Putin stakes claim to Arctic

[American Patriot]

Russia Pushes To Claim Arctic As Its Own

by David Greene




Listen to the Story

Morning Edition
[7 min 48 sec]

• Add to Playlist
• Download
• Transcript

Enlarge David Greene/NPR Murmansk, Russia, is the largest city above the Arctic Circle. If Russia follows through with plans to explore for oil and natural gas offshore in the Arctic Ocean, the city and its port could see significant economic benefits.


The Arctic may be the world's next geopolitical battleground. Temperatures there are rising faster than anywhere else in the world, and the melting ice will have profound consequences for the roof of the world, opening strategic waterways to shipping, reducing the ice cap on Greenland, and spurring a rush to claim rights to the wealth of natural resources that lie beneath. NPR examines what's at stake, who stands to win and lose, and how this could alter the global dynamic.
Second in a six-part series




text size A A A
August 16, 2011
Four years ago, Russian researchers made a bold, if unseen, move. From a submarine, deep beneath the icy waters of the North Pole, they planted a Russian flag on the ocean floor.
Russia has the world's longest Arctic border, which stretches more than 10,000 miles. And for Russia, that 2007 research mission was only the beginning of a major drive to claim ownership of vast portions of the Arctic, as well as the oil and gas deposits that are beneath.

Credit: Stephanie d'Otreppe/NPR



At present, Russia has some islands in the Arctic Ocean. But aside from that, the country's northern border effectively ends where the Arctic Ocean begins.
Yet the Russian government is now making the argument that its border should be extended northward. The government says that hidden under the Arctic's icy waters is a mountain range, the Lomonosov Ridge, which goes all the way to the North Pole. They say this shows that Russia continues north below sea level, and the country has scientists in the Arctic Ocean now, collecting evidence for the claim.
On a recent visit, a speedboat raced up the Pechora River in one small part of the vast region. The river cuts through hundreds of miles of empty green and sandy tundra and empties into the Arctic Ocean.
In a small fishing village with a smattering of wooden houses in the Nenets Autonomous Region, Yuri Tyulyubayev, a travel company owner, says many local residents agree with the government.
"People are happy that we have oil because ... we have more work, we have more profit, we have everything," says Tyulyubayev.
Enlarge David Greene/NPR Nadezhda Lyashenko is a spiritual leader in the Saami tribe, indigenous people who live in Russia's northwest Arctic region. As Russia and other world powers search for oil in the Arctic Ocean, she worries about the environmental consequences.


In many ways, Tyulyubayev is a poster child in Russia's campaign for Arctic energy. He arranges travel for the oil industry. So his small company stands to profit if foreign energy companies flock here. His native land of north-central Russia is largely unspoiled.
"It's a very, very reindeer region," he says. "We have more than 150,000 reindeer for 40,000 people."
'They Could Break Everything'
And now, a lot of oil and gas companies. There are Russian firms, but also companies from the U.S. and Vietnam, all exploring for oil and gas onshore. And if Russian leaders have their way, exploration will begin in the Arctic Ocean itself as early as this winter. Tyulyubayev says the more money and business that come to this region, the better.
But what about the risks to the environment?
"Of course we worry. But I would not say that this is the first worry in our life," he says. "Economic life is much more important for people."
More In This Series

Arctic Warming Unlocking A Fabled Waterway

For centuries, the ice-choked Northwest Passage has been prized as a potential trade route.



The Arctic's Diminishing Sea Ice

The Earth is warming, with profound consequences for the Arctic, the roof of the world.




The Russian Arctic has the scars of history. The northwest, around the port city of Murmansk, was pummeled by Adolf Hitler's forces during World War II. The Arctic was also one of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's favorite places to send his perceived enemies, with gulags that dotted the snowy landscape.
The indigenous people of this region bore much of the brunt. The Saami tribe, for one, has lived centuries in Russia's northwest, near the Norwegian border. Saami people were forcibly collectivized on farms under Stalin. Nadezhda Lyashenko, the Saami woman singing traditional tribal music here, can recount the horror stories. Her grandfather, a reindeer shepherd, was shot in 1937, accused of being a spy after he crossed into Finland chasing a reindeer herd.
After decades of relative peace, Lyashenko says, trouble seems to be returning to her native Arctic lands. She sees Russia and other world powers in a race for oil and gas, ignoring the potential impact to a part of the Earth that's been rarely touched.
"The Arctic is just so fragile," she says. "This time, it's a research boat going out there. It's like the prick of a needle, and the land will heal. But if they go with knives, with spears, they could break everything. And then what?"
Putin's Political Gift
Russia has signaled that it means business. The government seems determined to militarize the Arctic, announcing recently that two army brigades — several thousand troops — will soon be patrolling there.
Enlarge David Greene/NPR The village of Teriberka, in the Murmansk region of Arctic Russia, is an impoverished and desolate community. Many of the 700 residents are out of work.


Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, in a speech to the country's ruling United Russia party this summer, vowed to open the Arctic Ocean for offshore development. He announced plans to build a new, year-round port on the Yamal Peninsula in the center of Russia's north coast. Putin said that Russia would consult with other Arctic countries. But, he added, Russia will be "firm and persistent" in protecting its interests.
Konstantin Simonov, who heads the National Energy Security Fund, a Russian think tank that consults with oil and gas companies, says the Arctic is a political gift for Putin. As Soviet power fades into memory, Putin can say this is one part of the world where Russia still calls the shots.
"With the help of Arctic, Putin can show to people that Russia is still a serious power," Simonov says.
The risk, Simonov says, is exaggerated expectations. Many of the offshore oil and gas projects are at least a decade away from bringing economic benefit — assuming they succeed.
Enlarge David Greene/NPR Andrei Udin, 33, works odd jobs around Teriberka — including at this repair shop — but he can't find steady work. He has grown impatient, fearing a natural gas processing plant promised to this community will never materialize.


Yet Russians who live above the Arctic Circle are growing excited. They look to neighboring Norway, or to Alaska, where citizens share in oil profits. And they believe their time has come. Simonov thinks about one desolate village, Teriberka. It's on the coast near the Norwegian border. People there were told that as soon as a new offshore gas deposit, known as the Shtokman field, is explored, the community will get a natural gas processing plant and plenty of jobs.
"I can understand these people because they have no other alternative but to dream that our plans to develop Arctic will be realistic," Simonov said.
Holding On To Hope
To reach the village of Teriberka requires driving 100 miles across empty tundra. It's a place that's struggling. It has dirt roads and maybe 700 residents who live in old Soviet housing that's crumbling.
According to 33-year-old Andrei Udin, life in Teriberka is depressing. He has tried for years to find real work. Udin likes the tough talk from Putin, the promise to fight for Arctic territory. "What's ours should be ours," Udin says. But after years of delay, he's beginning to wonder if that natural gas processing plant is really coming to Teriberka.
"If I don't have a job, natural gas does nothing for me," Udin says. "I can't exactly use the gas for food." Frustration is growing around this village. People are beginning to say that unless the oil and gas riches will be shared, maybe it's best to leave nature alone.

[American Patriot]

I predict nothing good will come of this.

Russia is going to "defend" their strategic resources, even if the said resources don't actually belong to them.

Several countries are a little upset over this.

The US is said to be "beefing up naval forces" over this suddenly.

I see this leading ultimately to a sea battle between the US, Russia and other countries.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia's Arctic Embrace: Cold War Reloaded

October 2, 2011

In September 2010, Germany’s Der Spiegel explained that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has a “soft spot for the Arctic,” with Putin saying Russia “will put huge amounts of money into environmental protection” and is “planning to do a serious spring cleaning of our Arctic territories.”

He was up there petting polar bears to drive home his new heartfelt cause. I’m not kidding. Researchers had to first sedate the bear he caressed as he spoke, though. Putin also didn’t let the bear go without first attaching a transmitter. Old KGB habits die hard, I guess.

That was then. Today, Putin is focused on re-presidenting himself next March, and musing that he wants the Arctic Passage​ to become the next Suez Canal. “But how will the polar bears feel about all the traffic?” you might ask. Remember, if the bear causes any trouble, it’s still wearing that transmitter and will probably be shot from a plane.

This is a typical case of “cover for action”: claiming environmental concern as a reason for Arctic interest and presence when the deeper interest is an economic one. Welcome, world, to “Cold War​ Reloaded: The Arctic Frontier.” Time to pull the pin out of the top of that dusty globe you have on your desk and have a look at the battle line of the future—rife with oil and high-value raw minerals.

So how will the squabbling go down? It will ultimately be Russia against everyone else. Canada and Russia have the bulk of Arctic land, with the USA, Denmark, Iceland and Norway also having some claim. Canadian fighter jets chased Russian military aircraft out of Canadian Arctic territory in 2009 and 2010, with the first incident occurring during President Obama’s official visit.

There’s no better match for Putin on the international stage than conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper—so aloof, enigmatic and mysterious that he sometimes manages to elude world leader group photos at summits, despite always being in attendance. Harper’s Arctic defense spending spree indicates that he knows where this is all headed. When Canada appears to be in a full-out arms race sprint, it’s a pretty reliable sign that something significant is going on.

Canada’s recent purchases include 65 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and eight Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships for what a Canadian Navy​ backgrounder calls Canada’s “Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).” Not “Polar Bear Playgrounds (PBPs).” Not “Awesomely Big Hockey Rinks (ABHRs).” This is about national wealth—which means being less reliant in the future on having to deal with regimes that don’t share similar values. As the backgrounder states: “This government recognizes that an increased Canadian Forces​ (CF) presence in the Arctic is essential to achieving our goals in this region, which is critical to our national interest and sense of identity.”

The notion of Canada being at the forefront of any conflict with Russia into which America is ultimately drawn isn’t a new one. The entire Cold War era started in Canada. On Sept. 5, 1945, a Soviet Embassy employee in Ottawa, Canada, Igor Gouzenko​, handed over 100 documents to Canadian national police detailing Soviet spying on Canadian and American interests.

These days, the Western public seems to have trouble taking any potential Russian threat seriously, probably because we’re so far into the era of visible and overt Islamic terrorism that they’re convinced that’s all there is. The Cold War didn't end just because Soviet tanks aren’t being shown on American TV screens every night. Russia built Iran’s nuclear reactor. Russia enjoys an exclusive bilateral trade deal with China. Russia is managing to buy back influence in all of its former satellite states through investments made by Kremlin-backed oligarchs, and further stretching that influence into the West via similar business investment activity.

Only a few days ago, Russia’s ambassador to Canada was complaining in the Canadian media that Harper vilified Russia in an attempt to boost support and gain a majority government—which he did earlier this year. Harper wasn’t Bear-baiting—he’d be about 25 years too late for that to actually work on Canadians as a political tactic. It was just a rare case of a politician being genuine.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Claims New Arctic Hydrocarbon Finds Effectively Double Nations Reserves

September 29, 2011

Russia, currently vying for the title of world's top oil producer with Saudi Arabia, claimed that new findings in its offshore Arctic territories have effectively doubled the nation’s energy reserves.

According to numerous Russian media reports, addressing a meeting of the sixth media forum of the United Russia Party on 25 September, Russian Natural Resources Minister Iury Trutnev said that the preliminary forecast is that resources in the Russian Arctic shelf are comparable to those in mainland Russia, adding, “Speaking of long-term planning, these reserves could last 100, may be 150 years, but longer is unlikely. Humanity will eventually have to look for new energy anyway. Recently, we completed 40-year talks with Norway, delineated the gray zone, and now obtained another 5 billion tons of fuel equivalent there.”

Trutnev’s new Arctic reserve claims are buttressed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) 2008 survey, which estimated that 90 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 1.668 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas lie beneath the Arctic’s waters and ice, representing 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil. Strong oil prices, more advanced offshore equipment and receding sea ice are leading to a growing interest in the Arctic.

Four years ago Russia’s Arktika 2007 expedition took a team of Russian geologists on a six-week voyage aboard the 50 Let Pobedy (“50 Years of Victory”) nuclear icebreaker to the underwater Lomonosov ridge in Russia's eastern Arctic Ocean, which they claimed was linked to Russian Federation territory and contained 10 billion tons of natural gas and oil deposits. The Russian Federation has been busily advancing its claims over its Arctic continental shelf ever since. Just to be on the safe side, Russia has prepared a justification for submitting in 2013 a new claim for the expansion of the borders of its Arctic shelf, according to Trutnev, who told media forum participants, "Important work was carried out this year: our vessels covered a distance of 22,000 kilometers and conducted activities to justify Russia's new claim in 2013."

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has also gotten into the act of national chest-thumping about Russia’s new-found Arctic riches. According to information posted on the Prime Minister’s website, Putin told participants at the second International Arctic Forum, "The Arctic - Territory of Dialogue" in Arkhangelsk on 22 September, “We have already installed one of the world's largest hydrocarbon platforms there. Russia is starting to develop the Arctic shelf and opening a new chapter in the history of Arctic exploration. Very soon it will contain pages on the commissioning of the Shtokman deposit in the Barents Sea and the development of resources in the Kara Sea and on the Yamal Peninsula.”

Seeking to allay the not inconsiderable environmental concerns about the Arctic’s fragile ecosystems Putin added, “All our plans will be carried out in compliance with the toughest environmental standards. A careful, civilized attitude to nature is a requirement of all development programs. Active economic development of the Arctic will be beneficial only if we maintain a rational balance between economic interests and environmental protection for the long term, not just for 10, 15 or 20 years. I mentioned the Prirazlomnoe deposit, where oil production is expected to last for at least 25 years and, hence, environmental support must be provided for this entire period. The Shtokman deposit is expected to last for 50 years.”

Just coincidently, during the Forum Putin fielded a telephone call from Rosneft president Eduard Khudainatov, who just happened to be standing on its Prirazlomnoe offshore platform in the Pechora Sea. Via sat-phone hookup Khudainatov addressed environmental safety concerns by telling Putin, "We know absolutely how to do this. We have started this work and we are absolutely certain that the risk in Arctic shelf exploration will be ruled out."

Whether of not the Russians have either the expertise or the necessary cash to exploit the region’s reserves is another matter, as Arctic oil and natural gas exploration is more technically and physically challenging than for any other environment. However, Putin added that Rosneft has a long strategic cooperation agreement with ExxonMobil, and no doubt there will be other international energy companies willing to brave Russia’s tortuous bureaucratic maze for a piece of the action.

In the early 2012 Russia plans to start the first commercial offshore oil drilling in the Arctic on its Prirazlomnoe offshore platform, hailed in the Russian media as the world’s first Arctic-class ice-resistant oil rig.

Oh, and if things do screw up in spite of Khudainatov’s promises, well, according to Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin, addressing the same forum as Putin, the Russian government has allocated 20 billion rubles ($623 million) to construct three new nuclear and three diesel-electric icebreakers.

[vector7]

Russia Reasserts Ownership Over The North Pole

Bruce Jones and Tom Parfitt, The Telegraph | Sep. 28, 2012, 6:32 AM | 3,142 |


en.wikipedia.org

A Russian Orthodox bishop has lowered a "holy memorial capsule" into the sea at the North Pole in an attempt to "consecrate" the Arctic and reassert Moscow's claims to the territory.

The service was held by Bishop Iakov on the ice alongside the nuclear icebreaker Rossiya during a polar expedition titled "Arctic-2012", organised by the country's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

The metal capsule carried the blessings of the church's leader, bearing the inscription: "With the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the consecration of the North Pole marks 1150 years of Russian Statehood."

The Kremlin is keen to claim the hydrocarbon riches off its northern coast despite territorial claims from other governments, and is gradually re-militarising the area.

A conservative Moscow think-tank suggested in July that the Arctic Ocean should be renamed the "Russian Ocean" and this week it was announced that MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft will be based in the region by the end of the year.

Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, who says exploiting oil and gas reserves in the North is a "strategic priority".

At the North Pole, the bishop's service was attended by a small group of scientists and the Rossiya's captain Oleg Shchapin.

It was held during an expedition to find a floe suitable for Russia's 40th drifting polar research station and to deliver a 17-strong team to man the outpost for the next year.

The consecration earlier this month highlights Russia's urge to claim international waters beyond its continental shelf because of underwater ridges it says are attached to the mainland.

Bishop Iakov, who is thought to be the first Russian priest to visit the pole, emphasised that the consecration symbolised efforts "to restore Russia's position and confirm its achievements in the Arctic".

In 2007, in another political move, Russia planted its flag on the seabed below the polar ice cap using a remotely operated mini-submarine, symbolically laying claim to the surrounding area.

The Rossiya carried on its voyage an icon and holy relics of St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker, the patron saint of sailors, normally kept in the diocese's main church on dry land.

Bishop Iakov was appointed last year as bishop of the newly created, most northerly diocese of Naryan-Mar and Mezen, which lies inside the Arctic Circle on the White and Barents Seas.

The diocese includes the islands of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, where airfields have recently been upgraded by the Russian Air Force as operational strategic bomber stations.

One airbase on Graham Bell Island boasts a 7,000-foot year-round compacted ice runway.

Bishop Iakov has taken part in other polar missions, sailing the length of the contested Northern Sea Route between Scandinavia and Alaska along Russia's Arctic coast, which Russia claims and seeks to charge ships for using like the Panama Canal, but is regarded by most other countries as international waters.

In 2004 the bishop consecrated an Orthodox church in Antarctica at Russia's Bellingshausen research base.

[Avvakum]

Russia Reasserts Ownership Over The North Pole

Bruce Jones and Tom Parfitt, The Telegraph | Sep. 28, 2012, 6:32 AM | 3,142 |


en.wikipedia.org

A Russian Orthodox bishop has lowered a "holy memorial capsule" into the sea at the North Pole in an attempt to "consecrate" the Arctic and reassert Moscow's claims to the territory.

The service was held by Bishop Iakov on the ice alongside the nuclear icebreaker Rossiya during a polar expedition titled "Arctic-2012", organised by the country's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

The metal capsule carried the blessings of the church's leader, bearing the inscription: "With the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the consecration of the North Pole marks 1150 years of Russian Statehood."

The Kremlin is keen to claim the hydrocarbon riches off its northern coast despite territorial claims from other governments, and is gradually re-militarising the area.

A conservative Moscow think-tank suggested in July that the Arctic Ocean should be renamed the "Russian Ocean" and this week it was announced that MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft will be based in the region by the end of the year.

Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, who says exploiting oil and gas reserves in the North is a "strategic priority".

At the North Pole, the bishop's service was attended by a small group of scientists and the Rossiya's captain Oleg Shchapin.

It was held during an expedition to find a floe suitable for Russia's 40th drifting polar research station and to deliver a 17-strong team to man the outpost for the next year.

The consecration earlier this month highlights Russia's urge to claim international waters beyond its continental shelf because of underwater ridges it says are attached to the mainland.

Bishop Iakov, who is thought to be the first Russian priest to visit the pole, emphasised that the consecration symbolised efforts "to restore Russia's position and confirm its achievements in the Arctic".

In 2007, in another political move, Russia planted its flag on the seabed below the polar ice cap using a remotely operated mini-submarine, symbolically laying claim to the surrounding area.

The Rossiya carried on its voyage an icon and holy relics of St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker, the patron saint of sailors, normally kept in the diocese's main church on dry land.

Bishop Iakov was appointed last year as bishop of the newly created, most northerly diocese of Naryan-Mar and Mezen, which lies inside the Arctic Circle on the White and Barents Seas.

The diocese includes the islands of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, where airfields have recently been upgraded by the Russian Air Force as operational strategic bomber stations.

One airbase on Graham Bell Island boasts a 7,000-foot year-round compacted ice runway.

Bishop Iakov has taken part in other polar missions, sailing the length of the contested Northern Sea Route between Scandinavia and Alaska along Russia's Arctic coast, which Russia claims and seeks to charge ships for using like the Panama Canal, but is regarded by most other countries as international waters.

In 2004 the bishop consecrated an Orthodox church in Antarctica at Russia's Bellingshausen research base.

And to top this claim off, the Putin Regime seeks God's Blessing for this theft by an invocation by one of it's stable of 'Sergianist' bishops...Repellant.

[Ryan Ruck]

China joining in with Russia in the Arctic.

China Finds Gold In The Northeast Passage

August 19, 2013

China recently sent a 19,000 ton cargo ship through the ice free Northeast Passage (along the north coast of Russia) to confirm what satellite images have shown, that there is an ice free route for four months a year from Alaska to Norway. Research has shown that this route has been ice free in the past but this is the first time in the modern period when that has happened. Russia is encouraging the use of the Northeast Passage, as it cuts the time it takes to get from East Asia to Europe by a third (from six weeks to four). Time is money in the shipping business and this is a big deal for China, which is a major exporter of goods to Europe. If the Northeast Passage remains open dependably China could end up sending 15 percent of its foreign trade along that route, making the increased Russian military presence up there welcome.

For the last two years Russia has been regularly patrolling (usually from the air) large portions of its 5,600 kilometer northern border (from Murmansk, near Norway, to the Bering Strait, near Alaska). The increased patrolling is to protect the growing number of oil and natural gas fields being developed near these coastal areas. Naval patrols will begin by 2015. With this coast ice free in warm weather, Russia sees a need for surface ships patrolling the area. Nuclear subs continue to run underwater patrols during Winter, when the coastline is iced in.

The appearance of the Northeast Passage is a boon to Russia as well, which can more cheaply supply the oil and gas fields along the north coast as well as the few people who live up there. The Chinese are not the only ships using the passage. Last year 46 ships used it, up from only four in 2010. If the China trade moves to the Northeast Passage in a big way it could mean thousands of transits a year. This is bad news for Egypt, which will lose hundreds of million dollars a year in Suez Canal transit fees.

The U.S. Navy noted the increased Russian activity in the arctic and became publicly alarmed at the fact that the U.S. Navy was no longer prepared to operate in the Arctic. Actually, the U.S. Navy was never big on operating in the Arctic. The navy used to have seven Wind class icebreakers, built near the end of World War II. But these were mainly to maintain access to polar shipping lanes that were only needed in wartime. These icebreakers were turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard after World War II and all were retired by the 1980s. The navy saw no compelling reason to maintain a fleet of icebreakers. The U.S. Coast Guard currently has three icebreakers but one is being decommissioned and the other is out of action for maintenance. The more recent one (entered service in 1999) is on call to rush to Antarctica to help keep a passage open to research facilities there.

But now all the other arctic nations (especially Russia and Canada, which have the largest claims because of their long Arctic coastlines) are increasing their military presence in the arctic. This is mainly to back claims to gas, oil, and mineral deposits believed to be present in shallow arctic waters. The U.S. Navy is using this potential for conflict over these arctic resources to get back into arctic operations.

In reality, the U.S. Coast Guard has far more experience in the arctic and is the force that is called on for any emergencies up there (there are very few). Navy interest in the arctic may disappear if Congress agrees that the navy should be involved but preparations will have to be paid for out of the current (shrinking) navy budget. In the last fifty years the only navy ships that regularly operated in the arctic were SSNs (nuclear attack submarines) that usually move about under the ice and occasionally surface where the ice is thin or, in the Summer, when there is no ice at all. This is as much for PR as it is to make sure no potential foe is sneaking about under the ice. The U.S. Navy intends to operate some ships up there during warmer, ice-free, months, just to show the flag. Canada, however, is intent on developing its increasingly ice-free Northwest Passage as a shorter route from the Pacific coast of North America to Europe.

[vector7]

5 November 2013, 16:32
Russia says it has to protect its Arctic interests

Photo: RIA

In a statement posted on a government website Tuesday, the Russian Regional Development Ministry argues Russia has to build a cutting-edge military infrastructure in the Arctic, if it is serious about protecting its interests there as the area warms and becomes increasingly open to international shipping, fishing and geological exploration.

It also says the Russian military must waste no time in carrying out appropriate drills.

According to Russian newspapers, President Putin is about to issue executive orders to build a string of airbases along Russia’s Arctic coast.

In September, a Russian naval squadron visited the New Siberian Islands on a mission to start rebuilding the Soviet-era Temp airbase on Kotelny Island. Last week, a heavy Antonov transport jet touched down at this airbase for the first time in 30 years.

More than one fifth of Russia’s territory lies north of the Arctic Circle. The population of this area accounts for just 1.6 percent of the country’s people.

Voice of Russia, Regulation.gov.ru, RIA-Novosti, Nezavisimaya Gazeta

[Avvakum]

"And to top this claim off, the Putin Regime seeks God's Blessing for this theft by an invocation by one of it's stable of 'Sergianist' bishops...Repellant. "

The heathen kings rage and plot against the Lord and His Christ, and the alleged Shepherds of the Church join them. We are in the End of Time.

[vector7]

Putin: Russia needs Arctic presence to guard against U.S. threat

By Alexei Anishchuk

MOSCOW Tue Dec 3, 2013 1:00pm EST

1 Comments


Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with academics at the Moscow State University December 3, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Mikhail Metzel/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

(Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia had vital defense and economic interests in the Arctic, citing a potential U.S. military threat from submarine-based missiles there.

Russia detained 30 Greenpeace activists protesting against Arctic drilling at Russian Prirazlomnaya offshore platform in September and they now face charges carrying seven-year jail sentences, underlining Moscow's strong interest in the Arctic.

Putin has ordered a Soviet-era military base reopened in the Arctic as part of a drive to make the northern coast a global shipping route and secure the region's vast energy resources.

"Not only are there major economic interests for our country there...it is also an important part of our defense capability," Putin told a meeting of university students in Moscow.

"There are (U.S.) submarines there and they carry missiles," the Russian leader said. "It only takes 15-16 minutes for U.S. missiles to reach Moscow from the Barents Sea. So should we give away the Arctic? We should on the contrary explore it."

Nevertheless, Putin said Russia was unlikely to get involved in any global conflicts, particularly with the United States.

Russia, the world's largest country and its second biggest oil exporter, is vying with Canada, Denmark, Norway and the United States for control of the oil, gas and precious metals that would become more accessible if global warming shrinks the Arctic ice cap.

Moscow claims a whole swathe of the Arctic seabed, arguing that it is an extension of the Siberian continental shelf.

Answering questions from students, Putin stressed the need for patriotism - a common theme in his third presidential term in which he faces growing dissent and economic problems.

"If we want to keep our identity overall, we of course need to cultivate the patriotic sentiment," he said. "The country will not exist without it, it will fall apart from inside like a lump of sugar that has been dipped in water."

Russia initially accused the Greenpeace protesters of piracy but later softened the charges to hooliganism. Some activists had tried to scale the Prirazlomnaya platform operated by state-owned firm Gazprom. Russia's first offshore oil platform in the Arctic, it is expected to start production this month.

All 30 Greenpeace environmental campaigners were released on bail last month, but still face prison terms if convicted in a case that has drawn criticism from the West and is seen by Kremlin critics as part of a clampdown on dissent by Putin.

Russian geologists estimate the Arctic seabed has at least 9 billion to 10 billion metric tons of fuel equivalent, about the same as Russia's total oil reserves.

__________________________________


Russia advances on North America extending to a large part of Alaska, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories

[American Patriot]

LOL!


What "threat"???? LMAO

[vector7]

Newly Developed Russian Winter Camouflage

November 15 2013 at 3:19 AM

Putin orders Arctic military build-up in 2014






Russia will create forces in the Arctic in 2014 to ensure military security and protect the country’s national interests in the region, which President Vladimir Putin has named among the government’s top priorities.

Russia is returning to the Arctic and “intensifying the development of this promising region” so it needs to “have all the levers for the protection of its security and national interests,” Putin said on Tuesday at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry Board.

He ordered the ministry to complete the formation of new military units and infrastructure in the Arctic next year.
"I would like you to devote special attention to deploying infrastructure and military units in the Arctic," the president said in televised remarks.

Russia is reinstating its military base in the Novosibirsk Archipelago (New Siberian Islands), which had been abandoned by the military in 1993, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The islands “have key meaning for the control of the situation in the entire Arctic region,” Putin told the top military brass.

This year, Russia has also started restoring its Arctic airfields including one called “Temp” on Kotelny Island near the city of Norilsk. It is also overhauling urban facilities in Tiksi, Naryan-Mar, and Anadyr.


The surface-to-surface missile cruiser "Pyotr Veliky" (RIA Novosti / Sergey Guneev)

The country is set to continue the revival of other Russian northern airfields as well as docks on the New Siberian Islands and the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said, speaking at Tuesday’s meeting.

“There are plans to create a group of troops and forces to ensure military security and protection of the Russian Federation's national interests in the Arctic in 2014,” Shoigu confirmed.

Additionally, Russian Senator and well-known polar explorer, Artur Chilingarov, suggested reviving the Academy of Sciences’ Polar Commission – a research institution which existed until 1936.

Back in September, Russia announced it was resuming its permanent Arctic military presence. In a symbolic move, it sent 10 warships and nuclear-powered icebreakers along the Northern Sea Route. This is a shipping lane between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, which runs from the Russian northern port city of Murmansk, along Siberia and the Far East.

In recent years, as the race for the Arctic intensified, Russia has repeatedly reiterated that it is set to retain its position in the region for both security and economic reasons, as well as to preserve its national integrity.


The nuclear icebreaker Taimyr (RIA Novosti / Igor Mikhalev)

However, other Arctic nations are not going to give up either in their intention of grabbing a share of the region, believed to be rich in oil, natural gas, and deposits of gold and platinum. According to a US Geological Survey, about 90 billion barrels of oil and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are there, making up about 10 percent of the world's petroleum resources. The dominant portion of these resources is hidden beneath ice that is shared between five nations bordering the Arctic: Canada, Denmark, Norway, the Russia and the US – who have been in a bitter dispute over how to divide up the ‘pie’.

According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, an economic zone belonging to a state is limited to 200 nautical miles from the coastline. That area can only be extended if a country provides evidence that the continental shelf is a geological extension of its territory.

Canada confirmed on Monday that it is preparing to include the North Pole as part of its Arctic Ocean seabed claim in the multi-country push to prove jurisdiction over further territory in the area.

Since 2007, Russia has organized several expeditions to prove that an underwater Arctic mountain range, the Lomonosov Ridge, is part of its own landmass. It says the ridge is a continuation of the Siberian continental platform and it is not isolated from the Russian plateau.

US President Barack Obama in May unveiled a strategy for the Arctic, asserting that nations must protect the region's fragile environment and keep it free from conflict. The plan also made it clear the US does not want to be left behind as the other countries eye natural resources and exploit potential new sea routes.

________________________________


Russia's advance on North America extending to Canada in all red and the northern United States

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia's Putin Wants Beefed-Up Presence In Arctic

April 22, 2014

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia should step up its presence in the Arctic and challenge other nations in exploring the world's largest untapped natural reserves, days after it started shipping its first oil from the region.

Russia's ambitions in the Arctic have for some time been raising eyebrows among other states vying for a presence there, but the Kremlin's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula is likely to put its Arctic plans under greater scrutiny.

Russia has staked its future economic growth on developing the Arctic's vast energy resources and reviving a Soviet-era shipping route through the ice.

The United States, Denmark and Norway are also pressing for access to what they consider their fair share of the Arctic's massive oil and natural gas reserves.

Russia loaded its first crude tanker from an oil platform in the Pechora Sea last week.

"Over decades, step by step, Russia has built up, strengthened its positions in the Arctic," Putin told a meeting of his Security Council in the Kremlin. "And our goal is not only to regain them, but also to qualitatively strengthen them."

Moscow and the West are in the middle of their worst standoff since the Cold War. The row centers on Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Last year Putin ordered the reopening of a Soviet-era Arctic military base in the Novosibirsk Islands, two decades after abandoning it, and Moscow has sent 10 warships and four nuclear-powered ice breakers there in a demonstration of force.

"More often the interests of the Arctic powers, and not only them, cross here - countries that are far away from this region are also expressing interest (in the Arctic)," he said.

"In these conditions we must take additional measures not to fall behind our partners, to keep our influence in the region and in some aspects be ahead of our partners."

Russia, Canada and Denmark all say an underwater mountain range, known as the Lomonosov Ridge, which stretches 1,800 km (1,120 miles) across the pole under the Arctic Sea, is part of their own landmass. China, the world's No 2 economy, has expressed interest in the Arctic shipping route.

Last week Russia loaded its first oil tanker at the Prirazlomnaya platform in the Arctic. The area is seen by Moscow as a source of fuel that can gradually replace output from its depleting West Siberian fields.

The launch has long been delayed because of cost overruns and technical difficulties. Thirty Greenpeace activists received jail sentences last year after protesting against drilling at the platform. They were released after an international outcry.

Putin on Tuesday deflected environmental concerns by saying that Moscow will stick to "international environmental safety regulations in the region".

[Ryan Ruck]

Russia Dispatches Naval Force To Reopen Arctic Base

September 6, 2014

Russia on Saturday sent six ships carrying personnel and equipment to a Soviet-era military base in the Arctic that it is reopening to bolster its presence in the region, Russian news agencies reported.

Moscow is ramping up its military presence in the pristine but energy-rich region as other countries such as Canada and Norway are also staking claims to access its resources.

President Vladimir Putin last year ordered the military to return to a base on the far-Northern New Siberian Islands that was abandoned in 1993.

On Saturday, a fleet of six ships including two large landing ships set off from the port of Severomorsk in northern Russia, a spokesman for the Western military district, Vadim Serga, told ITAR-TASS news agency.

The ships will be accompanied by several icebreakers.

"The main task of the latest expedition by a number of Northern Fleet ships to the Arctic is to deliver staff, equipment and supplies to the taskforce that from this year will serve on the New Siberian islands on a permanent basis," said the northern fleet's commander, Admiral Vladimir Korolyov.

Last year, ten ships went to the New Siberian Islands in September to deliver the first equipment and supplies to rebuild the base on an archipelago where temperatures can fall to -50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit).

[Avvakum]

A strong resurgent Russia doesn't bother me one bit geopolitically as an American, if this were the Soviet Union we were talking about, that's another story. Part of the mystery about Putin and his administration is that it is Eurasian rather than Russian Nationalist in outlook, a Soviet-Era ideology which makes perfect cover for Neo-Soviet moves.

[American Patriot]

A strong resurgent Russia doesn't bother me one bit geopolitically as an American, if this were the Soviet Union we were talking about, that's another story. Part of the mystery about Putin and his administration is that it is Eurasian rather than Russian Nationalist in outlook, a Soviet-Era ideology which makes perfect cover for Neo-Soviet moves.

I don't know what planet you think you live on. This IS the "Soviet Union". The Soviet Union was Communist. The Soviet Union was run by Commies. The Soviet Union was run from Moscow. The Soviet Union had nukes. The Soviet Union was basically run by the KGB. Other than the fact that there aren't as many "satellite countries" now... what's different?

Not a damned thing is different.

[vector7]

Russian Official: ‘Russia Will Regain Alaska, The Baltic Countries, Finland And Poland”


via Source

The representative of the Russian Federation to the Council of Europe in Roman Kokorev Facebook says that back in the Russian territory of Moldova, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, as well as Alaska, the Baltic States, Finland and Poland.

About this he wrote on Facebook during correspondence with Pauline Godorog that made ​​their dialogue and screenshots posted on his page .



I’m sure this guy is just running his mouth but if there really is this kind of imperialism inside the Kremlin then the world is in for some hurt. Can you imagine Russia invading Alaska? That would be insane. America has some 20,000 troops in Alaska including the 11th Air Force, two brigade combat teams, an Combat Aviation Brigade, a Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, the United States Army garrisons in Alaska as well as tenant organizations. A National Guard Infantry Group and the 17th Coast Guard district.

Against that Russia would throw, in theory, 4 Armies, Pacific Fleet, several independent brigades(mechanized and airborne), Naval Infantry brigade, 3rd Air Force, and several other units. It would be one hell of a fight. Remember this because as unliely as it is, this couldvery well be what Putin is thinking. Stay Tuned..


Flashback:

Russia will have full radar coverage of Arctic this year — defense minister Russia forms two motor rifle brigades for Arctic army grouping

on October 29, 2014 Posted In: NEW WORLD ORDER, Putin, RUSSIA, wars and rumors of war


Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said next year Russia will be ready “to meet unwanted guests” both from the north and from the east



MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Russia will have full radar coverage of the Arctic region this year, while next year it will be ready “to meet unwanted guests” both from the north and from the east, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

He said Russia was expanding military presence in the Arctic region, building infrastructure on its islands.
The minister told a session of the Defense Ministry’s Public Council that restoration of airfields was launched recently at the Novosibirsk Islands and on Franz Josef Land, airfields were being reconstructed in Tiksi, Naryan-Mar, Alykel, Vorkuta, Anadyr and Rogachevo, to defend national interests in the region.
Earlier reports said Aerospace Defense Forces were building radar stations to create a radar field covering the whole country. The Defense Ministry said plans were to create this field by 2018.
Arctic military command formed in Russia

The formation of the Arctic military command is part of Russia’s ongoing extensive program to build up military presence in the Arctic. Last March, President Vladimir Putin said that the armed forces’ training and development efforts should incorporate measures to increase the combat component of the Arctic group. The Defense Ministry has since made several steps along these lines.

The Russian Northern Fleet will be detached from the Western Military District by December 1 to become the main striking force of the mooted Unified Strategic Command (USC) Sever (North), which is under formation in Russia with the aim of protecting the country’s interests in the Arctic, a source in Russia’s Defense Ministry earlier told ITAR-TASS.





Russia announced it was recreating its military base on the Novosibirsk Islands in the Laptev Sea. An airfield was opened on Kotelny, the largest island of the archipelago. Another military airport, Rogachyovo, commissioned on the southern island of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, is capable of full article

Russia forms two motor rifle brigades for Arctic army grouping

MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. Two separate motor rifle brigades will be brought into service of Russian army grouping in the Arctic region in 2015-2016, Chief Commander of Russian Ground Troops Colonel-General Oleg Salyukov told reporters on Wednesday.

A multi-service army grouping was being created to protect Russian national interests in the Arctic region, Chief Commander of Russian Ground Troops Colonel-General Oleg Salyukov says
[COLOR=#999999 !important]© ITAR-TASS/Roman Denisov[/COLOR] Arctic army groupings provided with all material resources, including military hardware

“A separate motor rifle brigade (in the Arctic region) is about to be formed in the Murmansk region. A second motor rifle brigade will be set up in the course of 2016 in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area,” he said.
Salyukov recalled that a multi-service army grouping was being created to protect Russian national interests in the Arctic region. The general noted that two Arctic motor rifle brigades that would make part of the military force, would resolve the following tasks: patrolling the offshore zone, protecting facilities and territories along the coasts of northern seas and the Arctic Ocean, ensuring navigation and convoying of ships on the northern sea route and demonstrating military presence in the Arctic.
Gallery 5 photo


[COLOR=#999999 !important]© ITAR-TASS/Marina Lystseva Large-scale Vostok exercises enter active phase in Russia


[/COLOR]

“Arctic formations will be armed with off-road vehicles, including two-section carrier vehicles, snowmobiles, amphibian vessels. Weapons and special outfits will contribute to successful fulfilment of tasks in northern latitudes. Combat training will be provided with due account of climatic conditions,” the chief commander added.

[Avvakum]

I don't know what planet you think you live on. This IS the "Soviet Union". The Soviet Union was Communist. The Soviet Union was run by Commies. The Soviet Union was run from Moscow. The Soviet Union had nukes. The Soviet Union was basically run by the KGB. Other than the fact that there aren't as many "satellite countries" now... what's different?

Not a damned thing is different.

Looking back, you are right I see. In a way, this new 'Neo-Soviet' has MORE 'satellite countries' than before, without the present burden of an openly Marxist-Leninist ideology. But that will change.

[American Patriot]

Listen... no offense meant on that.

I worked in the military in the 1970s and 1980s. My time from 1975-1982 was spent with Combat Communications and our main job was to take care of the tactical air bases we'd be setting up to end up nuking Russia and flying fights and bombers out of eventually. That was my bread and butter and our understanding of the Soviets then was that they were ruthless (given WWII evidence and after with the Iron Curtain, etc).

We had no qualms about having to kill them all, or they us.

Today, the world is a slightly different place full of people with high and mighty idealism(s) that somehow far exceed those ideals we held as military people. In other words, the Hawks were replaced by Doves and Sissies.

And that's how the world ends.

Not with a huge battle between two "warring nations" - but rather the complete obliteration of the lesser of the two countries by the stronger.

Either America gets back on the Nuclear Submarine and Strategic Bomber and takes the lead; or Russia kills us.

Period.

[Ryan Ruck]

NORAD Head Says Russia Increasing Arctic Long Range Air Patrols

February 10, 2015

While Russian military aircraft have stepped up their activity everywhere from the North Sea to the Baltic to the Black Sea in the last year they have also been spotted more frequently closer to the U.S. territory in the Arctic, the head of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) told USNI News on Tuesday.

In particular – flights of Tupolev Tu-95 Bear ‘H’ Bombers have increased recently NORTHCOM’s Adm. Bill Gortney said.

“They’ve been very aggressive – under my NORAD hat – for us in the Arctic,” he said to USNI News following a keynote address at the WEST 2015 conference.
“Aggressive in the amount of flights, not aggressive in how they fly.”

Since the March seizure of the Ukrainian region of Crimea by Russian forces Moscow has significantly stepped up air patrols in Europe, Asia and near the Americas.

The flights extend as far North as the edge of American air space near Alaska and as far South as U.S. holdings in Guam.

In December, two Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets intercepted a two Bears near the Beaufort Sea entering a U.S. and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

NATO interdicted a record number of Russian flights in 2014 and the Russians claim likewise the U.S. has stepped up its own flights near Russian territory.

During the Cold War, Russian long-range aircraft routinely patrolled the edges of U.S. and Canadian airspace probing NORAD defenses, but largely stopped after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

As for the current round of patrols, the bomber flights are being used as a “messaging tool,” Gortney said.
“Obviously it’s pretty clear that they’re doing that. So they’re flying in places… where they’ve never flown before.”

The flights are typically Bears – some capable of firing long-range cruise missiles – but no fighters as of yet, he said.

Gortney said despite the increased uptick in flights, the Russians are abiding by international aviation norms.

“We haven’t seen anything that crosses into the unprofessional,” Gortney said. “They’re talking and squawking like they should, they’re just doing more of it. “