Russian Military Build-up in the Arctic : Strategic Shift in the Balance of Power or Bellicose Rhetoric Only?

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14230%2F25%3A00142325" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14230/25:00142325 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://arcticyearbook.com/images/yearbook/special_edition/Arctic_Yearbook_2025_Special_Edition.pdf#page=648.00" target="_blank" >https://arcticyearbook.com/images/yearbook/special_edition/Arctic_Yearbook_2025_Special_Edition.pdf#page=648.00</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Russian Military Build-up in the Arctic : Strategic Shift in the Balance of Power or Bellicose Rhetoric Only?

Original language description

The Arctic has been playing a central role in Russia’s identity and economic development. On the naval-strategic level, the most relevant for Moscow is maintaining the credibility of nuclear deterrence as well as securing strategic submarines’ open access to the world’s seas, and in the theoretical case of largescale European war, the Russian Navy’s strategic objective would be to interrupt the connection between Europe and North America (the latter was more eminent during the Cold War, but still it is a part of Russian strategic thinking and objectives). Besides that, recent developments show that the Arctic’s importance for Russia is not only growing but also widening, and new sectors have been gradually added. Moscow’s strategic goal is to establish Russia as a preeminent Arctic nation, which is eminently clear through its political, economic, and military means to “defend” its interest. As part of its effort to create a comprehensive presence in the Arctic, Russia has been steadily expanding its military component there since 2007. However, these movements are primarily focused on the protection of coastlines and offshore energy extraction installations, search-and-rescue operations, and icebreaker capabilities, and therefore should not be seen strictly as an militarization of the region. The occasional assertive statements by Russian representatives are more tailored for domestic audiences rather than threatening factor to the other Arctic states. More substantive signals of Russian intent would be its refusal to recognize the decisions or authority of international organizations in the Arctic, or its withdrawal from such organizations. In observing Russian activities in the Arctic, it is important to analyze the relevance of these statements to map it in that framework and wider context. This paper will focus on the relevance and substance of the abovementioned developments.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

C - Chapter in a specialist book

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

50601 - Political science

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Book/collection name

The Russian Arctic in the 2010s and 2020s : Selected Articles fron the Arctic Yearbook

ISBN

9781989811429

Number of pages of the result

27

Pages from-to

580-606

Number of pages of the book

737

Publisher name

North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN), c/o School for the Study of Canada Trent University

Place of publication

Peterborough (Ontario)

UT code for WoS chapter

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