CHARACTERISTICS AND CHALLENGES OF PUBLIC–GOVERNMENT INTERACTION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARCTIC MUNICIPALITIES: A CASE STUDY OF THE MURMANSK REGION

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Mikhail V. Ulchenko¹, Dmitry L. Kondratovich²

1, 2Luzin Institute for Economic Studies of the Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russia

¹m.ulchenko@ksc.ru, ORCID 0000-0002-5227-1772

²k_dim@bk.ru, ORCID 0000-0002-4433-8383

Abstract. The importance of municipal-level development in the Russian Arctic is underscored by the government’s designation of several territories as growth poles, highlighting the relevance of this research. Under Russian Government Decree No. 3377-r of November 28, 2023, sixteen Arctic agglomerations received this status, including three in the Murmansk Region—the Murmansk, Kirov–Apatity, and Monchegorsk agglomerations. As of early 2025, the Murmansk Region consists of eleven municipal districts and six urban districts. For the purposes of the study, all municipalities of the region were classified into groups based on their history, purpose of establishment, and development trajectories: single-industry towns, closed towns, cities with diversified economies, and territories traditionally inhabited by Indigenous peoples of the North. The analysis of the specific features and challenges of public–government interaction made it possible not only to identify key issues characteristic of each municipality group but also to propose recommendations for addressing them. The study also ranked municipalities in the Murmansk Region by their level of socioeconomic development, grouping them into four categories: high, above-average, average, and below-average development. All calculations were carried out using  official statistics from Rosstat. The scientific novelty of the study lies in identifying and comparing the distinct challenges of  public–government interaction across different types of municipalities, which demonstrates the need for differentiated management approaches.

Keywords: specific features, interaction problems, municipalities, Murmansk Region, single-industry towns, Arctic

Acknowledgments: This article is based on the research supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 24-28-20111, “Mechanisms of Interaction Between the Population and Authorities in the Development of Municipalities in the Russian Arctic: Features, Challenges, and Prospects in a New Geopolitical Context”) and the Government of the Murmansk Region.

For citation: Ulchenko M. V., Kondratovich D. L. Characteristics and challenges of public–government interaction in the development of Arctic municipalities: A case study of the Murmansk Region. Sever i rynok: formirovanie ekonomicheskogo poryadka [The North and the Market: Forming the Economic Order], 2025, no. 4, pp. 193–210. doi:10.37614/2220-802X.4.2025.90.013.

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