MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Economic and career prospects of living in the Arctic encourage young people to move to the macroregion, Maria Polyakova of the Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development Department at the Vostokgosplan scientific institution told TASS.

"I would rather identify the current situation not as a turning, but as a transition from a steady decline to the search for a new demographic trend. The interest in moving [among young people] has really increased, and this is largely due to the economic and career prospects of living north of the Arctic Circle," she said.

The expert pointed to increasing incomes in the Arctic. "The average salary in the Arctic has grown from 76-77 thousand rubles ($938-950) in 2019 to about 131,000 rubles ($1,616) in 2024. This creates economic conditions for growing interest in the region of young people and qualified specialists. However, the interest's sustainability will depend on how long-term the comfortable Arctic living conditions become," she explained.

The interest in moving to the Arctic is growing, and this is confirmed by the migration balance transition towards a positive zone, she continued. "However, we must be honest: the official statistics still has no systematic data on what share of young people remains in the region 3-5 years after moving. The factors that influence decisions to stay or leave are well known. They are housing, quality of medicine and education, professional growth opportunities, conditions for families and children, as well as transport and digital connectivity. These are the issues on which we focused while making master plans for settlements and while updating the Strategy for Development of the Russian Federation's Arctic Zone and Ensuring National Security to 2035," she added.

The importance of the Russian Arctic has been growing on a global scale, the expert said, which stimulates big investments and builds up the demand for specialists. "The role of the Russian Arctic in the world is growing, and a number of large-scale investment projects have been planned and are being implemented there: the Baimsky GOK in Chukotka, the Vostok Oil projects in the Krasnoyarsk Region, the development of the Yamal and Gydan LNG clusters, big infrastructure projects in the energy and transport sectors. The Northern Sea Route's development also plays a significant role, as it becomes the base for the Arctic's economic development and generates long-term demand for personnel," she explained.

Director of the Center for Arctic and Northern Urban Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Nadezhda Zamyatina expressed a similar opinion to TASS. According to her, young people have career opportunities in the Arctic. "For example, a young woman at the age of 25 has become the director of a museum. In her hometown, she could have had the opportunity to take such a position at the age of about 50. People of her age may become chiefs of departments in regional governments, may take senior positions in companies. There has always been a shortage of people in the North, so an option to take a higher position attracts quite many people. This is especially true regarding young professionals such as Zoomers or Millennials. I know cases when they are moving there for the sake of career growth," she explained.