Arctic university students: Аrctic self-identity

The article examines the Arctic self-identification of students studying at Russian universities in the Arctic. The research methodology follows the indigenous methodology paradigm, which unveils the core values of Arctic peoples, defining the geocultural essence of circumpolar Arctic civilization. The empirical basis of the research is a comparative analysis of data from the questionnaire survey of the study “The Arctic in the values of university students”. Students of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk), Arkhangelsk region (M.V. Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Arkhangelsk) and Murmansk region (Murmansk Arctic University) participated in the questionnaire survey “Living the Arctic” conducted for the first time in 2017–2019 and again in 2024. The results of the study revealed that the Arctic is primarily perceived as a geographical concept and is identified with the North. Furthermore, an increasing number of young people, particularly students at Murmansk Arctic State University, identify as Arctic residents and view life in the Arctic positively. However, the prevailing answer among the students of Northern (Arctic) Federal University was that the consider themselves northerners, not residents of the Arctic. Students from Yakutsk and Arkhangelsk expressed concerns about the high cost of living and challenging climatic conditions in their responses. It is evident that the higher the quality of life in the region, the stronger the Arctic self-identification among the youth. The research perspectives include studying students’ attitudes toward the Arctic, migration, life plans, and strategies of senior students using qualitative research methods, among others.

1. Saburova L.A. Endless Far North: the boundaries of Arctic identity. Inviolable reserve. 2016;5(109):279–286. (In Russian).

2. Nazukina M.V. Structural levels of regional identity in modern Russia. Regionology. 2011;4:13–19. (In Russian).

3. Pecherkina I.F., Koshkina A.A., Khuzyakhmetov R.R. Territorial identity in social space. Bulletin of Tyumen State University. Socio-economic and Legal Studies. 2021;4(28(7):85–101. (In Russian). http://doi.org/10.21684/2411-7897-2021-7-4-85-101

4. Gerdt T.B. Formation of the region’s image as an indicator of the effectiveness of socio-economic policy of the subject of the Russian Federation. Аbstr. Diss. … Cand. Sci. (Econ.): 08.00.05. St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State Engineering and Economic University; 2010. 19 p. (In Russian).

5. Boronoyev A.O. Understanding of small nation: definition and content. Society. Environment. Development (Terra Humana). 2020;3(56):60–66. (In Russian).

6. Razumova I.A. (ed.) Humanitarian research in the Kola Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences: history and main directions: collective monograph. Apatity: Kola Research Center; 2023. 515 p. (In Russian).

7. Vinokurova U.A., Yakovets Y.V. Arctic circumpolar civilization. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 2016. 320 p. (In Russian).

8. Filippova D.N. Life in the Arctic in the view of students of regional universities. Russia: society, politics, history. Public processes and events. 2022;2(2):103–114. (In Russian).

9. Filippova D.N. To the Arctic identity students of Arctic universities. Society: sociology, psychology, pedagogy. 2020;6. (In Russian).

10. Yurkova M.V. Arctic aspect of the formation of regional identity of the residents of the Arkhangelsk region. Bulletin of Tomsk State University. Cultural Studies and Art Criticism. 2018;29:163–171. (In Russian). http://doi.org/10.17223/22220836/29/15

11. Fauzer V.V., Smirnov A.V., Lytkina T.S., Fauzer G.N. Russian and world Arctic: population, economy, settlement. Moscow: Political Encyclopedia; 2022. 215 p. (In Russian).