The development of a bioeconomy is at the forefront of the national and regional agendas of many European countries given not only its potential to counter climate change through replacing goods and services currently produced using fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources, but also the new economic activities in and around the rural regions it stimulates (Refsgaard et al., 2018). However, there is relatively little known about the status and institutional and policy frameworks for bioeconomy development in Northwest Russia.

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the status of and institutional framework for a bioeconomy in the Republic of Karelia and Murmansk oblast. The study identifies some of the main support mechanisms and incentives, as well as the potential and challenges, for bioeconomy development in these regions today and in the future. This study, which was financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2018–2019, Kicking off the Bioeconomy in the North, draws upon the lessons learned from the study financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2018, ‘Forest and Waste-based Bioeconomy in the Arkhangelsk region’ (Berlina and Trubin, 2018).