The surrounding society and the main economic activity of the region of residence
The area’s economy is primarily based on the mining industry, namely gold mining, concentrating in the north, in the Shmidtovsky, Chaunsky, and Bilibinsky districts.
Sergei Obruchev’s expedition (1934–1935) discovered a large tin ore deposit on the territory of Chukotka and a rich placer deposit of tin later. In the late 1950s-early 1960s, two gold mining enterprises, “Komsomolsky” and “Baranikha”, were set up, and a little later the “Plamenny” mercury mine was added to them. Today, the industry in Chukotka consists of the mining (mainly alluvial gold) and the thermal energy industry. Over a half of Chukotka’s tin reserves are in the Chaunsky tundra (the Chaunsky and Shmidtovsky districts), including the largest Pyrkakay stockwork deposit, and more than a third of mercury reserves, including the Plamennoye and Zapadno-Palyanskoye deposits.
More than half of the Chukotka gold has been mined (Ichuveemsky and Pilkhinkuul-Ryveemsky plaсer gold mines, the unique Mayskoye gold deposit). There are also silver (Dvoynoye) and coal (Dolgozhdnoe) deposits, antimony and tungsten reserves. The Pevek municipality remains the most developed industrial region of Chukotka. There are several gold mining enterprises operating there: Mayskoye Gold Mining Company (Mayskoye deposit), Chukotka Mining and Geological Company (Kupol gold deposit), and Chukotka Prospectors' Association. Currently, businesses are making plans for the development of the Peschanka field and exploration of the offshore oil and gas reserves.
Mining of hard and brown coal for electrical and thermal power generation represents the fuel and energy complex. Until 2015, two enterprises represented the coal mining industry, “Shakhta Ugolnaya” and “Shakhta Nagornaya”. Either coal is suitable for use in the fuel and energy complex. In addition to being a fuel raw material, coal can be suitable for deep processing on-site to create petrochemical and coking production facilities, processing coals for petrochemical products, hydrogenation, and semi-coking.
The energy sector of Chukotka is a local (standalone) system (Bilibinskaya Nuclear Power Plant, Chaunskaya Thermal Power Plant, Egvekinotskaya State District Power Plant, Anadyrskaya Thermal Power Plant, and a gas engine station in Anadyr), that provides electricity the industrial hubs of the region (the Chaun-Bilibinsky, Egvekinotsky and Anadyr ones). The energy complex was updated through the launch of the floating nuclear thermal power plant at Pevek that supplanted the Chaunskaya Thermal Power Plant and Bilibinskaya Nuclear Power Plant, which had exceeded their industrial lifespan.
The maritime transportation of Chukotka includes 5 seaports: the port of Pevek in the East Siberian Sea and the ports of Providenie, Egvekinot, Anadyr, and Beringovsky in the Bering Sea. The ports process cargo delivered by shipping companies in two directions: the western (from Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, St. Petersburg) and the eastern (from Vladivostok, Nakhodka, Vanino, Magadan, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the ports of Sakhalin).
Pevek (founded in 1951) is the largest seaport in Chukotka and on the Northern Sea Route, located in Chaunskaya (Chaun) Bay of the East Siberian Sea. During the summer navigation season, the port of Pevek, capable of receiving ships of large displacement, becomes the maritime headquarters of the Eastern Arctic. The strategic importance of the seaport of Pevek for the Chukotka autonomous area and the entire Northern Sea Route is due to its deep-sea terminals and its location in the center of the industrial gold mining hub of Chukotka.
A significant part of the industrial workforce is shift workers and contract specialists. They do not live in Chukotka permanently. They are “industrial nomads”, somewhat reminiscent of the Chukchi reindeer herders. The peculiarity of Chukotka is that its mining industry is largely extraterritorial and focused on the export of raw materials outside the region.
The indigenous population is still engaged in traditional occupations. Reindeer husbandry remains the main agricultural activity in Chukotka. The Chukotka reindeer herd is one of the largest in the world. In 2000, there were 23 reindeer herding enterprises and over 30 reindeer farms, which, however, soon ceased to exist or returned to collective farm types. By 2013, there remained 16 agricultural production enterprises, the largest of which is “Imeni Pervogo Revkoma Chukotki” (Anadyrsky district) with 26.2 thousand heads, followed by “Amguema” (Iultinsky district) with a herd of 23.2 thousand, “Chaunskoye” (Chaunsky district) with 22.7 thousand “Kanchalansky” (Anadyrsky district) with 22.4 thousand, “Pioneer” (former Shmidtovsky district) with 14.7 thousand.
Marine hunting and fishing are the traditional occupations of the residents of the coastal settlements. The indigenous population of Chukotka is allocated quotas for fishing (Greenland and gray whales, white porpoise, walrus, seals, and salmon fishes). Caged animal farming remains only in two national villages (Lorino and Inchoun). In 2010, 6.026 heads of all species of marine mammals were caught (2269 tons), filling the quota for two Greenland whales.
Fish and crabs caught in the area make the base of the food industry. There are several enterprises in the industry including a fish processing plant in Anadyr and the Providenskaya Fishing Company state farm (whaling industry). In addition to fish products, they produce meat, dairy, and baked goods. The primary food industry enterprises are located in Anadyr, Pevek, and Bilibin.
The cultivated area in Chukotka is extremely small (less than 100 hectares and a significant part of it is private plots) and used to grow potatoes and vegetable crops.
Currently, 29 farms are registered in the area. They grow fruits and vegetables (the agriculture being both open and protected), crops, engage in caged animal farming, breed pigs, poultry, and reindeer, and process fish and meat.