MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. Scientists found that the love for living in the North is one of the most significant factors when young people decide whether to stay in the Arctic, at the same time paying less attention to the unique culture, attractions or outstanding people. This understanding will favor more effective policies in keeping the population, press service of the Russian Science Foundation said.
"A main marker of northern identity was the geographical commitment - respondents enjoyed the very fact of living in the North (74% of respondents) and being born there (57%). Only 18% chose the feeling of being proud for the North's culture and sights. One in five young people (21%) said they were proud of famous people who had ever lived in the North and contributed to its development," the press service said.
A group of researchers from the Petrozavodsk State University has conducted a large-scale social research to study which images and thoughts form up the territorial identity of young people living in the Russian Federation's Arctic. The scientists surveyed 8,500 people aged 16-35 who live in the Russian Arctic.
They asked the surveyed to explain whether they considered themselves residents of the North or the Arctic, as well as to describe their attitudes towards the region and the desire to leave it or to stay so that to live and work in the Arctic. The results show that young people consider themselves more "northerners" than "residents of the Arctic," and their desire to continue living in the region was very strongly related to the level of geographical commitment they had.
The majority of the polled (92%) noted they are Northerners, and for 88% of them the image of the Arctic and the North was positive or rather positive. The scientists have found that the connection of young people with the North is determined through emotional and cultural-historical ties and through the feeling of being part of the community of northerners. 25.8% of respondents who had a weak connection with the community wanted to stay in the Arctic, while 35.4% of those with the strongest northern identity said they intended to continue living in the Arctic.
According to Anna Simakova, one of the authors of the discovery, the scientists are currently conducting similar studies among the region's retirees and migrant workers. Expected data may uncover reasons for migration flows into the Arctic and may favor lower population outflow from the region.