Labor Demand in the Russian Arctic: Long-distance Commuters in Hydrocarbon Industries as Impetus for Regional Development in the South

Labor force provision in remote and climatically harsh regions around the polar circle has been a major issue in the creation of a successful energy sector since the Soviet Union era onwards. Today extraction sites of hydrocarbon resources in Russia continuously shift northwards and arctic off-shore deposits are being prospected. Although in the Russian Far North the number of urban settlements exceeds that of other sub-arctic regions, the growing labor demand is met through long-distance commuters (LDC). This paper presents ethnographic examples of LDC who travel over distances of up to several thousand kilometers from central parts of Russia to the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. Usually they stay 30 to 60 days at the work place followed by one month recreation at home. Labor conditions are challenging and have been degrading in the last years through the restructuring and marketisation processes of the whole hydrocarbon sector. The income average in the North is likely six times higher than at home in the south. However, money is not the sole impetus for people to take up a life on the move. In Russian regions like the Republic of Bashkortostan, where LDC is practiced already since forty years, it has become a particular lifestyle that is passed on to the next generation. Therefore, regions with large communities of LDC benefit through the workers' high purchasing power, extensive construction activities of private houses, the ability to pay for children's university education, etc. This leads to a diversification of the local economy. Furthermore, these towns and communities have strong links to the oil and gas companies that invest in local vocational training and petro-chemical university education. Although the demand of qualified workers in the sub-arctic hydrocarbon sector is high, informal connections and recommendations are still a prerequisite to get a job. Subsequently, LDC have also gate-keeping functions in their communities. The regions as well as the workers highly benefit from their ties to the Arctic. This paper will highlight the interrelatedness of the North with low-latitude regions in socio-economic terms as well as in terms of social practice.