Social Responsibility of Mining Companies and Indigenous People of Chukotka
Major mining companies claim that they are implementing corporate policies that maintain ancestral habitats, respect traditional management of natural resources, and improve the quality of life of indigenous people in Chukotka. At the same time, people of Chukotka are becoming aware of the importance and inevitability of the development of underground mining in the region. However, the coexistence of modern industrial and traditional lifestyles sometimes leads to severe contradictions, requiring the population to adapt to new social and economic realities. Given the increasing industrial activity within the region, it is necessary to analyze the ways in which policies that express social corporate responsibility are implemented by the mining companies and experienced by the indigenous population of Chukotka. So far, statistical data have been gathered and interviews have been conducted with Indigenous inhabitants, with representatives of organizations, with public authorities, and with leaders and workers in companies in the city of Anadyr and the districts of Chaun, Anadyr, Bilibino, and Provideniya. Overall, these sources make it possible to define and characterize models of interactions between exploiting companies and indigenous populations of Chukotka, to study public opinion about the implementation of social commitments declared by underground mining enterprises, and to determine the level of impact of the mining industry on traditional economic activities and on culture in general.