Challenges of Economic Diversification in Resource–Based Single–Industry Towns in the Russian North

Economic diversification is crucial for the socio-economic sustainability of single-industry communities in the Russian North. The single-industry towns in the Russian North were formed during the Soviet era under an ideology, which promoted large-scale resource extraction in the peripheries (Blakkisrud 2006, p. 39). However, in the contemporary era, the extraction of new deposits in the Russian North mostly takes place using workers who commute from long distances. In Murmansk region (see Figure 1), most of the inland settlements are based on the mining industry, which has led to the creation of relatively big settlements and massive industrial combines (Rautio 2003, p. 32–36). Approximately 20 percent of the region’s population is located in its single-industry towns. Moreover, about half of the industrial production of the region comes from these single-industry towns.