Instructions issued following a working trip to Murmansk

Instructions issued following a working trip to Murmansk
2025年05月16日 18:00:00
Vladimir Putin approved a list of instructions following his working trip to Murmansk on March 27, 2025.
The Government of the Russian Federation has been instructed to submit proposals to update the provisions of Presidential Executive Order 164 of March 5, 2020, Basic Principles of the Russian Federation State Policy in the Arctic to 2035, and Presidential Executive Order 645 of October 26, 2020, On the Strategy for Developing the Russian Arctic Zone and Ensuring National Security to 2035, also considering the importance of extending the implementation period of the above Fundamentals and Strategy to 2050.
The instructions to the Government of the Russian Federation concern, in particular, developing comprehensive plans for long-term socioeconomic development for core settlements in the Russian Arctic zone; establishing the Artur Chilingarov Grant Programme to support youth initiatives as part of implementing environmental, educational, and scientific projects in the Arctic; extending the Affordable Rental Housing in the Far Eastern Federal District programme to include the core settlements in the Arctic zone; extending to 2030 the infrastructure development plan for closed administrative and territorial units and settlements in the Arctic zone where military units are stationed, with annual funding of no less than ten billion rubles; and eliminating the digital divide in core Arctic settlements, including measures to increase the share of households with access to quality high-speed internet access. The Government was also tasked with developing additional funding mechanisms for covering healthcare spending for residents of the Far North regions;
Additionally, the Government has been instructed to submit proposals for creating an orbital satellite constellation for Earth remote sensing in a quantity that is sufficient for ice monitoring offshore in the Northern Sea Route, and to specify timelines for creating such a constellation, the amount and sources of funding, including allocations from the federal budget;
A number of instructions to the Government concern the construction of small ice-class passenger vessels for transporting people in the Far Eastern Federal District and the Arctic zone to remote settlements; the development of infrastructure in the Arctic for cargo drone landing sites to ensure deliveries to hard-to-access areas; the development of an action plan to adapt Arctic infrastructure to permafrost thawing, including the creation of a single scientific centre for monitoring these processes; the advancement of domestic operators to transport cargo along the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor, and considering the creation of joint ventures with foreign partners; the development of the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk transport hubs; measures to protect the environment in the Arctic zone, including steps to eliminate accumulated environmental damage, as well as measures to preserve unique and typical ecosystems and landscapes, flora and fauna, and the recovery and removal of sunken objects from Arctic waters.
The Government, with the participation of the State Council Commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic, regional executive authorities, and the State Corporation Rosatom, has been instructed to submit proposals for drafting a comprehensive project to develop the Arctic zone. Particular attention must be given to promoting scientific and technological advancement in the Arctic, implementing priority industrial projects in the region, developing transport infrastructure, ensuring year-round operation of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor, improving air connectivity (including general aviation), expanding the use of unmanned aerial systems, inland waterways, and rail connections, as well as to expanding capacities and creating new seaports along the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor.
The Government, in cooperation with United Shipbuilding Corporation and Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex, has been instructed to submit proposals for developing and modernising shipbuilding and ship repair facilities to ensure safe and efficient operation of vessels, including cargo ships, particularly those operating on the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor routes. This includes consideration of the construction of new shipyards and identifying potential sites for them.
The Government, together with the State Corporation Rosatom, the State Council Commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic, United Shipbuilding Corporation, Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex, and interested cargo shippers, has been instructed to approve a financial, economic, and organisational model for creating the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor (St Petersburg – Murmansk – Arkhangelsk – Vladivostok). This includes ensuring cost cutting when building and operating its infrastructure to enhance global competitiveness; ensuring the formation of the necessary icebreaker fleet to 2035 and beyond to 2050; adopting decisions that guarantee competitive icebreaker assistance tariffs in the Northern Sea Route waters; developing a programme for building Arctic cargo fleet vessels, with maximum use of domestic shipyards and ship equipment, while providing government support for the construction and procurement of such vessels abroad in case of delayed delivery by domestic manufacturers; creating a domestic dredging fleet for use in the port areas of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor; and determining the timelines and phases for building infrastructure to support year-round navigation in the eastbound Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor, with corresponding state support measures.
The Government, together with executive bodies of the regions that are partially or fully located in the Arctic zone, has been instructed to consider support measures for developing tourism infrastructure in the Arctic and, in order to enhance tourism potential of Arctic territories, including the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, the Republic of Karelia, and the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions, to submit proposals for developing tourism clusters in these areas, along with the necessary transport and other infrastructure.
Instructions to the Government of the Russian Federation and the Murmansk regional authorities include the creation, between 2026 and 2030, of a federal winter sports training centre in the region, and the implementation, from 2026 to 2035, of measures aimed at improving the reliability of Murmansk’s power grid infrastructure.
Separate instructions have been issued to the Government of the Russian Federation in conjunction with the state development corporation VEB.RF, Gazprom, the Government of the Murmansk Region, and the Government of the Republic of Karelia.
The Russian Federation Government, together with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, has been instructed to consider establishing an Arctic Development Investment Fund.
 A list of additional measures to be included in the comprehensive long-term socioeconomic development plans for core settlements in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation was added to the President’s list of instructions as an attachment.