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Author: Khatia Shamanari, writer of traits
When a thunderous Russian voice announces the entry of Vladimir Putin, the frame should generally be imposing – carefully staged to project power and domination. But this time was different. While the familiar voice resonated through the corridor, the Russian president entered an unexpected modest scene. The opportunity was an international arctic forum in the Murmansk region, in the north of northern Russia. Held from March 26 to 27, 2025, the forum took place under the slogan “Live in the North! In a long speech, Putin reaffirmed the strategic importance of the Arctic for Russia and highlighted its growing global relevance.
“Unfortunately, geopolitical competition and the fight for influence in this region is also intensifying,” he said. Putin added that Russia closely monitors developments and responds by increasing its military capacities and modernizing its infrastructure across the Arctic. The Arctic ranked at the top of the Kremlin strategic agenda for more than two decades. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, state support to the region decreased and, in the 1990s, the Russian Arctic was widely considered as a social responsibility. A substantial reinvestment only resumed in the 21st century. As climate change accelerates, the retreat of the Arctic ice, the new shipping routes and the opportunities for unexploited resources improve the strategic value of the region. Rich in rare -Terrains and housing large oil and gas reserves – a large part of which remains under -explored – the Arctic has become central to Moscow long -term ambitions. In the wake of Western sanctions during the war in Ukraine, it has an even greater economic and geopolitical meaning.
“The Arctic is economically important,” said Pavel Devyatkin of the Arctic Institute in World Finance. “A large part of the exports of oil, gas and natural resources from Russia come from the Arctic.” About 10% of the country’s GDP can be awarded to the region. But its meaning goes beyond the economy. “From the point of view of security, the Arctic constitutes the whole northern border of Russia,” adds Devyatkin. “Given growing competition with the western States of the Arctic, it is essential for Russia to maintain control of the region and to protect these economic projects there.”
According to Russian sources, while other nations have continued maritime expeditions to discover new lands, the Russian pioneers have gradually advanced by the north and eastern edges of the continent. Today, the Kremlin describes itself as a world leader in Arctic Exploration. But with the Arctic now a border of intense competition, a critical question emerges: does Russia have a technological advantage-and if so, can it maintain it?
Sergey Sukhankin, a main researcher at Jamestown Foundation, believes that – for the moment – Russia maintains a technological advantage over the west in the Arctic. However, he stresses that this advantage is mainly limited to an area: the galaes. “The main strength of Russia lies in its superiority in various classes of windbreak,” he says. “This includes both civilian ships, such as Sibir, and military ice cream breakers – smaller ships that can be equipped with a range of weapons systems, including zircon and other types of missiles.”
The true superpower of the Arctic of Moscow
Russia currently operates 42 galaes, including eight nuclear propulsion ships, according to Russian media. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin recently announced that the fleet would soon be strengthened by five additional nuclear wolves. Among them is the Rossiya, a ship of the “leader project”, offering a displacement of 71,380 tonnes and a power of 163,150 horsepower – capable of escorting ships through the ice as thick as four meters.
New shipping routes and unexploited resources opportunities improve the strategic value of the region
Speaking at the Arctic International Forum, Putin reaffirmed the domination of Russia in this field, declaring that the country already has the largest fleet of icebreaker in the world. “No other country has such a fleet,” he said, adding that Russia must continue to build new generation ships, in particular nuclear propulsion ships, to consolidate its leadership. Although the extent of the Russian icebreaker fleet is often supervised in geopolitical terms, experts emphasize its mainly commercial role. “Glaces are one of the largest technological capacities that Russia has in the Arctic,” said Devyatkin. “But they have very limited military applications. Even if the sea ice melts, ice breakers are always important to move in the Arctic because there are still a lot of ice. ”
Beyond logistics, Russia has also sought to monetize its ice fleet through tourism. Nuclear ice cream breakers are now carrying travelers to the North Pole, with cruise operators who market experience as a unique journey through old ice floes. Promotional documents on Russian websites proclaim: “You will travel on one of the most powerful nuclear ice cream breakers, capable of overcoming secular ice to three meters thick.”
However, beyond their commercial and even tourist uses, the Kremlin considers these ships as at the heart of its strategic objectives in the Arctic. By allowing navigation throughout the year through the waters of the Arctic, the glaces support the ambition of Russia to transform the road to the North Sea (NSR) into a major world commercial artery – which could ultimately compete with traditional shipping routes such as the Suez Canal.
Strategic asset or symbolic display?
The ambitions of Russia in the Arctic are not limited to its formidable fleet of icebreaker. During a recent ceremony, Putin praised the launch of the PERM nuclear submarine – armed with hypersonic cruise missiles in zircon – as an important step in the advancement of the Russian navy.
“Yasen-M class submarines are equipped with modern navigation, communication and hydroacoustic systems. They wear high precision weapons and are equipped with robotic equipment,” said Russian commander in chief. However, some experts remain skeptical about the strategic usefulness of these weapons in the Arctic context. Sukhankin argues that, although dangerous under specific conditions, these systems are unlikely to be deployed without triggering large -scale conflicts. “In most scenarios, this type of armament is more dangerous than useful,” he explains. “Its deployment would probably mean a total war between Russia and NATO.”
Even in the Russian military discourse, the probability of a conventional war in the Arctic remains weak. “When Russian strategists speak of potential conflicts in the region, they generally refer to hybrid tactics rather than an open confrontation,” notes Sukhankin.
The Kremlin also boasts of developing extremely resistant drones capable of operating under agricultural conditions of the Arctic. In parallel, Russia began working on robotic systems to extract the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. In a surprising and ambitious development, the Russian media report that the country now explores the use of nuclear submarines to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to these reports, Russia began to design nuclear propulsion submarines to export the Arctic LNG to Asia, aimed at considerably reducing the shipping time along the NSR.
Sukhankin notes that this idea dates back to the early 2000s, when elements in Russian affairs and the political elite sought to impress Putin. “The concept was finally put aside because it could not resist a basic examination from the point of view of security,” he said. “How can you store the necessary volume of LNG on a submarine in the first place?” Ask Sukhankin. “If you perform the figures on the profitability threshold, it simply does not make sense. What type of submarine would you build? Russia also has the capacity to build such ships – and no one would build them for Russia either. ”
He adds that it is not clear if this initiative is a real project or simply another attempt by the Russian elites to curl the favor of Putin. “At this stage, it is difficult to say if it is for a domestic audience or designed to impress internationally,” he concludes.
Putin’s call on Arctic Cooperation
In a modest room in the Russian murman region, Putin opened her speech not by celebrating the achievements of Russia, but by emphasizing the urgent need for a renewed collaboration with various countries.
“Russia is the greatest arctic power. We have pleaded and continue to plead for equal cooperation in the region,” said Putin. “In addition, we are ready to work not only with the States of the Arctic, but with all those who, like us, share the responsibility for the stable and lasting future of the planet and are able to make balanced and long-term decisions,” he added.
Devyatkin underlines that Russia has a history of several centuries of operation in the Arctic and has in -depth expertise in the extraction of resources and navigation in the hard environment of the region. However, he stresses that cooperation with other Arctic States remains precious, because these partnerships cause capital, advanced technologies and access to export markets.
Some analysts argue that there can be a strategic calculation behind the cooperative rhetoric of Kremlin. While Russia has shown an advantage in certain technologies and weapons, doubts remain on its ability to maintain systemic production and long -term growth. “The internal interior capacities of Russia to modernize are quite questionable,” explains Sukhankin. Consequently, Russia seeks greater collaboration to advance its technological ambitions in the Arctic region.
Whenever Russia announces the production of new drones, nuclear submarines or other ships, the alarm is developing on the apparent Moscow apparatus in this strategic competition. However, according to Sukhankin, this perception is deliberately cultivated. “This is exactly what the Russians want. If you read the basics of what the Russians write about the psychological warfare of information, that’s exactly what they mean, “he said.