Arctic Russia

putin in franz-joseph land

Whenever Putin does anything related to the Arctic then the internet gets jammed packed with articles and reports.  So it is the case with the visit of Putin to Franz-Joseph land where the problems of polar bears and other matters have been discussed under the auspices of the Russian Geographical Society. Videofootage of Putin and the scientists together with a lullaby soundtrack about the white bear can be found here.  A a lengthy report from vecti.ru, complete with Putin’s contribution to the environmental effort, can be found here.  This last report also contains direct speech from Putin on how Russia has direct geopolitical interests in the Arctic, and how Russia needs to organise, in the Arctic, a general clean up.

What is the meaning of this visit.  The Moscow Post writes, ‘Очевидно, что одна из целей визита Путина заключалась в том, чтобы показать соседям, кто здесь главный…’ – i.e., ‘of course, the main goal of the visit consists of demonstrating to the neighbours, who rules here …’