This directive is designed to establish a system to monitor and analyse the state of national security and the level of socio-economic development in the Arctic zone.
Reference
It has been developed by the Federal Service for State Statistics pursuant to the instructions by the President of Russia regarding the implementation of the Strategy for Developing the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation and Ensuring National Security to 2020 (hereinafter Strategy). In accordance with the President’s instructions, Russia’s Arctic zone is to be treated as an independent object of federal monitoring for statistical purposes.
The Federal Plan for Statistical Work (approved by Government Directive No 671-r of 6 May 2008; hereinafter, the Plan) will be supplemented with official statistical information characterising the state of national security and socio-economic development in the Arctic zone.
This information is provided by bodies responsible for official statistics (the Federal Service for State Statistics, the Defence Ministry, the Energy Ministry, the Science and Education Ministry, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources, Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport, the Federal Agency for Air Transport, the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources, and the Federal Agency for Water Resources), taking into account the basic characteristics and macroeconomic indicators of the Arctic zone, as defined by articles 34 and 36, Section IV of the Strategy. It contains information on, among other things, the demographic characteristics of the population, the gross regional product, reserves of mineral resources, renewable sources, marine research expeditions, military and special equipment, populations of rare and endangered animal species included in Russia’s Red Data Book, and freight traffic along the Northern Sea Route.
It provides for official statistics included in the Plan to be updated on an annual basis, and it also sets the deadlines for the release of statistics. The bulk of the information will be provided and disseminated starting in 2015.
Presidential Executive Order No 296 of 2 May 2014, On the Land Territories of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation, establishes nine land territories of the Arctic zone.
In this connection, the Federal Service for State Statistics adopted and, of 1 November 2014, introduced changes to the National Classification of Economic Regions to include said territories. This enables responsible bodies to provide official statistical information on the Arctic zone, broken down by classification indicators as stipulated by this directive.
This decision makes it possible to treat the Arctic zone
as an independent object of federal statistical monitoring in the Plan and to refine
statistical specifications for the Plan in 2015 and subsequent years.