conditions are severe;
2) infrastructure is quite poor.
And these points lead to the main trouble of the development of the Russian Arctic:
nowadays we do not have enough human capital to develop the Arctic really effectively.
Human capital and its problems can be measured with the Human Development Index,
which considers the level of income, life expectancy, and the level of education, as well as some
other indicators. HDI of Russia is lower than that of other Arctic states, and the HDI measurements
of the North of Russia are even lower.
In 2007 there was conducted a study of HDI in Russian regions, and thanks to it we can see
the measurements of the regions situated in the European North of Russia, and we can compare it to
the average measurements of Russia and the countries of Northern Europe (Table 1).
Table 1. HDI measurements in the countries of Northern Europe
and some northern regions of Russia [1, 2].
Country or region
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Russia
Arkhangelsk region
Murmansk region
Republic of Karelia
Komi Republic
Republic of Sakha
GDP per capita,
US dollars (PPP)
58 258
36 139
34 107
15 719
10 878
9 709
9 115
13 382
12 658
Life expectancy
HDI
81,0
81,3
80,1
67,2
66,1
66.4
65,1
65,5
65,5
0,938
0,885
0,871
0,719
0,704
0,696
0,687
0,711
0,799
Unfortunately, there were no such studies in Russian regions since 2006-2007, and after the
methodology of HDI measurement changed in 2010, it is more difficult to calculate it (we have to
consider gender disproportions and extreme deprivation – this data is hard to obtain). As a result, the
contemporary situation waits for researchers.
At the same time, we can mention some other things which show the troubles of human
capital in the North of Russia. Between 1989 and 2002, polar regions of Russia lost 25% of their
population due to the risen up mortality and migration. Murmansk region lost 33% of population
between 1990 and 2011, Komi Republic lost 27%, Arkhangelsk region – 22%, Republic of Karelia –
18% [3]. Many people moved from the countryside and small towns to cities, many moved to cities
of other regions, willing to find better jobs and climate. As for the income, it is insufficient in the
regions which do not have oil and gas industry – and it is understandable given the severe climate
conditions, huge distances and higher prices of goods caused by these factors.
Considering all what has been said above, we have to ask ourselves the following question:
how do we intend to develop the Russian Arctic, if we have such troubles?
Before answering that, we must also consider that the North of Russia is an urbanized
region, where the role of cities is very important. It means that the fate of human capital in the Arctic
and the fate of cities are interconnected. There are at least 3 possible ways of what to do:
1. Shift work. We let people move to other regions, and by the mid of the century in the
North there will live only people who work in oil and gas industry, forestry, shipping and in the
military. Existing cities will disappear step by step. It is the easiest way. By the way, ideas telling that
it is not necessary to have cities in the North really exist [4].
2. Construction of new high-tech settlements, which will become the center of new
development in the North, while maintaining the existing settlements without their development. It is
the most expensive way.
3. Sustainable and effective development of existing cities: Murmansk, Arkhangelsk,
Severodvinsk, Kotlas, Naryan-Mar and tens of others. It will take many years, a lot of efforts and
funds, detailed legislation to ensure effectiveness of the development.
It is obvious that shift work is not suitable for complex development of a region. Shift work
is good for extracting minerals and supporting some infrastructure, but this approach will turn the
Russian Arctic in nothing but a storehouse of minerals, a place which is a working place for less than
300 000 people and a home for nobody. That is not the way we can use to make the Russian Arctic
and people who live there prosperous, as the income from such shift-work activity will go to the
headquarters of corporations – to Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. That is not the fate the Arctic
deserves.
Sustainable and effective development of existing cities seems to be the most reasonable
idea.
The term “sustainable development” became popular after it was used by the Brundtland
Commission in 1987, in the report titled “Our Common Future”. The term was defined as
development “which implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs” [5]. All institutions and the UN itself were proposed to
implement this principle in now and future activities.
When we speak of sustainable development concerning development of urban settlements,
we mean that all municipal activities, from building and power engineering to education, should be
implemented in ways which do not harm the environment or the needs of future generations. We
already have a lot of cities and towns in the North, with several million people living there, with
more or less developed infrastructure, with industry and educational institutions.
Being a boring (in some way), undeveloped, and cold periphery is the basic trouble of the
North. It is situated far from more developed regions of the South, it has no centers (regional capitals)
which could attract attention and be of interest to new people from other regions, especially young
specialists. And it is not a problem of only Russia, the same can be seen in the north of Norway, for
example, which is slowly being left by the youth, as the youth prefer more promising cities in the
South. It is just the same process which we can see, for example, in Murmansk region.
Environment condition is also a trouble. Condition of water bodies throughout the Russian
Arctic is quite poor and does not meet standards. In industrial cities and their vicinity soil samples are
of poor quality as well. The atmosphere is polluted.
In terms of the UN, northern Russian settlements are more or less sustainable: at least, they
are secure, they have food and water supplies, infrastructure, etc. But, considering what I have just
told, it is not enough to make people live there, not enough to save and develop human capital. The
task is to make these cities and towns:
- attractive for people, so that people migrate to the North, not from it;
- economically effective, so that northern regions become a source of income for entire
Russia without damage to their own needs (become donors, not subsidized territories);
- safe for environment and the needs of the following generations.
When speaking of sustainable development, many researchers give priority to environment
[6], sometimes even in the detriment to economy. Yes, we must consider that the environment of the
Arctic is vulnerable. At the same time, I would propose to use the term “sustainable” in economical
sense – one that uses resources wisely and has prospects for non-stop development in foreseeable
future. We should make human capital, its preservation and further development, as well as economic
development, one of the top goals of the entire strategy of the development of the Russian Arctic.
We would like to see the Arctic as a set of regions of full value, with developed economy,
infrastructure, and with happy people who would consider the Arctic their home. This, for sure, does
not mean that we should spoil the nature with industrial pollution, oil or whatever. We can do nothing
in the Arctic without people living there. So, human capital is to be saved and developed –
sustainable cities and towns will help to reach this goal.
The North of Russia has potential. It has natural resources, more or less developed
infrastructure, and even despite the low population density, the Russian Arctic still has more
inhabitants than the Arctic zones of other countries.
To conclude, what can we do to develop human capital in the Arctic, develop economy and
protect environment?
- use foreign experience and international cooperation (reconstruction of factories in
Murmansk region with help of Norway is an example of such cooperation). Separated waste
collection (already exists in several buildings in Severodvinsk);
- develop power engineering, using gas and granulated wood (wastes of timber industry and
wood working) instead of fuel oil, and nuclear power plants instead of gas. Power plant built by
“Vorkutaugol”, which uses methane (assist gas) from their coal mine to produce electricity and heat,
is an interesting project, which makes the mine almost self-sufficient – and it is one of the indicators
of sustainability [7]. Hopefully, in future we will be able to use fast-neutron reactors and
thermonuclear power plants. “Nuclear batteries” are a good option for some cases too (remote
stations, small villages…);
- create new industrial and postindustrial facilities, use innovative technologies in all
possible spheres. Government should encourage it with tax preferences and low-cost loans. Economy
is based on resources, production, and knowledge, not only on shopping centers and banks;
- encourage migration to the North, giving plots of land and financial support to new
residents;
- create free economic zones (in ports, at least);
- make minimum wage for the North bigger than that in other parts of Russia (now they are
equal, and that is not reasonable, as cost of living in the North is higher);
- pay more and more attention to medicine, education, transport, communications.
If we look at the example of Arkhangelsk and its region, we see that it is necessary to do the
following:
- continue developing NArFU, which may become the foundation of new development of
Arkhangelsk (now it is not). Also we must remember that another university of Arkhangelsk,
Northern State Medical University, is the only medical university in the North of Russia.
- develop transport (traffic jams in the city are becoming a trouble, bridges cannot handle the
traffic, road quality in the region is poor);
- build a waste recycling complex near Arkhangelsk (it was scheduled for 2015, but nothing
has been done yet, so it will take several more years…);
- build new industrial facilities, for example, producing granulated wood (renewable power
source), and develop the ship-building cluster of Arkhangelsk and Severodvinsk, which is of great
importance to these cities and the entire country.
- use polymer pipes for heating main instead of metal ones. The polymer ones cost more, but
they greatly reduce energy losses and do not need so many changes and repairing. This is important
for other cities as well, as 80% of heat mains are depreciated and need a change as soon as possible.
And it is only a small list of things to do.
Hopefully, within several years the government of all levels will take measures to develop
the Arctic, its cities and towns, thus ensuring that human capital is preserved and developed. We
should discuss this topic and create ideas, which may be useful if implemented.
References:
1. Based on: Социальный атлас российских регионов. Интегральные индексы. Индекс
развития человеческого потенциала. URL: http://www.socpol.ru/atlas/indexes/
2. Based on: Human Development Index. URL: http://hdr.undp.org/en/
3. Фаузер В.В. Демографический потенциал северных регионов России, как фактор
экономического освоения Арктики // Арктика и Север. 2013. №10. С.19-47. URL:
http://narfu.ru/upload/uf/4d9/AaN_2013_10.pdf
4. Хилл Ф., Гэдди К. Сибирское бремя. Просчёты советского планирования и будущее
России. М.: Научно-образовательный форум по международным отношениям, 2007. 328 c.
5. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. 11 December 1987.
URL: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/42/ares42-187.htm
6. Ключникова Е.М. Устойчивое развитие муниципального образования в северном
регионе Российской Федерации – определение // Современные проблемы науки и образования.
– 2013. – № 5.
7. ОАО «Воркутауголь» ввела в эксплуатацию уникальную газопоршневую
теплоэлектростанцию. URL: http://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/49704/
8. Рубан О. Труба на полвека // «Эксперт» №11 (794), 2012. URL:
http://expert.ru/expert/2012/11/truba-na-polveka/