On the issue of the development of mechanisms for the implementation of business models of complex processing of mineral resources

The importance of implementing the concept of integrated processing of mineral resources is understood by both the state and the scientific and business communities. However, the practical implementation of the concept has not yet been properly reflected in economic activity, which is determined by a number of factors, one of which is the lack of elaboration of the issue of business models and mechanisms for their implementation in modern conditions of economic development. The economic system today is characterized by many different forms and types of manifestation of entrepreneurial activity by economic entities. Determining the optimal, balanced interaction of all economic agents of the system, providing a solution to the problem of complex processing of mineral resources, is considered in this article from the point of view of analyzing the possibilities of implementing business models corresponding to the specifics of entrepreneurial activity in the regional economic system based on an algorithm developed during previous studies, on the one hand, and existing technologies for processing mineral raw materials on the other. As an example for the analysis, the Khibinsky deposit of apatite-nepheline ores of the Murmansk region was selected, which in distinguished by a variety of valuable components and a complex material composition. The result of the work was the clarification of the proposed concepts of business activity management in the Murmansk region in the form of a description of possible business models for building a mining and processing complex; the development of a mechanism for its operation based on a network interaction agreement, as a new format of contractual relations in the mining and chemical industry, which differs from standard civil contracts; and an assessment of the prospects for the implementation of such production, ensuring the complexity of the use of raw materials when involved in processing, in addition to apatite, nepheline, sphene and titanium-magnetic concentrates.

Economics and politics of “old confrontation” in the New Arctic

The modern Arctic is becoming the strategic space and area of competition of many powers, the arena of political confrontations between Arctic and non-Arctic states. Arctic research has moved from the sphere of science to the sphere of geopolitics and geoeconomics and is of strategic importance in the system of national security. Climatic fluctuations in the Arctic have increased the availability of hydrocarbon, biological and other resources, and improved ice conditions in the water area of the Northern Sea Route. The study analyzes the Arctic policy of Western European and North American countries in the conditions of the “New Arctic”. An overview of strategic documents on ensuring the spatial development.

“Public catering in service to the industrial financial plan of the “Apatit” trust”: from the history of the establishment and development of a new branch of the socialist economy in 1930–1935

The article retrospectively highlights the main stages of the establishment and development of public catering as a subsystem of food distribution in the area of apatite mining of the Apatit trust in 1930–1935 in the context of the socio-economic modernization processes of the first five-year plans, which led to the rapid urbanization of the population in the new industrial regions of the USSR. Despite the presence of a wide range of foreign and domestic studies of the history of Russian society during the period of its transition from the traditional agrarian to the industrial type of development, including everyday life and the organization of supply of the urban population, which are based on the methodology of social and economic history, anthropology, the scientific literature lacks information on the history of providing food on the regional level to the urbanized population of the new industrial centers of the USSR, in particular through public catering enterprises. This indicates the relevance of studying the history of the formation of a new branch of the Soviet economy in the Khibiny. Within the framework of the humanitarian and systemic approaches, the methodology of the case study is based on general scientific methods of scientific cognition, archival, source study, problem-chronological, comparative, historical-genetic (retrospective) methods. The empirical material for the study was archival documents from the end of 1929–1935 deposited in the collections of the Kirovsk branch of the State Archive of the Murmansk Region and in the Main Collection of the Museum-Archive of the History of Study and Development of the European North of the BCH of the KSC of the RAS, including published prescriptive documents of state power and political administrating authorities in the USSR in 1930–1935, materials of the periodical press of Khibinogorsk (since December 1934 — Kirovsk) in 1930–1935.

The impact of the mining sector on the development of the Severo-Enisejskiy district of the Krasnoyarsk territory: Where the effects are concentrated

The review of the extensive methodological apparatus developed for assessing the socio-economic effects of investment projects, state policy or the activities of companies is carried out. By the example of the Severo-Enisejskij district of the Krasnoyarsk region, the dynamics of the influence of gold mining industry on the socio-economic development of the territory in comparison with other municipalities of the region is considered. It is shown that in the 2000s the district was significantly different in comparison with the region by many indicators, then in the mid-2010s there was a decrease in its separation. It was caused by the dependence of its socio-economic situation on the situation in the world market, and by a decrease in the influence of the industry on the territory. The differences in the effects of activities in the district of two companies — “Polyus” and “Sovrudnik” — are analyzed. These companies are different in its scale and history of development. It is shown that the size of a company affects the hierarchical administrative level at which the maximum effects from its activities are concentrated. On the territory of the district, large effects, including attracting permanent residents to the territory, have been retained until recently by “Sovrudnik”, while “Polyus” is more evident at the regional level. Its administrative resource allows to implement infrastructure projects that are interesting to the company, but can indirectly have positive effects for the local population. However, the future development of both companies is most likely to be associated with maximizing the use of a more flexible shift mode of work, and the effects of their activities in this regard will continue to decrease.

Natural park as part of the strategy for the development of sustainable tourism in Teriberka settlement (Murmansk region)

For the first time in the practice of creating regional specially protected natural areas in the Murmansk region, a socio-anthropological study was carried out. The purpose of the investigation was to study the attitude of residents of a rural settlement to the creation of a natural park in the context of sustainable tourism development in a remote area. The main component of this strategy is the interaction of all parties interested in the comfortable development of tourism in settlements. In the article, based on the classifications proposed by Urry and Cohen, the views of the local population were analyzed and the types of Teriberka visitors were identified. The predominant kind of tourist in Teriberka is romantic. That solitary traveler represents an individualistic-oriented person the main motive of travel of which is admiring natural objects. This kind of tourist is complemented by the individual mass tourist traveling alone or with a group of travelers who already know each other. Based on the results we are able to assume that indigenous people are tolerant towards tourists and are not against the development of tourist activities in the village. The attitude of the local population for tourists visiting these territories was revealed, the main problems of the settlements were determined. The main of these are an abundance of garbage, a lack of toilets, a lack of control of inappropriate behavior of visitors; environmental pollution; damage to nature, etc. The study has shown that most of the local residents reacted positively to the idea of creating a natural park. Most part of the respondents agrees with the opinion that the creation of a natural park will help preserve the natural and cultural heritage of this unique historical settlement.

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.

Implementation of national projects as a factor of providing favorable conditions for self-development of territorial communities of the Far North and the Arctic

The article examines a number of aspects of the implementation of priority national projects in the context of their impact on the self-development of territorial communities of the Far North and the Arctic, as an essential element of systemic spatial regional development. Regional and municipal aspects of self-development of territorial communities of the Far North and the Arctic are largely associated with economic, social, educational, legal, cultural and other features of interaction between the public and public authorities at all levels, including through the implementation of state programs for the development of regions. The paper analyzes the specifics of national projects implemented in the Russian Federation at the level of a number of municipalities belonging to the regions of the North and the Arctic, including: a list of national projects in which the municipality participates; the main problems hindering the implementation of national projects; issues requiring priority attention from municipal authorities; an assessment of the implementation of each national project. The analysis made it possible to determine the prerequisites for the creation of effective mechanisms and tools for interaction between the government and society as a whole, which are based on state priorities related to the implementation of socially oriented development of the territories of the Far North and the Arctic and the achievement of national interests. It is established that the state has a high interest in the self-development of territorial communities, which in particular is implemented through a set of national projects aimed at providing conditions for scientific, technical and socio-economic territorial development, as well as the possibility of self-realization of each person locally and improving the quality of life of the population. It is concluded that, despite the obvious successes in the implementation of priority national projects, there are limitations associated with both objective and subjective reasons — insufficient funding, weak information support, management organization at both local and regional and federal levels.

Regional-industry analysis from the point of view of ideas of a joint economy (using the example of industry in the Northern regions of Russia)

The article analyses the industry in the northern regions of Russia from the point of view of assessing the practical results of the traditional theory of competition. The purpose of the study is to develop the theoretical and methodological foundations of the transformation of economics from the ideas of rivalry to unity and harmony in social relations. The relevance of the topic is determined by an active public discussion about the possibilities of Russia's transition from a market-capitalist to a social, human-oriented economy. It is shown that the main existing model is aimed either at the individual benefit of organizations, or at the attractiveness of industries for corporate or state interests, but not at the needs of the common person. The idea of the increasing attention to “people of labor” by bringing all the analyzed indicators to a single denominator — one employed — is defended. The following empirical research methods were used: observation, comparison and visualization. On the example of industry of the northern regions of Russia, ultra-hight intersectoral and interregional imbalances were revealed, arising, according to the author, due to the lopsided orientation of enterprises to maximize profits and the export and resource structure of the economy. The ratio of value added elements by region is demonstrated, the classification of territories is carried out depending on the combination of these components. The low-suitability of the classical understanding of competition to solve issues of capital overflow and equalization of profitability is indicated. The thesis is put forward about the possibility of overcoming the existing problems by the internal spiritual and moral transformation of managers and workers themselves, the transition from competition to cooperation. The prospects of the study are associated with the expansion of the toolkit due to social indicators, as well as in the study of the micro-level — municipalities, sub-sectors, and the primary reporting of organizations.

Life expectancy of population of the northern regions in the Russian Federation: Tendencies and potential for growth

The article is devoted to the tendencies in life expectancy of population of the northern regions of Russia in the context of growth and regional convergence indicator in the early 2000s and possibilities for its further growth. The sources of information are the official Rosstat data. Life expectancy in the North has been found to be largely subordinate to the Russian-wide patterns of the regional convergence: the compaction of the northern constituent entities to the national average level occurred at both the top and bottom levels. Both the Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Districts experienced a significant decline, as did the gap in most regions with life expectancy below that of the Russian Federation. Only Kamchatka Krai and Magadan Oblast increased the lag, while maintaining group affiliation in the regional grouping in terms of life expectancy. The potential for the further growth in life expectancy in the North is being determined by the insufficient reduction in mortality caused by the circulatory system diseases and increase in the neoplasm mortality within the period of 2003–2019, and environmental and behavioral risk factors reflected in the differences in life expectancy in different settlements, its gender differentiation and the high level of mortality from external causes. The large difference in life expectancy between urban and rural areas makes the large potential in the northern regions except Murmansk Oblast and partly the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). Almost all northern constituent entities have a significant potential posed by the male under-representation indicator. Despite a significant rate of decline, external causes of death and their share in cause-related mortality are widespread in the North. With the exception of the Chukotka Autonomous District, within recent years, infant mortality rate in the North has been fairly good — it can no longer be considered as a potential for the life expectancy growth of population.

Carbon dioxide utilization and circular economy: The world, Russia and the Arctic

Sustainable development of regions, territories, and industrial complexes is becoming increasingly important in the context of global environmental challenges. The practical realization of the sustainability challenges depends more on the implementation of specific technologies, including greenhouse emission mitigation technologies. Today, the development and scaling out of CC(U)S (carbon capture, utilization and storage) technologies seems to be one of the most realistic ways to reduce CO2 emissions. The role of CO2 is changing in the context of circular economy principles, it is no longer considered as industrial waste, but as a valuable resource. The aim of this paper is to analyze and assess the prospects for carbon dioxide utilization, as well as the cost-effectiveness of CC(U)S initiatives (using the example of a CO2-based methanol production project in Iceland) in order to explore the prerequisites and opportunities for the development of such projects in the Arctic. In order to assess the spread of technology worldwide, an analysis of foreign experience in implementing such initiatives is presented, as well as the main promising ways of carbon dioxide utilization and their key features are identified. The economic efficiency of the CO2-based methanol production project (by the example of a commercial project in Iceland) is substantiated. A general vision of the prerequisites and opportunities for the implementation of CC(U)S initiatives in the Arctic regions is presented.