| Summary: | `titrebRussia and the Arctic Geostrategic Issues for a Great Power `/titreb During the Czarist period, when Russian presence was only sporadic, many Arctic expeditions took place. When the Bolsheviks came to power, various projects aimed at harnessing nature in the Arctic and sub-Arctic, called the “Far North,” were undertaken. With the discovery of mineral resources during the 1930s, the first “settlements” which consisted of deportees from the Gulag were founded. During the cold war, the Arctic also acquired a strategic function before becoming, as is the case of Western Siberia in particular, a Soviet era oil Eldorado. Maritime ambitions also resulted in the creation of an industrial fishing fleet and a navy. After the collapse of the USSR and the new Russia’s quest for profitability, the viability of activities in an extreme environment was questioned. As the cold war ended, the strategic dimensions were of less concern for some time, naval manpower declined, and subsidies drastically reduced. Increased wages, bonuses and advantages in kind are now a distant memory and there has been a mass exodus of “settlers”. However, the situation changed once again at the turn of the century. The Arctic has a future as a land and sea oil producer, and Russia hopes that these resources will enable it to maintain its position as a leading producer. The “super-giant” gas fields which will come into operation in 2010 could equal 50 years of the current Russian output. There are more fields to prospect, in particular in the Eastern Arctic regions of Magadan and Chukotka. In all events, the development of the Far North requires a greater human presence and intensified land traffic. The issue of the Lomonosov ridge, which Russia considers to be a prolongation of the Western Siberian plate, should be placed within this context. This is contested by the countries bordering the Arctic Circle which do not wish to see Russia extend its zone of sovereignty on underwater resources by over one million square kilometres. Pendant la ...
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