Life in the Russian Arctic in population estimates (case study of the Murmansk region)

• Published in: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
• Main Authors: Popova, O N, Vicentiy, I V
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: IOP Publishing 2020
• Subjects: Arctic; Murmansk
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/539/1/012108; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/539/1/012108/pdf; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/539/1/012108

Abstract The Murmansk region, being a strategic Arctic region of Russia, has long been characterized by negative dynamics in the population, mainly due to migration loss. The paper presents the results of a sociological analysis of the living conditions of the Murmansk region population. According to residents, the Murmansk region is a region with adverse climatic and social living conditions. The most urgent problems of the region and its settlements are of a pronounced institutional nature and are associated with the poor development of social infrastructure. Among them are problems in the areas of employment and labor, healthcare, education, leisure, road infrastructure, housing and communal services. In general, residents of the region note the inefficiency of “northern social benefits”, low living standards, poverty, low salaries and pensions amid high prices for goods and services in the region. These factors serve as a motivational basis for the formation of negative migration attitudes of residents of the Murmansk region.