ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews post-Soviet legislation concerning the Russian Arctic, analyzing how different legal initiatives alter “hard” and “soft” security for the Russian Federation and its Arctic inhabitants. Increased concern for environmental and human security (1990s–early 2000s) has yielded to legislation reflecting intensified political tensions between Russia and other countries. We underscore the importance of considering not only federal but regional legislation: the latter fills gaps left open by the former and often affords greater human security. However, as the Russian state centralizes its authority, regional activists enjoy less leverage in adopting legislation addressing local needs.
