ИСТИНА

The paper presents the results of the research on contemporary permafrost dynamics associated with climate changes in Eastern Chukotka region (Chukotsky peninsula) and its impact on indigenous peoples’ communities. The studies are based on the field monitoring works and geodetic measurements within several settlements as well as remote sensing data analysis and statistical results processing. The reasons of permafrost exogenous processes dynamics were indicated. The research was shown that the main threats for the local communities are caused by accelerated coastal erosion, intensive gully development, active layer thickening, and permafrost temperature increasing. Several examples of engineering facilities destruction were presented to illustrate the scales of study problem. Contemporary changes require increased budget costs for repairing and maintenance of infrastructure; they also threaten indigenous communities’ traditional lifestyle, decrease food security, and commonly deteriorate living standards in the region.