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Russian Arctic policy institutionalized

Putin is increasingly interested in Arctic affairs and has even established a special program on polar bear development.

The Kremlin intends to establish a new state body responsible for national Arctic governance.

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Speaking to the Security Council on Tuesday, Putin confirmed that the new body is needed in order to enhance the quality of state management and decision-making in the region. The new institution should not be a major bureaucratic organ, but rather “a flexible, operational structure which can help coordinate the activities of ministries and agencies, the regional administrations, as well as business”, Putin said.

According to the state leader, the body could take the form of a state commission with wide-reaching powers over the issues in question. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has been commissioned to elaborate concrete proposals on the new entity, a transcript from the Kremlin informs.

A state commission on the Arctic would not be a new invention in Russian government history. In the period between 1990-2000, a State Committee on Northern Developments (Goskomsever) existed. The committee was responsible for the follow-up of state policy and social-economic development in the northern territories.