To the Issue of Status of Okhotsk Sea and Pechora Sea

• Published in: Moscow Journal of International Law
• Main Author: Gennady M. Melkov
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) 2014
• Subjects: исторические воды; арктический шельф; статус арктики; охотское море; печорское море; historic waters; arctic shelf; status of the arctic; okhotsk sea; pechora sea; Law of nations; KZ2-6785; Comparative law. International uniform law; K520-5582; Pechora; Pechora Sea
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.24833/0869-0049-2014-4-40-55; https://doaj.org/article/6846517bb17843c191a0328cfc0dc2c8

In the Soviet period the areas of seabed in the Okhotsk Sea and in the Pechora Sea were considered in doctrine as the seabed of the USSR’s historic waters. The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources has got different view and regards the above mentioned areas as continental shelf. This means that the status of the areas is less strong than in the Soviet period: instead of claiming sovereignty Russia claims only rights to natural resources. This article addresses the validity of such change of view with reference to the other cessions of continental shelf compared to the position of the Russian Empire and the USSR.