How Russia is taking administration of the Arctic | It be Advanced

This is VladimirPutinat a naval parade in 2023. Reaffirming Russia's newmaritime doctrine, to establish Russia asa great maritime power and to defend its national interestsby all means necessary. Chief among thoseinterests is the Arctic. Controlling the Arctic'srichresources and strategic value, has long been an ambitionof Soviet and Russian leaders and Putin is no different. He also aspires to make the Arctica pillar of Russia's return to great power.

And now these ambitionsare becoming a reality. So how is Russia takingcontrol of the Arctic? In 2007, divers placeda ceremonial Russian flag on the seabed beneaththe North Pole and claimed an area contestedby both Canada and Denmark At the time the stunt wasnot taken seriously, but in February 2023 thedata behind the majority of Russia's claim was validated by UN commission. Although thisapproval is not the finalword on the rights to the Arctic,.

The claim would give Russia anadditional 1.7m sq km of seabed. Russia estimates that this claimed territoryhas more than 17.3b tonnes of oil. and 85.1 trillion cubic metres of gas. And Moscow is firmly in the drivingseat for controlling these resources. The country currently owns nearlyhalf of the polar territory and 24,000 km of coastline. This territorial dominancehas allowed Russia to expandits military significantlyin the region over the past 10 years. The Kremlin would argue thatit's protecting its borders,.

As well as major infrastructure projectsfocused on extracting natural resources. But at the same time, Russia is controlling strategicallyimportant maritime passage race, which has tightenedits grip on the Arctic. This is Alexandra Land, home to oneof Russia's state-of-the-arttrefoil military compounds and an upgraded airbase. It's thecountry'snorthern most military outpost and lies in close proximityto Norway's Svalbard archipelago.

And Denmark's Greenland territory. It provides crucial air, seaand land military capabilities, to safeguard the Kola peninsula, home to Russia's second strike nucleararsenal and their Northern Fleet headquarters. But this is just one of Russia'smany Artic military strongholds. Since2005 it's re-opened at least50 Soviet-era military bases, including 13 airbases, 10 radar stationsand 20 border outposts. It has also modernisedits northern fleet, which includes upgrading itsnumber of submarinescapable of launching long-range nuclear weapons.

And the developmentof new hypersonic missiles, designed to evade US sensors and defences. Russia has by far the largest numberof troops stationed in the region, and routinely conductsArctic tactical exercises. It also hasthe world's largest icebreakerfleet with more than 40 ships, vastly outnumbering thoseof other Nato countries. Russia's bases in the Arctic circle, outnumber Nato's by three to one. Some experts estimatethat it would take it would take western nations at least 10 years.

To catch up with Russia'smilitary in the region. This disparity is a bigproblem for Nato, because it allows Russia to severelydisrupt vital sea lines between North America and Europe. And tightens Russian control onthestrategically important northern sea route. The northern sea route extendsfrom the Bearing Strait in the east to the Kara Gate in the west, covering approximately5,600km. The majority of the international communityuse it as an international passage, butRussia views it asits own internal waterway.

The Kremlin has handed the country'snuclear agency, Rosatom, bureaucratic oversight over the route and has limited traffic fromfrom foreign warships, without a 45-day notification and the expresspermission from the Russian government. Summer seaice has declined at a rateof almost 13%, over the past 40 years and the Arctic is now heating upnearlyfour times faster than the global average. which means that scientists now projectan Arctic free from summer ice by 2040 to 2045. As more ice cover is lost,this transpolar route.

Will be moreavailablefor more months of the year. Putin has already committed to morethan double the cargo traffic along the northern sea route and announced greater cooperationwith Beijing to develop the route further. All this puts Russia's territorial expansion into sharper focus and underscoresPutin'sambitions to control the Arctic. For many years the Arctic was a regionof relative peace and cooperation between Russia and the west. Both sides recognise the need.

To protect and studythis preciousecological and geological site. But Russia's invasionand occupation of Ukraine, hasshattered this peacefulcooperation for the first time. Now Finland has joined Natoand Sweden is set to join too. Every Arctic country other than Russiawill be a member of the military alliance, givingRussia the pretence to protect its perceived military power. In the name of defending its borders and protecting its claimto this resource rich territory.

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