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Module 3 • Natural Resources: Case Study
Teacher Notes 3-7b
If any place qualifies as being at the end of the world, it is Chukotka.
Almost everything is extreme in Russia’s northeasternmost region, including its location, harsh weather
and even the unusually large and aggressive mosquitoes, which make a shockingly loud crunching
sound when squashed.
The 730,000-square-kilometer, or 280,000-square-mile, region has no trees except in a small area in
the south. Locals call the capital, Anadyr, the City of Flying Dogs, because in winter the winds are so
strong that it is often impossible to walk a step. In such weather, dogs tend simply to take off.
Yet Anadyr, a city of 10,600 on the estuary of the Anadyr River, is the showcase of Abramovich’s
efforts to raise living standards in the region.
When Abramovich first visited the region seven years ago, he was shocked, said Mikhail Zelensky, a
local administrator. The only food store in any given village was often stocked with little more than
salt, vinegar and a couple of insecticides.
“So Abramovich, after visiting a number of places around Chukotka, chartered four ships, loaded
them with basic staples and sent them to Chukotka as humanitarian aid,” Zelensky said. After that
Abramovich paid for a Mi-26 helicopter capable of carrying 20 tons of cargo to fly from village to
village, delivering fruit and vegetables.
Although food can be delivered to Anadyr only by ship or plane, the city now boasts modern amenities:
a couple of new hotels, a few restaurants and a large supermarket, all built with Abramovich’s money.
A tour of the city reveals that almost everything—an enormous hospital and clinic to treat sexually
transmitted diseases, a food-processing plant, even the Holy Trinity Cathedral—has been built since
2001, when Abramovich became governor.
Chukotka’s economy has quintupled since 2001, as has its average salary, reaching 22,600 rubles, or
$847, last year. The average salary in Russia is just 8,550 rubles.
“Six years ago, we found people here who were reduced to eating animal food and giving it to
their children,” said Irina Ruchina, president of the Chukotka Red Cross and a cousin of Abramovich.
“There were children here suffering osteoporosis and rickets from malnutrition.”
But if the changes are drastic, Chukotka’s fundamental problem remains: The economy simply cannot
function without Abramovich’s money.
The current Chukotka administration plans to put together a manual on how to run the region so
that it will be able to survive after Abramovich and his money leave for good, based on three propos-
als already submitted to the federal government.
The first would be to convert Chukotka into a national park. This would mean relocating most of the
non-native population to more developed parts of Russia and maintaining minimal infrastructure,
mainly to assist the natives.
Under the second proposal, Chukotka would be left unchanged and federal subsidies would be
increased to cover the costs of maintaining existing infrastructure.
The third option—by far the most ambitious, and the one preferred by the regional administration—
would be to secure a wave of investment that would be used to explore Chukotka’s natural resources,
about which relatively little is known, and to augment its underdeveloped infrastructure.
Chukotka’s natural resources could be vast. The region has a gold industry that dates back to Soviet
times and is now making a comeback with the help of Western investors.
PolarHusky.com
© NOMADS Online Classroom Expeditions GoNorth! Chukotka 2007 Curriculum 109
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