Arctic Ahead
From August 8 to 9, the II Forum «Arctic-Regions» will take place in Arkhangelsk with the support of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic. The main goal of the event is to develop solutions for the advancement of the Arctic as a distinct sector of the Russian economy, focusing on shipping, logistics of the Northern Sea Route, and the maintenance of the Arctic fleet and infrastructure. A series of thematic sessions dedicated to the development of key cities in the Arctic zone of Russia will be held as part of the forum. A large conference on the Northern Sea Route will also be organized with the support of the State Corporation "Rosatom." Eleven regions that are members of the Arctic Council will participate: the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Republic of Tatarstan, the Altai and Krasnoyarsk Territories, as well as the Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Samara, Tomsk, and Tyumen regions.
"Cross-Cutting Investment" Flow Expands
The Ministry of Economic Development has developed methodological recommendations for the application of lean production methods. This new document is part of the "Cross-Cutting Investment Flow" project. The main goal of the recommendations is to define the organizational model for implementing lean projects in the regions and to facilitate the reduction of regulatory barriers for entrepreneurs. It was first launched in pilot mode in 2022, involving seven subjects of the Russian Federation, including two regions that are members of the Arctic Council: Nizhny Novgorod and Lipetsk regions.
Tatarstan — Leader in Innovation Development Ranking
The Institute for Statistical Research and Economic Knowledge of the Higher School of Economics (ISIEZ HSE) has published a ranking of innovation development among Russian regions. The leaders are Moscow (1st place), St. Petersburg (2nd place), and the Republic of Tatarstan (3rd place). The evaluation indicators are divided into five blocks: "Socio-economic conditions for innovative activities," "Scientific and technical potential," "Export activity," "Innovative activities," and "Quality of innovation policy." The last ranking was released in 2021. The regions participating in the Arctic Council that are in the top half of the list include: Tatarstan — 3rd place, Nizhny Novgorod region — 4th, Novosibirsk region — 5th, Tomsk region — 7th, Ulyanovsk region — 8th, Bashkortostan — 9th, Novgorod region — 11th, Kaluga region — 13th, Samara region — 14th, Mordovia — 15th, Krasnoyarsk Territory — 21st, Irkutsk region — 23rd, Tyumen region — 25th, Perm Territory — 26th, Lipetsk region — 29th, and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — 31st. The key to the success of "breakthrough" regions is a focus on improving socio-economic conditions for innovative activities and enhancing the quality of scientific, technical, and innovation policies. For instance, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug improved its position by 14 points.