Far North (Russia)

  The Extreme North
  Territories equated to the Extreme North

The Extreme North or Far North (Russian: Крайний Север, Дальний Север) is a large part of Russia located mainly north of the Arctic Circle and boasting enormous mineral and natural resources. Its total area is about 5,500,000 square kilometres (2,100,000 sq mi), comprising about one-third of Russia's total area.[1] Formally, the regions of the Extreme North comprise the whole of Yakutia, Magadan Oblast, Kamchatka Oblast and Murmansk Oblast, as well as certain parts and cities of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Komi Republic, Tyumen Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, Sakhalin Oblast, Khabarovsk Krai, as well as all islands of the Arctic Ocean, its seas, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk.

Due to the harsh conditions of the area, people who work there have traditionally been entitled by the Russian government to higher wages than workers of other regions.[2] Also as a result the barren climate, the indigenous peoples of the area have developed certain genetic differences which allow them to better cope with the region's environment.[3]

Largest cities

Murmansk (pop. 302,468), Yakutsk (286,456), Norilsk (175,365), Novy Urengoi (116,450) and Magadan (95,048) are the largest cities within the Russian Far North proper, while the larger and more southern Arkhangelsk (350,985) is the largest among cities and territories "equated" to the Far North.

Legal status

The Far North is known for its extremely harsh climate. People who work there, other than indigenous populations involved in traditional occupations and inmates of labor camps (e.g., gulag of the Soviet Union), receive an extra grade of payment, referred to as the "Northern Bonus" (severnye nadbavki), as well as other benefits, including extra vacation, extra disability benefits, extra retirement benefits, and housing benefits, in compensation for the difficult working conditions. Such compensation had begun under the policy of the Soviet Union, and was maintained by the Russian Federation.[4] In January 2007, the State Duma Committee for Issues of the North and Far East approved a proposed law defining regions within the Far North which would determine the extent of compensation for workers. The regions were established based on general climate, with harsher regions garnering greater compensation relative to milder regions.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Laverov, Nicolay (2009). Area Studies (Regional Sustainable Development Review): Russia - Volume I. EOLSS Publications. p. 87. ISBN 9781848260740. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Saunders, Robert; Strukov, Vlad (2010). Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation. Scarecrow Press. p. 179. ISBN 9780810874602. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  3. ↑ Yenikeev, Alexander. "Poles Apart". getrussia.com. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Law of the Russian Federation, About the State Guarantees and Compensations for the Persons Working and Living in the Region of the Far North and Districts Equated to them". 19 February 1993. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Ямал - Крайний Север России". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2007.

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