3.The special features of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, which influence the formation of governmental policy in the Arctic, include the following:

a)extreme climate conditions, including constant ice cover or drifting ice masses in the Arctic seas;

b)the unique character of economic and industrial development of the territory and low population density;

c)the distance from major industrial centers, high resource capacity, and dependence of the private and public sectors on the delivery of energy and goods from other regions within Russia;

d)low levels of stability of ecological systems, which establish biological balance and climate of the Earth, and their dependence on the smallest anthropogenic effects.

II. NATIONAL INTERESTS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE ARCTIC

4.The main national interests of the Russian Federation in the Arctic are:

a)the utilization of the Russian Federation’s Arctic zone as a national strategic resource base capable of fulfilling the socioeconomic tasks associated with national growth;

b)the preservation of the Arctic as a zone of peace and cooperation;

c)the protection of the Arctic’s unique ecological system;

d)the use of the North Sea passage as a unified transportation link connecting Russia to the Arctic.

5.National interests determine the main goals, main challenges and strategic priorities of Russia’s governmental policy in the Arctic. The realization of the Russian Federation’s national interests in the Arctic is provided for by government institutions together with institutions of the civil society in strict accordance with the law of the Russian Federation and Russia’s international contracts.

III. MAIN GOALS AND STRATEGIC PRIORITIES OF RUSSIAN STATE POLICY IN THE ARCTIC

6.The main goals of the Russian Federation’s official state policy in the Arctic are:

a)in the sphere of socioeconomic development, to expand the resource base of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, which is capable in large part of fulfilling Russia’s needs for hydrocarbon resources, aqueous biological resources, and other forms of strategic raw material;

b)in the sphere of national security, the protection and defense of the national boundary of the Russian Federation, which lies in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, and the provision of a favorable operating environment in the Arctic zone for the Russian Federation, including the preservation of a basic fighting capability of general purpose units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as other troops and military formations in that region;

c)in the sphere of ecological protection, the preservation and protection of the natural ecosystem of the Arctic, and the mitigation of the ecological consequences of increased economic activity and global climate change;

d)in the sphere of information technology and telecommunications, the formation of a unified information space in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation;

e)in the sphere of international cooperation, guaranteeing mutually beneficial bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the Russian Federation and other Arctic states on the basis of international treaties and agreements to which the Russian Federation is a signatory.

7.The main strategic priorities of the Russian Federation’s official state policy in the Arctic are:

a)the active interaction of the Russian Federation with other Arctic states for the purposes of delineating maritime boundaries on the basis of international legal norms and cooperative agreements, taking into account the national interests of the Russian Federation;

b)the increase in efforts of Arctic states to create a unified regional system of search and rescue, as well as prevention of technical accidents and the mitigation of their consequences, including the coordination of rescue forces;

c)the strengthening of Russia’s relations with other Arctic states, both bilateral and multilateral, including the Arctic Council and the Barents Euro-Arctic Region, by promoting greater economic, scientific, technological, and cultural interaction, as well as cooperation in the field of border control and in the areas of natural resources and ecosystem preservation in the Arctic;

d)assistance in the creation and use of transit and cross-polar aerial routes in the Arctic, as well as in the use of the North Sea passage for international maritime navigation within the jurisdiction of Russian Federation and in accordance to Russia’s international agreements;

e)the promotion of participation of Russian state organizations and public organizations in the activities of international forums dedicated to the Arctic, including inter-parliamentary cooperation within the Russia-EU partnership;

f)the delineation of the maritime territory of the Arctic Ocean and securing a mutually beneficial presence for the Russian Federation on the Spitsbergen peninsula;

g)the improvement in state management of the socioeconomic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, including the expansion of applied scientific research in the Arctic;

h)an improvement in the quality of life of the indigenous population of the Arctic and the social conditions of economic development in the Arctic;

i)the development of the resource base of the Russian Federation’s Arctic zone through the use of promising technologies;

j)the modernization and development of the transportation infrastructure and fishing industry of the Russian Federation’s Arctic zone.

IV. MAIN CHALLENGES AND MEANS FOR IMPLEMENTING RUSSIAN STATE POLICY IN THE ARCTIC

8.The main goals of the state policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic are achieved by solving the following basic problems:

a)in the area of socioeconomic development it is necessary:

—to finalize the collection of geological, geophysical, hydrographical, and cartographical data necessary for the delineation of the outer border of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation;

—to provide for an increase in the reserves of natural resources originating in Arctic waters, partially by launching state programs for investigating and integrating the continental shelf of the Russian Federation, as well as by initiating the process of mastering the natural gas and oil reserves in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation;

—to develop and introduce new technologies designed to acquire sea minerals and aqueous natural resources under Arctic conditions, including in ice-covered regions, and to create a base for aviation technology and fishing vessels, as well as the necessary infrastructure for work under Arctic conditions;

—to optimize the economic mechanisms of the “Northern Delivery” project, by utilizing renewable and alternative sources of energy, including local sources, and by reconstructing and modernizing energy production;

—to promote the restructuring of North Sea Passage traffic, by means of state support for the production of icebreaking, emergency, rescue and support vessels, as well as coastal infrastructure;

—to establish a system of maritime navigation security and transportation control in regions of intense naval traffic, including through the creation of a set of hydro-meteorological and navigational provisions for the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation;

—to create a system of complex security for the defense of the territories, population, and objects in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation critically vital to Russian national security from threats of natural and technical character.

The primary means for implementing state policy in the area of socioeconomic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation are: