The III Northern social and environmental congress was held April, 18-20, 2007 in the city of Syktyvkar. The theme of the Congress was “Social Perspectives and Environmental Security”.
   President of Russia V.V Putin in his address to the organizers and participants of the Congress stated that the scientific and practical validity of the problems to be discussed during the forum, connected with the sustainable development of the Russian North and qualitative improvement of the living level of peoples. He expressed his confidence that “the work of the Congress would gain a wide public echo and its recommendations would be used in practical activities”. The President also stressed that “competitiveness of the Russia’s economy to a large extent depends upon careful attitude towards the rich potential of the North, rational exploitation of its natural resources, maintenance of the unique culture of the peoples living there”.
   The Congress has been organized by the Government of the Republic of Komi, RAS Ural Branch, Komi Science Centre and Council of Rectors of the Republic of Komi with an active support from RF Presidential Administration, RF Government, Council of Federation and RF Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications. RAS, RAES, Moscow State University, Russia’s National Environmental Forum, Association of Native Peoples and the Minorities of the Russian North, Siberia and the Far East, some other representative public institutions of social and ecological orientation take part to prepare the event. The Congress’s co-chairmen will be V.A. Torlopov, Head of the Republic of Komi, and V.A. Chereshnev, Academician of RAS, Chairman of RAS Ural Branch.
   On the eve of the Congress the Expanded field session of the Presidium of RAS Ural Branch with the participation of the Council of RAS on coordination of the activities of regional divisions and regional Science Centres took place. The topic of the session – “Role of science in the development of productive forces of the Russian North”. Among the adopted proposals is to intensify work on the megaproject “Industrial Ural – Polar Ural”.
   This year the number of reports presented during the Congress at sections, seminars and round tables increased manifold. The tradition which became a distinguishing feature of the forum – the detailed preventive workup of the main problems put on the agenda by the Congress with the participation of the whole northern scientific society has got its development. Tens of higher educational institutions and science centers on their own initiative are organizing a series of conferences and seminars at the preliminary stage of the Congress, which is transforming it into a permanently acting brain centre of the Russian North.
   During the days of the Congress 52 scientific and methodical conferences and seminars were held. Among them there were 20 All-Russian and interregional ones. It is remarkable, that the Congress is becoming more and more youthful while is maturing itself: this year 18 All-Russian and interregional conferences were fully oriented on the discussion of original researches of students, post graduates, starting career scientists.
   Among the most significant initiative of the Congress is discussion of the first variant of the draft of the Russian Federation’s Social Doctrine. The work on the draft is carried out by the Coordinating Council on the social strategy under the RF Council of Federation’s Chairman, representatives of which took an active part in the discussion.
   Joint field session of three Committees of the Council of Federation was held during the Congress: Committee of the North and Minorities Affairs, Committee for Natural Resources and Environment, Committee for the Social Policy. The general topic of the discussion was “How to take into account social and ecological factors in the state policy in the Russian North (example of the Republic of Komi).
   The subject of the discussion during the meeting with the participation of the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the socio-economical development of the Russian North was strategic problems of the development of the North and Far East.
   For the first time The Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, which organized the field session of the Committee for ecological security and environmental protection on the subject “Priorities of the regional and ecological policy”, took part during the work of the Congress.
   In the framework of the Congress the RF Trade and Industrial Chamber was again having a big program. Among the main arrangements were the field session of the Committee on innovations and high technologies and the opening of the Komi’s exhibition “Stroyindustriya 2007”, as well as the organization of two sections of the Congress.
   The presentations of the large-scale international project “Belkomur” and Federal Finno-Ugric Centre was held during the forum. The combination of these two events reflects the main purpose of the Congress’ organizers on the harmonic joint of the economical and ethnocultural dimensions of the Russian Northern strategy, which is open for the constructive, business and cultural cooperation.

   The considerable part of the reports were presented during the work of the following sections:

1. Social strategy of the Russian Federation and the northern dimension of the national projects;
2. Demographic policy and public health service problems in the Russian North;
3. Social and environmental aspects of the RF economic policies in the framework of the national security;
4. Formation of the regional infrastructure of civil society; social and economic, socio-cultural aspects;
5. Social responsibility of business and the role of the third sector of economics in the Northern Regions social infrastructure development;
6. Ethnic and cultural aspects of the RF social strategy (Northern people’s interests and ways of life, Finno-Ugric dimension of the Russian policy);
7. New education strategies (cultural traditions and novations, generations experience and modern technologies, lessons of the North);
8. Regional information resources management;
9. Professional sociolization of an individual and development of the staff potential in the region;
10. Health of a human being in the North;
11. Youth sector of the Congress: the future of Russia and socially important projects of the Northern territories long-term development.

   The topic variety of the sections’ sessions of the Congress was supplemented with the scientific seminar organized by the Institute of Geology, Ural Branch, Komi Science Centre, RAS Ural Branch, Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment of Komi Republic, Ministry of Industry and Energy of Komi Republic. The topic of the seminar was “Contribution of natives from Pechora-Vychegda region into learning of the interior of the Earth and creation of Russia’s mineral base”.
   During two plenary sessions and the work of the sections, round tables and field sessions more than 300 reports of russian and foreign participants of the Congress were presented. In a whole around 1000 scientists and specialists from leading higher educational institutions, scientific and industrial organizations and state structures of 15 regions of Russia, as well as guests from Finland, Estonia and Canada took part in the Congress.
   Proceeding from the understanding of the role, which the Northern strategy of Russia is playing in ensuring its competitiveness, as well as sustainable and secure development, the participants of the Congress stressed:

1. Necessity of systematic approach towards definition of the state social and ecological policy, taking into account nature’s and ethnic and cultural specific of the northern regions, as well as innovation potential of academic, higher educational and sectoral science;
2. New stage in the formation of the Northern and Environmental Congress, which allowed not only to effectively coordinate the activities of leading higher educational Institutions and Scientific Centers of the Northern Regions, but to make the Congress as a permanently operating ground for an open and competent Discussion of sectoral, transsectoral and international strategies of the long-term development of the Russian North;
3. Importance of the initiative of the Coordinating Council on the social strategy under the RF Council of Federation’s Chairman, concerning working up and wide discussion of the draft of the Russian Federation’s Social Doctrine. It should be a factor of all-national consolidation and should contribute to formation of the long-term strategy of the sustainable development of the Russian North and to social protection of the northerners;
4. Positive results of the international cooperation’s strengthening of the northern countries, taking into account specific possibilities, which cultural and linguistic kinship of many people of the North and, in particular, community of Finno-Ugric population.

• synchronize the plan of actions in the framework of the International Polar Year in Russia and the plan of preparation of the IV Northern and Environmental Congress, which is to be held in 2008;
• prepare “northern variants” of the ecological doctrine of the Russian Federation, worked out by the All-national ecological forum on the instruction of the President of Russia, as well as of the draft of the Social doctrine of the Russian Federation;
• work out the Conception of scientific and innovation policy in the northern regions of Russia (with the pilot project for Komi Republic), in the framework of which the priority directions of scientific, research and design work should be defined, as well as the procedure of drawing up, approval and financing of specified and scientific and technical programs.