Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka shows extractive-subsistence conflict: 10% of Russia's gold reserves overlay indigenous reindeer herding territories, with residents appealing to the UN for protection.
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug illustrates the collision between extractive and subsistence economies—where industrial gold mining intersects with indigenous reindeer herding, whale hunting, and fishing traditions. Russia's easternmost territory holds 10% of national proven gold reserves, making it the third-largest gold-producing region. Five active mines (Kupol, Karalveyem, Valunistoye, Dvoinoye, Maiskoye) operate while three more deposits await development, including Peschanka with 23 million tons of copper and 2,000 tons of gold.
The region experienced a dramatic transformation under oligarch Roman Abramovich's governorship (2001-2008). He invested over $1 billion in infrastructure, schools, and housing—doubling regional GDP and tripling resident incomes. This external investment pattern continues: Highland Gold Mining signed a 2025 agreement to invest 1.1 billion rubles (2026-2030) in social projects across Pevek, Rytkuchy, Iona, and Billings. Yet indigenous communities face persistently high rates of poverty, unemployment, alcoholism, suicide, and tuberculosis. Residents of Rytkuchi village have appealed to the United Nations to protect their tundra from mining expansion.
The tension reflects competing evolutionary strategies: industrial extraction optimized for capital accumulation versus subsistence patterns optimized for long-term survival in extreme environments. The Chukchi and other indigenous peoples adapted to Arctic conditions over millennia through mobile pastoralism and marine mammal hunting. Mining offers short-term employment but threatens the ecological base of traditional livelihoods. The current governor, appointed in 2023 from the Luhansk People's Republic administration, signals Moscow's priority: resource extraction over indigenous autonomy.