Transport System of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia): Analysis of the State and Development Challenges

The transport accessibility of the Arctic zone is of strategic interest for Russia from the point of view of the possibility of mineral exploration and ensuring further systemic development of this part of the national territory.The objective of the study is to carry out a spatial analysis of the transport system of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), to identify its topological properties and restrictions that impede providing sufficient logistics services. Based on the method of spatial analysis, the conducted study of the state of the transport system of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) allowed to assess transport provision within its territory for three types of transportation: transport provision of internal regional (local) transportation, transport provision of accessibility (entry and exit) of the territory of the region, and transport provision of transit transportation across the region.The study showed that air transport is the main mode for passenger transportation, while seasonal water and winter road transportation are the main modes of freight haulage.The regions of Yakutia with access to traffic arteries and isolated from them have been identified. Calculations based on the Engel’s coefficient allowed to proceed with a mathematical assessment of the transport system of the region, which indicates its insufficient development due to the lack of year-round transportation routes in the areas of the Far North and the Arctic zone. The transport infrastructure of this part of the region are represented by seasonal winter roads and waterways, which prevents from assessing their general year-round potential. For its assessment, it is necessary to consider seasonal availability of each individual section of the network.

Determination of the potential capacity of the point of primary processing of livestock products (on the example of basin groups of the Arctic zone of Yakutia)

Relevance. Currently, there is a need to develop proposals for the creation of a vertically integrated system of procurement stations with modern slaughterhouses in the Arctic zone of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The methodology for determining the potential capacity of a primary processing point for animal products allows planning the rational placement of production facilities, their state regulation and financing.Methods. At the research we used such methods as monographic, economic and statistical, graphic, computational and constructive methods. The potential capacities are determined on the basis of the necessary equality between the monthly capacity according to the schedule of arrival of animals from agricultural producers and the monthly productivity of the point according to capacity.Results. The article provides a brief analysis of the development of agriculture in the Arctic regions, which are divided into the Anabarskaya, Prilenskaya, Yanskaya, Indigirskaya, Kolymskaya groups of uluses (districts) according to the basin principle of the main navigable rivers. The strategic directions of the development of branches of the agro-industrial complex in the north of Yakutia are considered. The methodology and results of calculating the potential capacity of primary processing points in each group of uluses based on the number of reindeer, horses and cattle (cattle) and seasonality of slaughter and daily capacity for initial planning are presented. According to the results of the study, it is proved that to ensure a relatively full load during the year (except for the summer period) the primary processing centers in the Arctic zone of RS (Ya) can be of small and medium capacity. The layout scheme of the centers for processing livestock products is proposed, taking into account the further optimal increase in performance with capacities: 25 heads per shift — in v. Saskylakh, Anabarsky ulus (district) and Deputatsky settlement, Ust-Yansky ulus; 10 heads per shift — in u.v. Tiksi, Bulunsky ulus and u.v. Chersky, Nizhnekolymsky ulus; 7 heads per shift — inv. Khonuu, Momsky ulus.

Assessment of the pathogenesis of visual impairment naval specialists of the arctic zone of the russian federation during the polar night

Introduction. The climatogeographic conditions of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation are determined by the proximity to the North Pole of the Earth and are characterized by a number of certain cyclical changes that do not take place in the middle latitudes — the polar day and the polar night. The high-latitude location determines the long period of the polar night, lasting from 98 to 133 days. Being the hallmark of the Arctic, the polar night is an integral part of service in the Arctic region, it has an impact on every geographically involved person, without exception.Purpose of work. To assess the mechanisms of the pathogenesis of visual impairment that develop during the polar night in naval specialists.Materials and research methods. The study involved 92 people. The surveyed contingent is male contract servicemen of the Navy, aged from 21 to 45 years. The analysis of the morbidity structure according to the ophthalmological profile was carried out during the polar night from November 20, 2020 to January 20, 2021 using an epidemiological method of a case-control study. The assessment of unfavorable climatic and geographical factors of the Arctic region during the polar night was carried out by the method of analytical observation and data recording from November 20, 2020 to January 20, 2021 using the example of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, Belushya Guba village. On the basis of an integral analysis of epidemiological indicators, climatogeographic and clinical and morphological observations, a pathophysiological assessment of diseases of the organ of vision, developing during the polar night in naval specialists, was carried out.Research results show a high level of ophthalmological morbidity during the polar night among naval specialists serving on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.Conclusions. Climatogeographic factors of the Arctic region have a polyetiological effect on the formation of mechanisms of pathogenesis of disorders of visual functions that develop in naval specialists during the polar night.

Legal regulation of the use and protection of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation: certain relevant issues

The subject of this research is a set of legal norms regulating social relations that arise in the context of use and protection of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The goal lies in formulation of the conclusions and recommendations for the improvement of legal regulation in this sphere. The relevance of the selected topic is substantiated by interest of the state in the development of Arctic Zone as a strategic resource base for accelerating the economic growth of the Russian Federation. Among the priority national interests are also the environmental protection of region, conservation of the native habitat and traditional way of living of the indigenous small-numbered peoples. This emphasizes the importance of intensification of use and preservation of the vulnerable areas of the region. The author dwells on the current issues of the formation of territories of traditional management of natural resources and legal status of their lands; rights of the indigenous peoples to land in their native habitat and traditional economy; provision of land plots to entrepreneurs who are the residents of the Arctic Zone; protection of the Arctic lands, etc. The conclusion is made on the existence of gaps and contradictions in legislation of the indicated sphere, which requires revision and improvement. This pertains to the questions of formation of the territories of traditional management of natural resources, maintenance and modification of their boundaries, establishment of the special protection regime in the federal law, etc. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the adopted simplified procedure for providing entrepreneurs who are residents of the Arctic Zone with land plots aimed at expansion of the development of natural resources of the Arctic, may negatively affect the status of lands and overall fragile environment of the Arctic Zone, and thus, lead to infringement upon the interests of the local population, including the indigenous peoples. The author formulates a number of recommendations for the improvement of legislation, among which is the amendments to the Paragraph 2 of the Article 39.34 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation on the establishment of highly restricted cases of termination of permits using the land plots by the indigenous small-numbered peoples.

Assessment of food security of the regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation

Ensuring food security and promoting the development of agriculture are included in the priority goals of sustainable development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation until 2035. The structural complexity and multidimensionality of food security in the region requires a clear methodology for its assessment. The article presents the results of a study of food security in the regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. This study is based on an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of existing methods for assessing food security in the regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The authors proposed a methodology for assessing the food security of the regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, which makes it possible to translate a phased multivariate analysis (the methodology was tested on the example of the Chukotka Autonomous Region).

Designing and management of entrepreneurial networks: Evaluation of the population’s network potential in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation territories

In development of the methodology proposed in previous publications for assessing the network entrepreneurial potential of territories for the design and management of business networks, which are an effective form of innovation in the information paradigm of productivity, the article developed a methodology for assessing the network entrepreneurial potential of the population of territorial socio-economic systems. The variety of potential stakeholders in the innovative development of the territory, formally or informally participating in the formation of network interactions, suggests that for effective design and management of business networks, it is advisable to form approaches to assessing the network potential of as many types of stakeholder groups as possible. The degree of adherence of the population of the territories to the ideas of the knowledge economy, the ability to support and implement these ideas in everyday life, are the sources of increasing the entrepreneurial potential of the territories and their usefulness for networked entrepreneurial projects. Therefore, for designing effective entrepreneurial networks,along with assessing the potential of business, civil society institutions, government bodies, corporations and other network actors, the task of assessing the entrepreneurial potential of the population of the territories is relevant. To achieve the research objective the approaches to defining and assessing the entrepreneurial potential of the population of the territories are considered; the definition of the entrepreneurial potential of the population for the purposes of this study has been clarified; an assessment methodology has been developed and this methodology has been applied on the example of territories representing the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The conclusion was made about the high degree of influence of the entrepreneurial potential of the population on the complex network potential of the territories.

Remote study of thermokarst lakes in the arctic tundra of the taimyr

The results of remote studies of thermokarst lakes in the Arctic zone of the Taimyr tundra are presented. The research was carried out on the territory of 725 thousand km2. Sentinel-2 satellite images were used in the studies, which made it possible to study the peculiarities of distribution of the number, total area of the lakes and tortuosity of their coastal borders. Histograms of the distribution of the number and total areas of the lakes in an extra wide range of their sizes from 0.2 to 5000 ha are presented. The histogram of lakes size-distribution demonstrates significant growth of their number with decrease in size. Histogram of the distribution of total areas of lakes by intervals of their sizes shows that more than 80 % of total area of lakes are dominated by lakes with sizes from 2 to 1000 ha. The analysis of the histogram of the degree of tortuosity of lakes borders distribution showed that the majority of lakes have the form of the coastal lines, which differs from a circle. The dependence of the degree of tortuosity of lakes borders on the size of lakes was studied and a positive linear trend of its change with the growth of the area of lakes was established.

Human Security in Arctic: Threats through the Prism of the “Northern Mentality”

The article is devoted to the analysis of threats to human security in the Russian Arctic, taking into account the peculiarities of the “northern mentality”. The authors note that the concept of “human security” is relatively new for the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF), as until recently security in the northern regions of Russia was defined mainly from the state-centric positions. The universalist approach is hardly applicable in practical policy: it is impossible to build a policy of “human security in general” and transfer it to the conditions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The concept of human security and corresponding policies must be adapted to the specific conditions of the Russian Arctic. Today, however, the AZRF faces a set of new threats to human security that require a response. The authors examine several groups of threats to human security that are relevant to the AZRF, the reasons for their emergence and the extent to which they affect the further development of the region. In conclusion, the authors conclude that the transition of the AZRF to sustainable development is only possible if the threats to human security discussed in the article are neutralised. The key directions of human security policy, which is based on the principle of enhancing the viability and self-development of the peoples permanently living in the Arctic, are highlighted.