News & Views on the Russian presence within the Arctic Circle
16 December 2009
Under the headling ‘the west prepares for struggle in the Arctic’ иноСМИ.ru, a prominent national daily, published a lengthy analysis of the US Navy’s Arctic Road Map (October 2009). The assessment is that the document demonstrates a continuation of George W. Bush’s geostrategic policies – ‘И в самом деле новая американская... Read More...
24 November 2009
An article in ино.СМИ.ru, which is actually a Spanish article re-published, describes the importance of ex-FSB Director Nikolai Petrushev now Chairman of Russia’s Security Council. The article draws attention to the claims that were made about him in Litvenyenko’s book ’Blowing up Russia.’ The article asserts that this man – Petrushev - sees... Read More...
22 October 2009
There are many reports today of the flights of two Tupolev 95ms long range strategic bombers over international waters, somewhere near the boundary between the Pacific and the Arctic oceans, probably ocean near the Aleutian Islands. They are described as practicing flying for long periods without the guidance of landmarks. It would seem that the strategic function of the aircraft is... Read More...
6 October 2009
Vlasti.net reported the speech given in London last week by the NATO Secretary-General. The Secretary-General is reported in vlasti.net as saying that the competition for resources in the Arctic could spark conflict between Russia and NATO. Again there is an interesting contrast in the way aspects of the speech are reported. In Vlasti the emphasis is on the remarks about conflict, and... Read More...
4 October 2009
According to this report in energyland.info French experts working for TOTAL predict that 30% of gas reserves and 15% of world oil reserves could be located in the Arctic. The report claims that experts are claiming, however, that existing international law does not determine ownership of this, for example, that resources may lie outside the territorial claims of the Arctic states... Read More...
3 October 2009
Many agencies are reporting on an article in The Times, a report of a speech given by NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe. The Russian headlines tend to emphasize the Admiral’s belief that there is a possibility of issues being resolved through cooperation – ‘может разрешиться с помощью сотрудничества’ –... Read More...
30 September 2009
Независимая and others reported that Russian strategic bombers flew to the Aleutian Islands on 29th September. I didn’t know that the same crew ‘buzzed’ Canadian airspace prior to a visit of Barak Obama to Canada in March. This follows on from similar events recently, where the justification was given, in some quarters, that Russia is compelled to make such... Read More...
29 September 2009
This is stressed by Vyacheslav Popov, member of the Commission of Defence and Security, in an article in мурманский вестник in anticipation of the opening of the Murmansk Economic Forum on the development of the Arctic in the 21st Century. He argues that ‘что Арктика для России имеет стратегическое значение’... Read More...
29 September 2009
This article in настоящее время argues that Russia’s broader strategic interests in the Caucuses and Central Asia entail that it will cooperate with NATO, including in the Arctic. The problems of Russia’s soft underbelly and the maintenance of the CIS are, indeed, a greater strategic challenge for Russia than the presently, for the most part, hypothetical problems... Read More...
24 September 2009
КомиОнлайн and коминформ report on a joint NATO-Russia initiative to collaborate over sort of ‘low-level’ technical issues relating to risk and disaster management. All this effort is designed to protect the environment in the Arctic. Read More →
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