Published on: 2026-04-24
Source: Government of the Russian Federation
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Deputy Prime Minister – Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev reported to President Vladimir Putin on the development of the Russian Arctic zone. The report was presented atmeeting of the head of state with members of the Government.
“The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is a territory that has strategic significance for the development of the economy and ensuring the national security of our country. Thanks to the decisions made by you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, in 2020, the most attractive conditions for investment have been created in the Arctic, including the largest preferential zone in the world with an area of 5 million sq. km. Over five years, more than a thousand new projects with state support have been launched in the AZRF. The total volume of investments planned in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation for the next ten years exceeds 30 trillion rubles.”The development of the Arctic is directly linked to the Arctic projects of the largest Russian companies – Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Norilsk Nickel, Novatek, Lukoil, PhosAgro, and others. The products they produce constitute the main cargo base of the Northern Sea Route and the Trans-Arctic transport corridor. Over the past ten years, cargo traffic along the NSR has increased from 4 million to almost 38 million tons,” Yuri Trutnev said in his speech.
The Deputy Prime Minister reported on the work related to the development of the Northern Sea Route. Within the framework of the implementation of the plan, 4 nuclear icebreakers, 6 emergency rescue fleet vessels, and 3 hydrographic fleet vessels have been built and modernized. Five hydrometeorological and radiolocation observation satellites have been launched into orbit. According to the plan, by 2035, an additional 4 nuclear icebreakers should be constructed, no fewer than 10 emergency rescue fleet vessels, and 12 satellites have been launched.
Separately, Yuri Trutnev drew attention to the indispensability of providing the Northern Sea Route with an ice-class transport fleet and a dredging fleet. According to him, at the meeting of the State Commission on Arctic Development, the responsible agencies were given instructions to prepare proposals as soon as possible.
By order of the head of state, based on the results of the International Arctic Forum, a financial and economic model for the Trans-Arctic transport corridor is being created. This corridor includes the Northern Sea Route and related internal waterways, as well as other transport infrastructure facilities. “A promising cargo base is being formed. Authorities, state corporations, and regions are counting on the necessary volume of work for construction and fleet acquisition, creation of railway and river routes, and construction of essential infrastructure,” said Yuri Trutnev.
The issue of improving the quality of life of northerners was raised. The most important task of the state is to create comfortable conditions for living and working in the Arctic. A number of laws, developed in the Far East, is now being implemented in the territory of the AZRF. Mechanisms of a unified presidential subsidy, preferential mortgages, the “Arctic hectare,” and a program for affordable rental housing are being applied.
Master plans for key settlements of the Arctic have been developed and are being implemented. The plans were created based on the opinion of residents. Most of all, people are concerned about: healthcare — 57%, communal infrastructure — 43%, roads and housing — 39% and 36% respectively.
Of the 516 events included in the plans, 78 are aimed at the creation and modernization of communal infrastructure facilities, 33 – healthcare facilities, 77 – facilities in the field of transport and logistics, 80 – in the field of science and education.
“As of today, the construction and modernization of more than 100 facilities are already underway. The total required funding by 2035 is 2.9 trillion rubles, of which 60% are non-budgetary sources. From the federal budget funds for 2026–2028, more than 70 billion rubles have been allocated for the implementation of master plans. In accordance with your instructions, the following sources of funding for master plans have been secured. These are five national projects, within which separate sections have been created that include 45 activities of Arctic master plans with a total funding volume of 113 billion rubles. A limit of special treasury credits amounting to 30 billion rubles has been allocated.”At least 5% of the funds from sectoral state programs will be allocated for financing master plans. The implementation of the plans will significantly improve people’s quality of life, creating conditions for the realization of new investment projects,” Yuri Trutnev noted.
From 2024, a plan for the renovation of closed administrative-territorial formations will be implemented with an annual funding volume of 10 billion rubles. According to your instruction, the renovation plan for ZATO will be extended until 2030 and spread to all Arctic regions where military formations are stationed.
Yury Trutnev spoke about the work on the timely delivery of Northern Supply cargo. The Northern Supply is 4 million tons of cargo worth more than 200 billion rubles. In accordance with the adopted federal law, Northern Supply cargoes have priority. The number of containers delivered with delay during the law’s operation — over two years — has decreased more than 30 times.
“All settlements are supplied with fuel, food products, and essential goods. The majority of cargo is delivered to remote and hard-to-reach territories by water transport,” he emphasized.
This year, the unified maritime operator for the northern supply began operations – the company “Rosatom Arctic.” The company is responsible for developing routes and schedules for transportation and for the direct transport of cargo. Yuri Trutnev asked the head of state to consider the possibility of providing the unified northern supply operator with its own fleet. This will increase the reliability of deliveries and reduce the cost of imported goods.
The entire territory of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is an area with permafrost. At the same time, climate warming in the Arctic exceeds global rates by almost three times, which creates security risks. In 12 regions, a state system for permafrost background monitoring has been deployed. The Government, together with the Russian Academy of Sciences, is forming a unified scientific monitoring center.
The implementation of the development of the “Arktikugol” trust on the Svalbard archipelago was also considered. In June 2025, a direct passenger service on the Murmansk–Svalbard route was launched. To develop the scientific base on the archipelago, an international scientific and educational center is being created. Yuri Trutnev appealed to President Vladimir Putin with a request to assign the scientific and educational center on the Svalbard archipelago the name of the famous Arctic researcher Arthur Nikolaevich Chilingarov.
Concluding the report, Yuri Trutnev added that all work on the development of the Arctic is carried out in accordance with the Decrees of the President on the foundations of state policy in the Arctic and the Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation and ensuring national security for the period up to 2035. By order of the head of state, a draft updated strategy has been prepared, taking into account the geopolitical conditions that have changed over the past five years. The foundations of state policy and the strategy have been combined into a single document — the Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation until 2050.”Work on the development of the Russian Arctic zone will continue,” he concluded.
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