With new center, Arkhangelsk seeks lead in Arctic research

«Our main task will be to conduct research and experimental studies, as well as to implement research inventions and protect Russian national interests in the Arctic», Professor Vladimir Pavlenko says.

Pavlenko has been handpicked to lead the new center, which is planned to be fully operational by year 2020. By that time, a new research building complex is to stand ready in downtown Arkhangelsk. The 4-floor building will have a price tag of more than 500 million rubles, the Arkhangelsk regional administration informs in a press release. In addition, a new housing block with 100 flats for the researchers is the be built.

According to regional Minister of Research and Education Igor Skubenko, about 500 people will be employed in the center by year 2020.

«The emergence of this federal center is truly a historical event, […] It allows us to represent the interests of Russia in the Arctic on the very highest level», regional Governor Igor Orlov says.

The center will be subordinated the Russian Academy of Science and is based on the merger of several existing research institutes. A state decree on the establishment of the center was signed in October 2015.

Among the center’s key research fields will be the development of Russian coastal areas and the infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route, center leader Pavlenko says.

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