Север и рынок. 2022, № 2.

НАУЧНЫЕ СООБЩЕНИЯ RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS Research communication doi:10.37614/2220-802X.2.2022.76.010 RESPONSES TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE ARCTIC: COMPARING THE WAYS OF ORGANIZING VOLUNTARY WORK IN NORTHWEST RUSSIA AND NORTHERN NORWAY Vigdis Nygaard1, Larissa A. Riabova2 1Norwegian Research Centre — NORCE, Alta, Norway, viny@norceresearch.no 2Luzin Institute for Economic Studies, Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russia, larissar@iep.kolasc.net.ru 1ORCID 0000-0001-8077-2972, 2ORCID 0000-0001-7923-0367 Abstract. This Research Communication presents preliminary results of an ongoing Russian-Norwegian research project about volunteer work in two border regions in the Arctic — Troms and Finnmark county in Norway and Murmansk oblast in Russia. Here, we aim to provide a deeper understanding of the ways in which volunteer work with vulnerable groups was organized during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in two national and regional settings, the role and scope of volunteer work during the pandemic in the two regions, and how this activity is framed by structural and political differences between Norway and Russia. The study adds knowledge to the field of implementation of national COVID-19 strategies in diverse regional settings and understanding the role of volunteerism in crisis response in providing for the health and well-being of vulnerable groups in the Arctic. Our study reveals that both in Norway and Russia responses to the pandemic include mobilization of volunteers and the rise in the volunteer movement, but volunteerism has different traditions and scopes in Norway and Russia. Well-established NGOs in Troms and Finnmark countywere mobilized to act when the pandemic hit, and they took on new responsibilities for vulnerable groups. Such organizationswere less developed in Murmansk oblast, and in order to effectively respond to the pandemic, newvoluntary structures were quickly established in the form of united regional and municipal volunteer centres in addition to existing organizations. Our research shows that volunteerism is one of the most efficient tools for crisis response and that it adds an indispensable value to reducing theworkload of public health and social care institutions in promoting health andwell-being for vulnerable groups. Voluntary structures on the Norwegian side appear to be resilient and flexible to meet the needs of the target groups, while volunteerism in Murmansk oblast shows exceptional strength to grow, formalize, and mobilize during a very short period within crisis response. Keywords: COVID-19, Arctic, voluntary work, voluntary structures, vulnerable groups Acknowledgements: this Research Communication is based on a Norwegian-Russian research project No. 303247 "Adapting to a changing society. The case of civil society in the Murmansk region", financed by the Norwegian Research Council. The authors thank all local research participants for sharing their knowledge with us. For citation: Nygaard V., Riabova L. A. Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Arctic: comparing the ways of organizing voluntary work in Northwest Russia and Northern Norway. Sever i rynok: formirovanie ekonomicheskogo poryadka [The North and the Market: Forming the Economic Order], 2022, no. 2, pp. 124-130. doi:10.37614/2220-802X.2.2022.76.010 НАУЧНЫЕ СООБЩЕНИЯ Научное сообщение МЕРЫ РЕАГИРОВАНИЯ НА ПАНДЕМИЮ COVID-19 В АРКТИКЕ: СРАВНЕНИЕ СПОСОБОВ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ ВОЛОНТЕРСКОЙ РАБОТЫ НА СЕВЕРО-ЗАПАДЕ РОССИИ И В СЕВЕРНОЙ НОРВЕГИИ Вигдис Ныгор1, Лариса Александровна Рябова2 Норвежский исследовательский центр — NORCE, Альта, Норвегия, viny@norceresearch.no 2Институт экономических проблем имени Г. П. Лузина Кольского научного центра Российской академии наук, Апатиты, Россия, larissar@iep.kolasc.net.ru 1ORCID 0000-0001-8077-2972, 2ORCID 0000-0001-7923-0367 Аннотация. В научном сообщении представлены предварительные результаты российско-норвежского проекта, в рамках которого изучается волонтерская деятельность в двух соседних регионах Арктики — округе Тромсё и Финнмарк в Норвегии и Мурманской области в России. Цель исследования — выявить, как была организована работа волонтеров с уязвимыми группами населения на начальных этапах пандемии COVID-19 в двух национальных и региональных контекстах, углубить понимание роли имасштабов волонтерской работы во время пандемии в изучаемых регионах итого, как на этудеятельность влияют политические и структурные различия между двумя странами. Исследование расширяет знания в области реализации национальных стратегий в отношении COVID-19 в различных региональных условиях и понимания роли волонтерства в реагировании на кризис и обеспечении здоровья и благополучия уязвимых групп населения в Арктике. Выявлено, что как в Норвегии, так и в России меры реагирования на пандемию включаютмобилизациюдобровольцев и рост СЕВЕР И РЫНОК: формирование экономического порядка. 2022. № 2. С. 124-130. Sever i rynok: formirovanie ekonomicheskogo poryadka [The North and the Market: Forming the Economic Order], 2022, no. 2, pp. 124-130. © Ныгор В., Рябова Л. А., 2022 124