  Citation: Bogdanova, E.; Filant, K.; Ivanova, M.; Romanenko, T.; Voronina, L.; Hossain, K.; Filant, P.; Andronov, S.; Lobanov, A. Strengthening Collaboration of the Indigenous Peoples in the Russian Arctic: Adaptation in the COVID-19 Pandemic Times. Sustainability 2022, 14, 3225. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su14063225 Academic Editors: David Natcher and Liza Mack Received: 27 January 2022 Accepted: 5 March 2022 Published: 9 March 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Strengthening Collaboration of the Indigenous Peoples in the Russian Arctic: Adaptation in the COVID-19 Pandemic Times Elena Bogdanova 1, * , Konstantin Filant 2 , Medeya Ivanova 3 , Tatiana Romanenko 4 , Ludmila Voronina 5,6 , Kamrul Hossain 7 , Praskovia Filant 8 , Sergei Andronov 9 and Andrey Lobanov 9 1 Department of Economics and Management, Northern Arctic Federal University, 163002 Arkhangelsk, Russia 2 Arctic Scientific Research Centre of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, 629008 Salekhard, Russia; filantkg@gmail.com 3 Luzin Institute for Economic Studies, Federal Research Centre, Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 184209 Apatity, Russia; mv.ivanova@ksc.ru 4 Naryan-Mar Agriculture Research Station, N. Laverov Federal Research Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 166000 Naryan-Mar, Russia; nmshos@yandex.ru 5 Laboratory of Socio-Ecological-Economic Systems, N. Laverov Federal Research Center for Integrated Arctic Research of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 163069 Arkhangelsk, Russia; l.voronina@narfu.ru 6 Department of State and Municipal Management, Northern Arctic Federal University, 163002 Arkhangelsk, Russia 7 Northern Institute of Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Center of the Lapland University, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland; kamrul.hossain@ulapland.fi 8 Association of Reindeer Herders in YNAO, 629000 Salekhard, Russia; filant76@mail.ru 9 Laboratory for Studying the Mechanisms of Physical Factors Action, Centre for Testing and Examination of Natural Healing Resources, National Medical Research Centre for Rehabilitation and Balneology, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 121099 Moscow, Russia; sergius198010@mail.ru (S.A.); alobanov89@gmail.com (A.L.) * Correspondence: e.n.bogdanova@narfu.ru Abstract: The article presents the challenges of the Indigenous peoples’ interplay with the key actors (Indigenous communities, Indigenous associations, regional governments, corporate businesses, and scientific institutions) in the Russian Arctic. Invoking actor–network theory offered knowledge to analyse how the effectiveness of this collaboration may lead to Indigenous peoples’ social adaptation in the COVID-19 times. It revealed the main problems increasing their vulnerability and making barriers to meeting sustainable development goals (SDGs). The primary sources included the data collected from expert interviews in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and the Murmansk region in 2020–2021. The main findings proved the gaps in the interplay of Indigenous peoples with key actors in the Russian Arctic due to insufficient interregional and interna- tional cooperation, indirect communication of governments with Indigenous peoples via Indigenous associations and communities focused mostly on supporting elites, and the lack of systematic feed- back of all key actors. This collaboration must be focused on meeting SDGs and guaranteeing their economic, social, and cultural rights to maintain a traditional lifestyle and livelihoods, involving them in natural resource management, improving quality of life and well-being, increasing access to ethnocultural education, reducing inequality, and promoting Indigenous peoples’ self-government. Keywords: Indigenous small-numbered peoples; actor–networking theory; sustainable development; COVID-19 pandemic; Western Siberia; Nenets Autonomous Okrug; Kola Peninsula 1. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic was an “unprecedented wake-up call” [1] and made In- digenous communities face challenges of decreased human security, destabilised global economies, and rising inequalities addressed in the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change [2]. The UN Sustainability 2022, 14, 3225. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063225 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability