Sustainable growth of a national economy implies a widespread use of its resource potential and various investment tools to ensure the reproductive process of business environments. Advanced development of the infrastructure in the industrial sectors of the Russian economy, as well as integrated development of Russian regions based on the use of material, labor, intellectual, and financial resources – all determine priority directions in the national economy, conditions for import substitution, and improvement of living standards. The new paradigm of economic development is transforming the existing national model as the basis of structural economic changes, thereby facilitating the formation and development of regional and sectoral models and eliminating financial and cost imbalances in the national economy. The models of development, including those in industrial sectors, cannot be implemented in practice without assessing and mitigating regional problems. The transition toward a new management mechanism in the national economy also implies reliance on an inter-industrial balance when forming an industrial model of development in the Arctic zone with the purpose of implementing the tasks set for the development of regions, to ensure efficient integration between the industrial sectors.

The author considers the causes and conditions of changes in the confrontation between the parties for Arctic resources. The forces and means of international corporations and the Russian state are compared; approaches to improving the system of state management for effective control and development of Arctic resources are outlined.

The authors discuss the possibilities of Sino-Russian technological cooperation in the Arctic on the example of the Yamal LNG project. Particular attention is paid to China’s role after the implementation of Western sanctions against Russia. In the current context, China has become an important supplier of technologies, equipment, and financing for the development of harsh Arctic environments. The key aspects of the the Yamal LNG project are described, including support for the Northern Sea Route infrastructure and the integration of China’s One Belt One Road Initiative into the Arctic shipping routes. The findings highlight the importance of joint efforts in the long-term development of the Arctic and outline key risks, the overcoming of which will contribute to optimization of new bilateral projects. 

Tailing dumps account for up to 70% of all waste produced by mining and metallurgical industries. In this article, we discuss the positive experience of using this type of waste at the Kovdorsky GOK (Murmansk Oblast, Russia) and the Norilsk Nickel MMC (Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia), along with the examples of negative experience. Survey data on a number of tailing damps in Central Asia, the North Caucasus, and the Urals is provided. On the basis of the results obtained, recommendations are formulated regarding methods and technologies for investigating such objects. The conclusion is made about the prospects of involving tailing damps in recycling. The presented information may be useful for specialists in the fields of geology, metallurgy, ore beneficiation, and environmental protection. 

Sources responsible for pollution of the Arctic by plastic waste are considered. Approaches to plastic waste management are proposed. The spatial distribution of plastic waste is analyzed. Conclusions on the specific features of mass transfer of plastic and microplastics are drawn. A program for involving the local population in monitoring microplastic pollution is proposed.

The author addresses the issues associated with personnel training for knowledge-intensive industries as a key factor in the development of an innovation cluster in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The advantages of network forms of educational programs are considered. An innovative approach to the organization of training of specialists in the system of higher education, as well as the educational and scientific staff in the system of postgraduate study, is proposed. This approach is based on a network form of educational programs and employer-sponsored education. A model for implementation of such educational programs within the framework of continuing professional education for the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is developed.

Ecosystems in northern coastal areas are highly susceptible to environmental pollution. Its levels can be assessed using physical and chemical methods. In recent years, biological methods are also attracting increased attention, in particular those using lichens as bioindicators. Lichen flora is resistant to any climatic changes, including extremely low temperatures of northern areas. In addition, lichen communities immediately respond to any biochemical, geochemical, etc., changes caused both by natural and anthropogenic factors. Lichens actively accumulate heavy metals and other pollutants in their thalli, thus enabling scientific research. In this article, we describe a methodology for bioindication of environmental pollution using lichen flora. Assessment criteria for lichen bioindication are provided. The importance of monitoring the state of ecosystems in the coastal areas of northern seas using lichens as bioindicators is emphasized. 

The article analyzes and systematizes reports of local residents, travelers, explorers of the Russian North (Yakutia, the Taymyr Peninsula), as well as legends and folk tales of huge, yet unknown to science, lizard-like creatures inhabiting these parts of the world. The data is examined from folklore, ecological, and paleoecological perspectives. One cannot assert that this information is completely unreliable. Given the insufficient knowledge of the Russian North and the low anthropogenic impact on the area, it would be wrong to totally exclude the possibility that animals little known to science dwell there. The study assesses the theoretical feasibility of the existence of unknown reptiles and amphibians, which are difficult to access and study by traditional zoological methods, in the North and a few other parts of the planet.