Arctic energy development in Russia-How “sustainability” can fit?

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the concept of sustainability has developed in the politico-economic context of Russia and in the Russian Arctic energy industry. This paper provides a substantial overview of sustainability priorities developed in Russia and then, based on state and media perspectives on Russian Arctic energy, it analyzes the critical directions of concept development in this context. The rhetoric of the sustainability concept in the country and in the context of Arctic energy may not necessarily develop in the same way. The priorities may focus on industrial technology and transport modernization, energy and environmental security, an emergency preparedness system and coordination, governance, international partnerships on Arctic governance and maritime issues, preventing pollution and waste, sustainable management, improving quality of life of indigenous people, and scientific research issues that are crucial for this context. The paper concludes that the politico-economic context itself has strongly influenced the development of the sustainability concept in Russia. Furthermore, based on the results of this study, it is suggested that, in a context of the Russian Arctic, legitimization is more dependent on the state position than on that of the media.