Owing to the rapid pace of development of different branches of industry, of the extractive industry in particular, the problems of the environmental protection become the foremost problems. The article deals with the problems of the environmental deterioration in the northern regions of Russia, where big extractive industrial complexes were built during the years of the Soviet Power. And it is evident, that the importance of the North as the main source of coal, gas, oil and metals will only grow, but, however, the uncontrolled use of its potential has already led to the accumulating of different types of pollution on this territory. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the main ecological problems in such centre of the coal mining industry as Vorkuta. Factories there exceeded all maximum rates of permissible emissions of harmful substances. Activity of collieries and of the cement factory is the main reason of the air pollution. Besides, the dessication and pollution of the top water seems to be one of the most serious problems. The river Vorkuta, the water of which is now biologically purified at 5 special stations, is named as an example of the successful taking measures of the elimination of the results of the negative man's impact. But in other respects the ecological situation in this region keeps to be tense. Different methods of improving of the state of the environment in Russia as a whole and in industrial area of Vorkuta in particular are suggested. The rejection of the “colonizer's ideology”, according to which the North is viewed only as the source of mineral, energy, biological etc. reserves, is considered to be the most important. Only reasonable management will allow us to hope for a promising future.

Owing to the rapid pace of development of different branches of industry, of the extractive industry in particular, the problems of the environmental protection become the foremost problems. The article deals with the problems of the environmental deterioration in the northern regions of Russia, where big extractive industrial complexes were built during the years of the Soviet Power. And it is evident, that the importance of the North as the main source of coal, gas, oil and metals will only grow, but, however, the uncontrolled use of its potential has already led to the accumulating of different types of pollution on this territory. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the main ecological problems in such centre of the coal mining industry as Vorkuta. Factories there exceeded all maximum rates of permissible emissions of harmful substances. Activity of collieries and of the cement factory is the main reason of the air pollution. Besides, the dessication and pollution of the top water seems to be one of the most serious problems. The river Vorkuta, the water of which is now biologically purified at 5 special stations, is named as an example of the successful taking measures of the elimination of the results of the negative man's impact. But in other respects the ecological situation in this region keeps to be tense. Different methods of improving of the state of the environment in Russia as a whole and in industrial area of Vorkuta in particular are suggested. The rejection of the «colonizer's ideology», according to which the North is viewed only as the source of mineral, energy, biological etc reserves, is considered to be the most important. Only reasonable management will allow us to hope for a promising future.