Introduction. A priority task of Russia’s state policy is to increase life expectancy (LE) up to 78 years by 2024. In the Russian North, the task is very ambitious. Aim of this study — to identify a combination of ages and causes of death, which is able to ensure an increase in life expectancy in the northern regions of Russia to the level of 78 and 80 years in the coming years. Material and methods. The study used data from the Federal State Statistics Service, Statistics Finland and the international Human Mortality Database and WHO Mortality Database. The contribution of mortality from different classes of causes to the growth of life expectancy was evaluated using the decomposition method. The mortality rates of the northern regions of Russia were compared with those of Moscow, Finland and the hypothetical world population. Results. Simultaneous mortality reduction from the circulatory diseases and external causes of death is the main source for increasing LE in the near future in the nothern regions of Russia. The priority of reducing mortality from neoplasms instead of external causes will not lead to a planned LE increase by 2024 and even by 2030. Conclusions. The epidemiological transition in the northern regions of Russia remains incomplete. The priorities for reducing mortality today are not able to lead to the target life expectancy in the northern regions of Russia.