Red Arctic: Russian Strategy Under Putin, by Elizabeth Buchanan, Brookings Institution Press, 224 pages.
Vladimir Putin’s approach to the Arctic has long been a source of worry and conjecture. In Red Arctic: Russian Strategy Under Putin, Elizabeth Buchanan, head of navy research at the Royal Australian Navy’s Sea Power Centre, contends that Russia is not a growing geopolitical threat in the north but instead seeks cooperation with the other members of the Arctic Five: the United States, Canada, Denmark, and Norway. […]
Much of the media attention paid to the Arctic great game portrays Russia as an aggressor, and Buchanan notes how news outlets use clickbait titles to entice readers to read extreme and incorrect Arctic analyses. Buchanan writes, “The misreading of Russian Arctic strategy has a lot to do with residual Cold War geopolitical storylines.” Indeed, one of the most pervasive myths about the region north of the Arctic Circle is that countries are attempting to militarize and rule the area. Buchanan refutes this: “Maintaining conflict-free Arctic transit routes such as the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is crucial to delivering energy exports to Asian and European markets” for Russia and the rest of the Arctic Five. The majority of the refurbished military outposts in the Arctic serve as dual-use locations for local search-and-rescue operations. Russia’s military aspirations in the region are limited, primarily driven by three objectives: establishing its sovereignty over the continental shelf, […]
It is crucial to recognize instead that much of Russia’s activities in the Arctic is the legitimate business of governing. Rather than a desire for geopolitical dominance, Russia’s Arctic strategy is driven by economic considerations. The Arctic region is thought to hold 20 percent of the world’s untapped oil and gas reserves, and Russia is the world’s largest producer of natural gas. Other natural resources, such as fish and minerals, are also abundant in the area. Russia has substantial economic interests in the Arctic as a result, and an interest in supervising and managing them. As Buchanan notes, “The Kremlin hopes to create a new Arctic economy focused on shipping, infrastructure, and resource extraction, all of which could create jobs and promote economic development in the country’s northern regions.” Läs presentationen