Kazantsev Artyom N.

The regions of the Far North occupy a special place in the national economy, concentrating a significant part of the explored mineral reserves and strategic resources. Economic potential of these territories is realized in conditions of extreme climatic conditions, low population density, transport isolation, and high capital intensity of infrastructure development. The article describes the main stages of development of the model of development of the Far North in the Soviet Union and modern Russia. Comparative analysis of strategies of «settlement» and «development» of the territories of the North has been performed, and factors influencing the effectiveness of choosing specific method of their labor supply have been assessed. It is shown that the balance between economic efficiency and geopolitical objectives of presence in the region requires a combination of permanent residents in strongholds and a shift contingent at the project sites, provided that focusing on development of the Far North only on external mobile labor without the development of strongholds in the region may limit the long-term effects on the territory. The existing or emerging permanent land transport link reduces the critical dependence on seasonal importation, allowing the transition from an exclusively shift-based scheme to a mixed labor supply model combining the mainstay settlement of nodal points with mobile forms of employment on project sites.