The Academy of Sciences and the Study of the Euroarctic: History and Modernity

The article offers a retrospective analysis of the explorations of the European part of the
Russian Arctic, describes their current state, and substantiates the need in enhancing
interdisciplinary approaches in the studies of circumpolar territories. Since the 18"
century, the organization of complex scientific studies has been an important direction of
the Russian state policy in the Arctic. The article shows how the establishment of
academic institutions in the European North allowed the regions to take strategic
positions in the development of industry and formation of the country's mineral resource
base. At the same time, industrial exploitation of the Arctic territories created a whole new
set of environmental, socio-economic, and demographic problems that may only be
addressed through interdisciplinary research.