21 December 2009
governor arkhangelsk region insists on arctic development
In the light of the previous post and the statements made about the real difficulties in Arctic development these comments from the governor of the Arkhangelsk region are significant, especially given the conclusion to them in the article which hints at a fusion between state policy and the policy of United Russia, headed by Putin. The article on the necessity of developing Arctic resources concludes thus:
Общая задача государства и партии «Единая Россия» – перейти к практическим действиям. Медлить с восстановлением Северного морского пути нельзя, иначе исконно русская арктическая земля будет осваиваться без нас.
This translates roughly as follows: ‘the objective of the state and the party United Russia is to move towards practical action. A delay in the restoration of the Northern Sea Route cannot be allowed, or else the age-old Russian lands will be opened up without us’.
This quote, which is in itself remarkable for its bold statement of a kind of national destiny associated with the ruling party, makes reference to the possibility of oil and gas extraction at the depths of the Arctic Ocean, just the kind of ‘distant/far-off’ planning that was being described, yesterday, as extremely difficult by the chief researcher at the Institute of Geological Sciences, Academician Yuri Leonov. The discussion maintains that the development of the deep continental shelf depends first on the rehabiliation of the NSR and the development of a new fleet of ice-breakers.
Where there is a will, there is a way. The Governor of the Region is obviously interested in boosting the investment of Federal funds in Arkhangelsk, where праида-севера is a regional newspaper, but it seems his vision has the backing of the party and the state (what is the difference?). He notes that he and Artur Chilingarov have been tasked with drawing up a plan to realise the project: ‘Бюро Высшего совета партии поручило мне и Артуру Чилингарову сформировать рабочую группу и составить план-график реализации проекта.’
Meanwhile, Forbes Russia also reports on Sovkomflot’s ambitions to expand the export of oil and gas from ‘экстремальных ледовых условиях арктических’ – i.e., the extreme ice conditions of the Arctic.
