The North is intrinsic to the way most outsiders imagine Russia: snow, long winters and the endless Siberian forests. Indeed, about 70 percent of the country's territory is defined as belonging to the North. These inhospitable tracts contain immense natural wealth, and large cities were constructed in Soviet times to supply the labor force for extraction industries.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian North has become both a burden and an asset. It is overdeveloped, with its now obsolete mono-industrial towns, and underdeveloped, with its still largely untapped natural resources. Today's Russian authorities face the challenge of developing a new Northern policy adapted to the realities of the 21st century.

With its expert contributions from political science, economics, geography, and anthropology, this book represents the first comprehensive study in the Western literature of federal politics towards the Russian North. In addition to mapping the scope for federal governance, it covers such important issues such as infrastructure development, natural resource management, environmental affairs, and policies towards indigenous peoples.