THE MINISTRY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAR EAST AND THE ARCTIC AS A BODY OF ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE IN THE ARCTIC

The article examines the powers of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic from the perspective of its capability to implement environmental governance. The author considers the environmental development as a part of the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. She identifies a number of shortcomings in establishing the competence of the ministry, namely the insufficient definition of its functions or the overlap of its functions with the functions of other executive bodies in the Russian Arctic. According to the author, there is the ambiguity of governance arrangements for certain parts of the territory of the Russian Arctic, which at the same time are components of the territory of the Far Eastern Federal District, since the complex of functions of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic in relation to each of these territories varies. The author raises the question of whether the ministry is capable to provide the mechanisms for the implementation of a number of legal norms and institutions of environmental law through environmental governance.