Parliament wants new Law on Arctic

The upper chamber of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, is initiating a legislative process on Arctic developments. In a meeting last week, Chairwoman Valentina Matvienko underlined that the current situation in the Russian Arctic sharpens the need for new legislative approaches to the region.

”This is a highly important task, which can not be postponed considering today’s international scramble for control over Arctic resources”, Matvienko said, a press release from the Federation Council reads.

According to the top legislator, the low quality of the labor force and the insufficienty developed human capital remain key challenges for contemporary Arctic Russia.

The new law must include a set of measures which provide people working in the region with a system of guarantees and compensation, the Council leader argues.

She also highlights the need for better coodination between the country’s Arctic regions. ”The new lay must facilitate the institutional unity of these regions”, she said, adding that what is needed is ”new and strong pan-Arctic concepts”.

With the legislative process, the Federation Council picks up an initiative first presented in 1998. Then, however, the legislators failed to adopt the bill.

The new law follows the establishment of a formalized Russian Arctic Zone in May 2014. The decree signed by President Putin says that the zone includes the regions of Murmansk, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Nenets-Yamal AO, the Chukotka AO, as well as parts of the Komi Republic and Arkhangelsk Oblast.

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