Dmitriy Pertsev, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: dima.percev.91@mail.ru.
The paper deals with the problem of the “Arctic narrative” in the English-language socio-cultural anthropology. The research includes such problems as the importance of developing an archaeological and anthropological approach to overcome differences in the interpretations of the material culture of the Arctic peoples, the formation and development of adaptations of circumpolar communities in the natural environment. A significant problem is the intercultural communication of the autochthonous peoples of the Arctic from the antiquity to the modern era of globalization. In addition, the paper pays attention to such problem as the settlement of the Arctic Region and North America. Moreover, the impact of climatic fluctuations on the economic and transport basis of Arctic societies should also be mentioned. It is concluded that further understanding of the early history of the Arctic is difficult without a clear analysis of the processes of prehistoric migration to this area. It is important to conduct research not in isolation but only through intertwining of cultures as this will reveal the origins of the cooperation between circumpolar communities. The political context can impede the quality study of Arctic autochthons: over the past decades, the global Arctic powers have been more concerned with resource exploitation and control of transportation routes than with scientific research.
Keywords: Arctic, adaptation, sociocultural anthropology, intercultural communications, settlement of the Arctic and America, climate change, exploration of the Arctic, struggle for resources in the Arctic.

Andrey Chemashkin, Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University, Syktyvkar, Russia. E-mail: andrey.chemashkin@gmail.com.
Arif Shikhverdiev, Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University, Syktyvkar, Russia. E-mail: shikverdiev@yandex.ru.
The Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation is a region which is characterized by relative well-being and the absence of obvious ethnic conflicts. However, with the increase of international importance of the Arctic macroregion, the projects on destabilization the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation through the targeted instigation and strengthening of regionalist and separatist tendencies may attract attention of the actors whose interests compete with the national interests of Russia. The National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation includes prevention and neutralization of social, interconfessional and interethnic conflicts and separatist manifestations that requires the theoretical development of appropriate measures. The aim of the work is to study the conflict potential of indigenous regionalism in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation. The implementation of the intended objectives is achieved by means of general scientific methods of literature analysis on the problem of research, generalization, comparison and systematization of empirical and theoretical data. The paper considers socio-economic foundations of the emergence and development of regionalism projects in the Russian Arctic and identifies their distinctive features: pan-nationalist (transboundary) nature, artificiality of the relevant concepts, the presence of motivated local activists interested in the politicization of ethnicity. The narratives of indigenous regionalism and separatism can be initiated in almost any territory where there is an appropriate socio-economic environment regardless of its ethnic configаuration. Currently, the experts are recording the attempts of “soft-power” influence on local and non-titular communities of the Russian Arctic undertaken by individual actors. Reactive (compensatory) counteraction to such measures and negative trends of regionalism and separatism makes it necessary to divert substantial state resources that can be used by competing actors to create threats to Russia’s national security. The paper contains practical recommendations for the implementation of state policy and ensuring national security in the Arctic.
Keywords: Arctic, Russian North, regionalism, separatism, nationalism, soft power, public administration, human terrain system.

Aysen Vasilev, The Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, SB RAS, Yakutsk, Russia. E-mail: aysen_vasilev@mail.ru.
Based on the archival data introduced into the scientific discourse, the paper examines some facts from the biography of the Russian official Ilya Dmitrievich Rudakov who held leading positions in Kamchatka and Yakutia in the first half of the 19th century. The stages of his career growth (naval and civil service) are shown, the main areas of I.D. Rudakov’s activities as the head of the Yakutsk Region (1834—1845), where he served for a long time until the last days of his life, are highlighted. The paper considers his activities on the efficient supply of the only port on the Pacific Coast — Okhotsk, as well as his contribution to the socio-economic transformation of the vast region, namely, the activities to introduce the most progressive land use system among the Yakuts at that time — a class one, which was directly related to the yasak policy of the tsarist government. The paper analyzes the problems in the system of the Yakut administration, noted by the Yakut regional chief to the central government, which later became the main reasons for the administrative reform of the Yakutsk Region in 1851 by the governor-general N.N. Muravyov-Amursky. Basing I.D. Rudakov’s biography, the author illustrates a typical manager in the northeastern borders of the country in the context of the personnel policy of the Russian government in the first half of the 19th century.
Keywords: I.D. Rudakov, biography, regional head, official, civil service, Kamchatka, Yakutia, Russian Empire.

Pavel Grebenyuk, North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute, Magadan, Russia. E-mail: grebenyuk.pavel@gmail.com.
The paper analyzes the evolution of modern views on the problem of political power and society in the North-East of the USSR in the 1950s—1970s. It is stated that the understanding of historical processes during this period is largely related to Dalstroy and its legacy. Several approaches to the study of the history of power and society in the Northeast are revealed. Within the framework of the concept of totalitarian state and a repressive economy, Dalstroy is seen as a typical manifestation of the Stalinist era with all peculiar elements among which convict labor is the most crucial one. The modernization approach remains the leading one providing opportunities for interpretations, a positive or negative assessment of the results of modernization. The study of the history of power and society has some prospects within the framework of a more flexible transformational paradigm considering the social multilayerness of the Soviet society. The paper notes that traditional research topics remain in the focus of attention among the historians of the post-Stalinist period: the history of the development of the mining complex, agriculture and fishing, higher education, and geological research in the North-East. At the same time, the issues of the development of the local industry, energy, transport and communications, construction, and the fishing industry are studied fragmentarily. In terms of social history, the following issues stay underexplored: the demographic situation, the marital component, social groups and employment of the population, problems of the development of services, public catering and utilities, health care and medical services, criminal situation, cultural sector, everyday life, psychology of various groups of population, gender studies. The following topics are insufficiently covered: problems of political power and public administration, including the structure, composition and functions of regional government authorities, the activities of party and Soviet authorities, the interaction of central and regional administrative structures regarding the issues of socio-economic development, the functioning of the party nomenclature, mechanisms of lobbying the interests of various groups, informal coordination of regional and departmental interests, the functioning of client-patron relations, the role of individual personalities and their influence on the implementation of large projects of socio-economic development of the North-East.
Keywords: political power, society, government, North-East of the USSR, Dalstroy, Magadan Region, modern historiography.

Maksim Tret’yakov, North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute, FEB RAS, Magadan, Russia. E-mail: maximmgn@mail.ru.
The paper deals with the issue that remained unexplored in earlier central and regional historiography of civil aviation of the Far East due to the secrecy of information related to aviation accidents. Nevertheless, the archival materials available today and other open sources of information makes it possible to establish that the work of the Magadan Civil Aviation Department was not completely accident-free. The paper is based on the information from the R-27 fund “Dalstroy Air Transport Directorate” 1 of the State Archives of the Magadan Region. After examining the documents, the author concluded that due to the development of aviation technology and increase in piloting skills in the 1970s major plane crashes were avoided, but a number of other incidents still occurred. Frequent attempts to conceal the aviation incidents did not allow to establish the true level of flight safety especially when performing contractual work (the use of aircraft in the national economy) since transport aviation flights (directly passenger traffic) still had a higher level of reliability. Each case was thoroughly investigated by the created commissions and following the results a decision was made to impose penalties based on the degree of guilt of each specialist. It may be concluded that during this period the main reasons for abnormal situations were a technical malfunction (including a sudden one), violation of flight rules and adverse weather conditions.
Keywords: aviation, aircraft, helicopter, management, Magadan region, northeast, accident, incident.

Vitalii Boldyrev, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: boldyrev89@list.ru.
The paper is devoted to the influence of objective and subjective factors on division into districts and socio-economic development of Canada’s North and the Arctic. The most important factors (resource, natural, political, administrative, ethno-cultural, social, financial, transport, economic and demographical) were divided into three categories: objective, quasi-objective and subjective. All objective factors exist independently as given and people have to take them into consideration. Factors are quasi-objective if they appear as consequences of the development of Canada’s North and the Arctic or being objective, they are involved into human’s activity. Factors are indicated as subjective if they are not based on experience, brought to the region artificially or don’t have material measuring. Two key characteristics were defined during the analysis of the federal strategy as well as strategies and practices of provinces and territories. The first characteristic is related to strengthening of quasi-objective factors during the planning despite the dominating subjective administrative factor. On the one hand, the objective factors are stronger integrated in the socio-economic development. On the other hand, that prevents the influence of subjective factors which can break the forming balance in economy and society. This process is typical for all Canadian North except the districts of British Columbia. The second characteristic indicates the gradual yet uneven transition from dichotomous vision of the problems of the North to its complexity. Three tendencies of short-term economic planning in the North of Canada are forecasted: the dominance of the dichotomous approach common for the territories under the federal Northern and Arctic strategy, the dominance of the complicated vision of the development in Alberta and Ontario, the project approach in British Columbia.
Keywords: Canada, the Arctic, the North, economics, development, division into districts.

Aleksandra Labyuk, Institute of History Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS, Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: labyuk@ihaefe.ru.
The Arctic is a promising region rich in natural resources primarily in oil and gas. The melting of the Arctic ice as a result of global warming makes it possible to ensure year-round navigation through the Northern Sea Route, which can soon become not only a permanent maritime logistic line parallel to the Suez Canal but will also make it possible to significantly shorten the time of shipping and to reduce transportation costs. The economic power of the Peoples Republic of China is based for the most part on trade and logistics, so China makes great efforts for improving its position in the Arctic Zone. Over the last 40 years, the PRC has transformed from the state without any Arctic territories into the observer of the Arctic Council and the key partner of the Russian Federation and the Nordic countries in the development of the Arctic. This paper is devoted to the Arctic history of China, the main provisions of the strategy and interests of the PRC in the northern polar region. China actively researches the Arctic, the possibilities and potential of northern logistics routes and explores the ways of effective cooperation with the Arctic states. The paper examines and analyzes the activity of China in the Russian Arctic Zone, the level of its involvement in oil and gas projects related to the Russian Far East and the participation of the PRC in the organization of the transport corridor of the Northern Sea Route.
Keywords: Russian Far East, Far Eastern Arctic, China, Arctic Zone of Russian Federation, Northern Sea Route, Russia-China cooperation, China’s Arctic Policy.

Ilya Sokov, Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russia. E-mail: sokov@volsu.ru.
The paper based on foreign sources analyses the genesis of the Chinese global policy in the Arctic in the first quarter of the 21st century, identifies reasons, goals, objectives, methods of China’s efforts to create the “Polar Silk Road” as an important part of global “One Belt, One Road” initiative. The author argues that the Beijing’s Arctic policy of creating a “blue economic corridor” is quite different from the policy of building land and sea routes of the “Great Silk Road”. In it multilateral and bilateral Arctic diplomacy, China has consistently consolidated its influence in the Arctic and sub-Arctic countries considering the historical specifics in relations between these states, the climatic and environmental characteristics of the regions, the security risks to its trade routes and investments in infrastructure projects. The practical embodiment of the “Polar Silk Road” is the interstate cooperation between Russia and China on the extraction of oil and gas resources and minerals in the Russian Arctic and their transportation along the Northern Sea Route. China maintains close economic relations with all Arctic states (except the United States) through the creation of the necessary infrastructure for the “Polar Silk Road”, constantly increasing public and private investment. By outlining its 2018 Arctic Strategy, China, on the one hand, aims to create the “Polar Silk Road”. On the other hand, declaring itself a “circumpolar state”, China uses the concept of the “North” and claims to belong to the North as an outcome of its global “transition” policy to the developed countries of the “golden billion”. The author concludes about the possibilities, importance and prospects of further Chinese involvement in the implementation of the Arctic policy by the Nordic countries and the geopolitical changes from this cooperation.
Keywords: China, Russia, global policy, Arctic diplomacy, “Polar Silk Road”, “One Belt One Road”.

Viktor Krivonogov, Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk. E-mail: victor950@yandex.ru.
In July—August 2019, an expedition was carried out to study modern ethnic processes among the inhabitants of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. This paper represents the results of a research of the Malay people. A comprehensive research method was used, and mass survey of the inhabitants was carried out on a 25 percent sample. The population on the uninhabited Cocos Islands appeared only at the beginning of the 19th century, on Christmas Island — at the end of the same century. The inhabitants of the nearby territories of Indonesia were brought to the Cocos Islands, which belonged to the family of the Englishman Clooney Ross, to work on coconut palm plantations which were organized there. As a result, a special ethnic group called the Cocos Malays was formed here with its own mixed language based on the Malay language. On Christmas Island, the population appeared due to the development of phosphate mining by the British people who employed indentured workers temporarily. Most of them were Chinese people, but a small group of the Malays appeared. Only from the 1970s, the workers stopped leaving the island after the contracts expired, the gender composition became even, and natural generation change began. By the end of the 20th century, the immigration stopped due to phosphate reserve depletion and decrease in production. Nowadays, the Malay people make up 25—30% of the island’s population, the rest are mainly the Chinese and Australians of the British origin. The Malays of both groups managed to preserve the foundations of their culture, language and religion, but changes are also evident: the English language is more widespread and mixed marriages have appeared. However, assimilation processes did not gain traction, the ongoing processes can be attributed to integration, and widespread bilingualism is the most obvious manifestation.
Keywords: Malays, Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, modern ethnic processes, demography, linguistic processes, nationally mixed families, integration, assimilation.

Aleksandr Pevnov, Institute for Linguistic Studies, RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia. E-mail: pevnov@gmail.com.
The hypothetical homeland of the Evenki language is an area in which Proto-Evenki started to diverge into numerous dialects. Nowadays the Evenki dialects are spread over an extremely vast territory — from the Taymyr peninsula to Northern China, from the Vasyugan river to Sakhalin. A search for the Evenki linguistic homeland must satisfy four following requirements: (1) principal groups of modern Evenki dialects (northern, southern, and eastern) must be geographically close to each other to the maximum in the territory which is thought to be the homeland of the Evenki language, (2) the territory could not be far from the Manchu-Tungusic homeland (in my view, it was the basin of the Middle Amur), (3) the presence of Mongol speaking neighbours (Evenki has specific borrowings from Mongol), (4) sufficient reindeer moss in that territory because those who spoke Proto-Evenki were most probably reindeer breeders. The present author came to conclusion that Proto-Evenki was spoken during the first millennium AD in Transbaikalia: to put it more precisely, in the basin of the Vitim river.
Keywords: Evenkis, Proto-Evenki language, homeland, dialects, Mongols, Transbaikalia, Vitim river.

Vladimir Ruchin, Saratov National Research State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky, Saratov, Russia. E-mail: r-vl@yandex.ru.
The paper examines the relationship between the process of socialization of young people and the development of the Asia Pacific Region. An attempt is made to outline the socialization model, to identify and minimize its main risks. The focus is on the role of a man in the society, external and internal technologies of impact on social institutions in the era of postsecularism. The essence of this impact lies in the framework of everyday practices implemented in various scientific directions among which the humanitarian remains the leading one. The value intervention in the cultural component of the social sphere contains signs of a long-term deformation of archetypal representations of social consciousness. The special role is assigned to the religious connotations of the political discourse, which disorient the intentional values of the individual. The categories and concepts promoted in the information space distort the meaning of events and initiate the chaotization of the ideal sphere, which sets both the pace and direction of the worldview dynamics. Against the background of such chaos, powerful impulses of frustration lead a person’s being into an outraged state causing dissatisfaction and destruction of inner harmony. As the region is at a lively crossroads of civilizational tendencies and represents superdiversity in the confessional and social sense, it becomes evident that insufficient cohesion of the regional community is one of the possible reasons of the population outflow. The study of the Far Eastern Region in terms of ethnoreligious and sociocultural mosaic specifics is aimed at finding ways of social cohesion as a main condition for the stable development. The author concludes that the spiritual sphere has special significance in the implementation of economic development programs through a socio-philosophical analysis of the historical context.
Keywords: civilization, postsecular world, socialization, value intervention, discursive practices, spiritual culture.