Russian possessions in the Arctic. Dossier
Russia, as it became known at the end of October, continues to strengthen its military presence in the Arctic. Obviously, maximum control of this particular area of the planet is a priority task.
During times cold war The Arctic was of strategic interest to the great powers. Route via North Pole was the shortest route from the USA to Soviet Union, that is, ideal for strategic bombers and ballistic missiles. Later, the Arctic became interesting for submarines, which, under cover of ice, could approach the shore of a hypothetical enemy. Only the very inhospitable nature prevented the massive deployment of military bases here.
Today, the melting of a huge area arctic ice allow us to look into the near future with sober eyes. Thus, by 2050, the ice will become 30% thinner, and its volume will decrease by 15-40% during this time. Thereby naval forces will have the opportunity to operate in the Arctic for a significant part of the year.
Such consequences will lead to the emergence of new routes connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Climate change will allow these routes to be used for shipping year-round. As a result, the importance of the Suez and Panama Canals in the maritime transport system will be significantly reduced.
Currently, such a rapid increase military power on the part of Russia is not a coincidence. A targeted set of measures is aimed at “responding” and “rigidly defending” (if necessary) their rights to this or that “piece of the Arctic pie.” This scenario is hard to believe. If only because today only the United States can compete with Russia in military superiority, and they have also significantly lost their superiority, throwing away money on the creation and support of other structures...
In addition, at a time when the states were intensively building aircraft carriers, Russia was building icebreakers and submarines.
Somehow, when I came across another commissioned article, I was surprised at how sophisticated/perversely the naval power of the United States and Russia was compared. And these miracle kids, reputed to be military experts, estimated the balance of power naturally in favor of the United States, and took as a basis one of the most irrefutable criteria - the number of aircraft carriers and destroyers on both sides. The United States has more than 10 aircraft carriers, while Russia has only 1.
Whereas there are only 3 icebreakers in the USA and two of them are in poor condition. And Russia, according to some sources, has from 27 to 41.
So, let's return to our sheep - to the “battle for the Arctic”. It is very naive to believe that the United States can in any way resist the military power and superiority of Russia. But let's assume a different scenario.
It is known that in addition to the USA and Russia, other states (Canada, Denmark, Norway), whose military power is significantly weaker than the two superpowers, have also indicated a significant part of their presence. In total, 5 countries have openly declared their intentions to “milk the natural resources of the Arctic.” Is it a lot or a little? And what will happen if these countries want to consolidate their military presence and try to clash with Russia? Simple, at the level of fantasy. First, let's look at the positions and presence on the mainland itself.
Source: AIF
Norway. A country that in 2105 passes a law obliging even women to serve, a country where the Minister of Defense is also a woman (Anne-Grete Strøm-Eriksen), a country that sold Russia a key submarine base (Olafsvern) near the Russian border - No! Norway will never go against Russia. In addition, Norway’s budget for the modernization of military power until 2020 (not yet approved), equal to $20 billion, and Russia’s budget for the same year of $340 billion, which has already been approved - all this suggests that the country will not risk exposing its Scandinavian muscles against a real military monster, constantly causing fears near the border maritime territories. It is quite obvious that having staked out such a fat piece in the Arctic region, the country is unlikely to want to go against a strong and large neighbor. On the contrary - quieter than water, lower than the grass, otherwise Olafsvern...
Olavsvern underground military base By the way, the reaction is interesting local residents who aren't too concerned:
“We hope that the new owner will start in Olafsvern maximum amount vessels that will benefit the local economy,” says the mayor of the municipality of Tromsø, Jens Johan Hjort. Hjorth admits that this may seem strange, given that Olafsvern was a top-secret facility just a few years ago, "but on the other hand, it's good that the facility can be profitable."
Denmark. This small country has enough of its own territorial problems - they cannot come to an agreement with Great Britain, Ireland and Iceland, whose continental shelf is Rocople and the shelf of the Faroe Islands.
In September 2008, Russia adopted the “Fundamentals of state policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic for the period until 2020 and future prospects"and became the first Arctic state to develop its long-term strategy for the Arctic region. Other Arctic countries followed Russia's example. Denmark was one of the last in this chain, whose government, in consultation with the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, approved the “Strategy of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Arctic 2011–2020” in August 2011.
It should be noted that the main vector of the Danish Arctic strategy, the object of the declared steps is Greenland, ensuring its economic growth, protecting the ecology of the island and adjacent waters, promoting the socio-economic development of the indigenous population. This approach seems completely justified, since Greenland is Denmark’s “window” to the Arctic, a factor that allows the Kingdom to be classified as an Arctic state.
Danish Foreign Minister Christian Jensen has warned that the Arctic risks becoming the next stage for Russia's renewed assertiveness on the international stage, after Ukraine and Syria.
Nevertheless, Denmark does not have the means to confront Russia, even having united with other states, so to speak, with friends in misfortune. Some experts stated the opposite - about the intention of the Danish authorities to follow the path of peaceful cooperation with the Russians. I wonder what other way we can talk about - fish and you will be happy.
Regarding Canada— they have their own territorial problems with the United States, but not so large as to turn against each other.
The countries have been arguing about where in the Beaufort Sea the maritime border between Canada and the United States should lie for about 30 years. In 1985, Ottawa decided to give the Northwest Passage (including the Beaufort Sea) status inland waters, which Washington did not recognize. According to meteorologists, as global warming develops, the route around Greenland - through the Baffin and Beaufort seas - may become an alternative to the Pacific routes. But there is no doubt about the friendship of these two countries - sooner or later they will come to an agreement. Well, as usual - some will ask politely, others will humbly give...
Canada in general is one of those countries that historically does not have its own opinion and in every possible way agrees with its ambitious neighboring brothers. In addition, the Canadian-Danish territorial conflict has not been resolved.
Denmark and Canada dispute the ownership of Hansa Island (Turkupaluk), located in the ice of the Northwest Passage, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The island is a three-kilometer strip of uninhabited icy rocks. In itself, it has no value, but the state that manages to acquire ownership of it will also gain control over the strategically important Northwest Passage.
Previously this ice-covered Few people were interested in the strait, but global warming will make it navigable in the summer months within a couple of decades. Thus, Northwest Passage will shorten routes between continents by several days, and the state that will take ownership of this strait will be able to earn additional billions of dollars a year.
Russia and military presence in the Arctic
Russia is interested in the Arctic for many reasons. One of the main ones is material. The region is believed to contain 30% of the world's undiscovered gas reserves and 13% of its oil reserves (USGS estimate). These resources, among other things, could become a potential source of attracting investment in Russian economy. The Northern Sea Route passing through the Arctic (a record 4 million tons of cargo was transported along it in 2014) also includes economic potential– including for the development of the northern regions of Russia.
The Arctic is important for another reason. It is located between the United States and Russia, which makes it strategically important in the event of a hypothetical confrontation (on the Russian side, Tu-95 strategic bombers patrol the region, and it was also decided to send Borei-class strategic missile carriers armed with Bulava missiles there).
In the coming years, the militarization of the Arctic will remain a priority for Russia - one of its elements will be the creation of a permanent base Northern Fleet on the New Siberian Islands. However, Moscow’s main tasks are expected to remain demonstrating its presence in the region and monitoring the actions of competitors.
Undoubtedly, Russia wants to dominate the Arctic, and for this it will need bases. It is already known today that, due to the growing interest in the region on the part of NATO, old and decaying structures are being revived. Soviet bases. An airfield has already been prepared on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, which is capable of receiving combat aircraft, and part of the Northern Fleet has already made the islands their base. That's not all. Russia is creating a network of Arctic bases in the Arctic, where it will permanently station submarines and surface ships.
As of the end of October, construction of the Arctic Trefoil complex, designed for 150 people, is being completed, which should become part of the base on the island of Alexandra Land (Franz Josef Land archipelago).
Construction of the Northern Clover base on Kotelny Island continues. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, it is planned to completely complete the creation of the Arctic group by 2018 - by this time several more bases will be deployed, and airfields located in the region will be reconstructed.
According to military expert Dmitry Litovkin:
“There will be no tanks, heavy artillery or armored fighting vehicles in the Arctic garrisons - they are of no use there, they are not adapted to movement across deep snow, and there are no offensive missions for them. If necessary, paratroopers will fly to the rescue of the defenders” (landing of troops, including on Kotelny Island, has already been practiced in exercises).
IN this moment Russia is creating 10 Arctic search stations, 16 ports, 13 airfields and 10 air defense stations in the Arctic. This year, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed order No. 822-r on the resumption of research in the region. The drifting stations, which were closed in 2013, will resume operation. 250 million rubles have been allocated from the federal budget for these purposes.
Russian bases in the Arctic (those under construction and existing are marked in red, those that can be expanded/improved are marked in orange)
Arctic Resources
Oil and gas fields in many regions of the world are in a phase of depletion. The Arctic, on the contrary, remains one of the few areas of the planet where energy companies have conducted almost no active production. This is due to severe climatic conditions, which made it difficult to extract resources.
Meanwhile, up to 25% of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are concentrated in the Arctic. According to the US Geological Survey, the region contains 90 billion barrels of oil, 47.3 trillion cubic meters. m of gas and 44 billion barrels of gas condensate. Control over these reserves will allow the Arctic states to ensure high growth rates of their national economies in the future.
The continental part of the Arctic contains rich reserves of gold, diamonds, mercury, tungsten and rare earth metals, without which technologies of the fifth and sixth technological order are impossible.
Clearly there is something to fight for. And the reasons for the militarization of the Arctic regions are completely justified... The main thing is that "facilities" allocated from the budget for such important strategic projects throughout the country, “did not sink as they once did Russian Empire off the coast of America”... However, we will talk about this story later...
IN Lately Russia is actively restoring the civilian and military infrastructure that previously existed in the Arctic and building new military, transport and logistics facilities in the region. A full-fledged army group of forces and means is being created in the Arctic, which will reliably cover Russia from this direction, and will also ensure the upholding and protection of national interests in this very important region for the country. The two main resources of the Arctic are rich natural resources and transport communications. According to scientists’ forecasts, perhaps already in the middle of the 21st century in summer period The Arctic Ocean will be completely free of ice, which will only increase its transport accessibility and importance.
The importance of the Arctic is great; according to forecasts, up to a quarter of all potential oil and gas reserves in the world are located on the Arctic shelf. These two types of fossil fuels are still the most in demand on the planet. The Arctic is estimated to contain 90 billion barrels of oil and 47 trillion cubic meters natural gas. In addition to fossil fuels, there are deposits of gold, diamonds and nickel. Undiscovered hydrocarbon reserves located in potentially Russian waters are currently estimated by scientists at approximately 9-10 billion tons of fuel equivalent. Hence the desire of all Arctic countries to expand the zones of their continental shelves.
The Russian sector of the Arctic is located today not only in the Arctic Ocean, but also in the Barents and Okhotsk Seas. Currently, the Arctic already provides about 11% of the national income of the Russian Federation, as well as 22% of the total volume of all-Russian exports. The region produces 90% of Russian nickel and cobalt, 96% of platinum group metals, 100% of barite and apatite concentrate, and 60% of copper. In addition, the local fishery complex produces about 15% total volumes Russian fish products. Today, it is the Russian Federation that has the largest reserves of natural gas on the planet and ranks 8th in the ranking of states in terms of oil reserves. At the same time, Russia is the largest gas exporter and the second largest oil exporter in the world. Today our country provides about 30% of all world gas production, and under Russian ice located more oil than in the OPEC countries combined. This is why protecting Russia’s economic interests in the Arctic region is so important.
The fundamentals of Russia's state policy in the Arctic for the period until 2020 and beyond were approved back in September 2008 at a meeting of the country's Security Council. The use of Arctic resources is the key to the energy security of the Russian Federation, and at the same time the thesis was outlined that the Arctic should become resource base Russia in the 21st century. To achieve this, it is vitally important to ensure reliable protection of national interests in continental shelf.
Today, work in the Russian Arctic is carried out in almost all major points in the ocean - the archipelagos of Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, New Earth, on the New Siberian Islands and Wrangel Island, as well as on the mainland - from the Kola Peninsula to Chukotka. In total, as part of the ongoing program to restore Russia's military presence in the Arctic, it is planned to rebuild or reconstruct about 20 groups of facilities for various purposes, which will form the framework of the military infrastructure in this remote region of the country.
Key Feature The military construction that is being carried out today in the Arctic is the concentration of control of all forces in the region in one hand. Since December 1, 2014, the joint strategic command “North” has been operating in the Russian Federation. We can say that in fact “North” is the fifth Russian military district, which unites under its command all land, sea and air force in the Russian Arctic, as well as adjacent regions. The United Strategic Command "North" was created on the basis of the headquarters and infrastructure of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. This immediately sets a different management format and approaches to solving problems: for the first time in Russia, the basis of strategic command in this region was the fleet headquarters, which must solve the problems of controlling various troops located on a vast territory.
Arctic Trefoil is a Russian military base on the island of Alexandra Land in the Franz Josef Land archipelago
This theater of military operations is characterized by large distances. Therefore, the decisive advantage in possible disputes for the region will be that side that can quickly ensure a powerful military presence in important points of the Arctic. For these purposes, the region must have a developed transport and logistics network of naval bases and military airfields capable of receiving aircraft of all types, including heavy transport aircraft and strategic bombers. That is why a significant part of the exercises of the Russian Armed Forces over the past 10 years has been devoted to the ability to quickly transfer forces by air and sea. The significance of this aspect cannot be underestimated, since absolutely all plans for recreating the Arctic grouping of troops in the Arctic and the overwhelming share of Russia’s military activity in the region are designed for the widespread use of the transport capabilities of the Air Force and Navy, without which any effective activity in this region seems unthinkable.
First of all, the emphasis is on recreating an infrastructure that, if necessary, allows for the movement of troops by air and sea and does not require the presence of numerous personnel for security and daily maintenance. No less important aspect is the awareness of the leadership of the Arctic group about what is happening. This also determines the direction of today’s construction: almost half of the facilities being built in the interests of the Russian armed forces in the Arctic are radar stations, which should, in combination with ships, flying radars and space reconnaissance equipment, restore a continuous zone of control over the Russian Arctic.
As Vice Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, commander of the Russian Northern Fleet, said in early November 2017, combat capabilities forces and assets deployed on the Arctic islands will be increased, including air defense(air defense). According to the admiral, a system for monitoring the surface and underwater situation on the NSR - Northern routes is being created in the Arctic today sea route. Work is underway to create a zone of complete control airspace over the Russian area of responsibility. Also, according to Nikolai Evmenov, each Arctic island on which there are Northern Fleet bases is equipped with all-season airfields that will be able to host aircraft of various types.
New anti-aircraft missile regiment of the Northern Fleet (Novaya Zemlya archipelago), photo: Russian Ministry of Defense
Air defense capabilities of the Arctic group of troops in next year will be reinforced by a new air defense division. It will appear in the Arctic in 2018, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The new connection will be focused on protecting Moscow and the Urals from possible attacks from the North Pole. The air defense regiments deployed here will be focused on detecting and destroying aircraft, cruise missiles and even unmanned aerial vehicles of a potential enemy. Experts note that the new division will become in the future essential component the country's air defense system covering the territory from Novaya Zemlya to Chukotka. The Izvestia newspaper, with reference to the Russian Aerospace Forces, reports that regular activities will begin in 2018, since the fundamental decision to form a new air defense division has already been made. It is reported that the formation will include not only newly formed units, but also units already on combat duty in the Russian Arctic.
Currently, the skies of the Arctic are protected by soldiers of the 1st Air Defense Division. It reliably covers the Kola Peninsula, Arkhangelsk region, Nenets autonomous region and the White Sea. This division recently included a regiment stationed on Novaya Zemlya. The 1st Air Defense Division is armed with the most modern views weapons, including the S-400 Triumph air defense system, the S-300 Favorit air defense system and the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun systems.
According to military historian Dmitry Boltenkov, the new air defense division created in the Arctic will take control of the northern direction (from Novaya Zemlya to Chukotka), ensuring reliable protection of the Central economic region Russian Federation (including Moscow), as well as the Urals and its industrial centers. At the same time, the already existing 1st Air Defense Division will focus mainly on the defense of the Kola Peninsula and the Northern Fleet bases located in this area. According to the expert, there is nothing special to cover with anti-aircraft missile regiments from Novaya Zemlya to Chukotka, but it is necessary to create a continuous radar field. In his opinion, the new air defense division will receive a large number of radar stations that will be located at the newly created Arctic outposts, perhaps even on Kotelny Island and the Temp airfield.
Tiksi airfield
It is worth noting that 10 military airfields in the Arctic, the construction program of which began 3 years ago, are already ready for combat use, reports the Zvezda TV channel. In such a short time, such a volume of work in conditions permafrost And Far North no one has ever carried it out, the channel’s journalists emphasize. Thanks to this, Russia is gradually securing its northern borders reliable protection from air, from sea and from land.
According to information from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Spetsstroy of Russia is currently completing work on the reconstruction and construction of 10 airfields located in the Arctic zone, among them Severomorsk-1, an airfield on the island of Alexandra Land (Franz Josef Land archipelago), which in the future will be able to receive and heavy aircraft - Il-78, Tiksi (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)), Rogachevo (Arkhangelsk region), Temp (Kotelny Island). Work is also underway to reconstruct the airfields of Severomorsk-3 (Murmansk region), Vorkuta (Komi Republic), Naryan-Mar (Arkhangelsk region), Alykel (Krasnoyarsk Territory) and Anadyr (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug).
The main military air bases are located at Cape Schmidt, Wrangel Island, Kotelny Island, the Franz Josef Land archipelago, as well as in the territory Murmansk region. These airfields will be able to provide takeoff and landing of heavy transport aircraft and MiG-31 fighter-interceptors, which are able to effectively destroy not only enemy aircraft, but also missiles of the most different classes, up to ballistic. It is reported that Arctic airfields will be all-season and will be able to receive different types Russian Air Force aircraft.
According to Air Force expert Alexander Drobyshevsky, it is very important for fighter aircraft to develop an airfield network on the ground in order to quickly fly out to intercept the enemy. Even during the Second World War, the practice of “jump airfields” was widely used, when field airfields could be located closer to the front line. In the Russian Arctic, with distances of many thousands, it is also important to be able to fly out to intercept the enemy from a closer point. For example, do not waste time flying from Novosibirsk, but take to the skies directly from the Arctic Ocean.
Such jump airfields in the Arctic are also very beneficial for strategic aviation. They were used for these purposes in the USSR; the Americans also had their own jump airfields in the Arctic in the 1970-90s. There is no point in strategic aviation being based in the North on a permanent basis, but if necessary, Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers can disperse to all military airfields, including suitable Arctic ones, which at least increases their combat survivability. At the same time, strategic aviation gets the opportunity to completely calmly carry out combat sorties to the United States with the possibility of returning back to northern airfields, fortunately the distances allow. The airfields being built in the Arctic will allow the Air Force not only to completely take control of the Arctic sky within Russian borders, but also to quickly solve any problems in this part of the continent.
Information sources:
https://tvzvezda.ru/news/forces/content/201711050946-uwfj.htm
https://svpressa.ru/all/article/29527
https://iz.ru/news/666014
https://lenta.ru/articles/2016/04/20/arctic
Open source materials
January 29, 2019, Inland water transport and maritime activities Yuri Borisov chaired a meeting of the Maritime Board The state and prospects for the development of internal waterways, as well as measures aimed at increasing merchant fleet, increasing its competitiveness and increasing its share in the total volume of transportation of national foreign trade goods.
January 22, 2019, On granting the right to use the Yuzhno-Obsky subsoil plot federal significance located in the waters of the Ob Bay Kara Sea Order No. 22-r dated January 17, 2019. Based on the results of the auction, the right to use the Yuzhno-Ob subsoil plot of federal significance, located in the waters of the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea, for geological study, exploration and production of hydrocarbons under a combined license was granted to Gazprom Neft Shelf LLC.
January 18, 2019, Arctic activities The Government’s proposal to supplement the competence of the Ministry of Development was discussed Far East issues related to the implementation of state policy in the Arctic zone.
December 28, 2018, Arctic activities The President of Russia signed the Federal Law developed by the Government on the powers of the state corporation Rosatom in the development and functioning of the Northern Sea Route and adjacent territories Federal Law of December 27, 2018 No. 525-FZ. The draft federal law was submitted to the State Duma by Government Order No. 1374-r dated July 6, 2018. Federal law The state corporation "Rosatom" is vested with a number of powers in the field government controlled development and sustainable functioning of the Northern Sea Route, as well as the infrastructure of seaports located on the coast of the Northern Sea Route.
December 19, 2018, Arctic activities On decisions following the meeting on Arctic development issues On plans for the implementation of investment projects in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation that ensure the development of the Northern Sea Route in accordance with the tasks set in Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 7, 2018 No. 204. On the transport infrastructure that ensures the implementation of investment projects in the Arctic.
December 11, 2018, Arctic activities Report by Evgeniy Dietrich at a meeting on Arctic development About investment projects for the development of the Northern Sea Route.
December 11, 2018, General issues of development of the Far Eastern Federal District Report by Alexander Kozlov at a meeting on Arctic development On the implementation of investment projects in the Far Eastern region.
December 11, 2018, Arctic activities Report by Alexander Novak at a meeting on Arctic development On the implementation of investment projects to develop hydrocarbon reserves in the Arctic.
December 11, 2018, Arctic activities
D. Medvedev: “The Arctic region is not only the largest raw material reserve of our country, it is of strategic importance for Russia as an Arctic power. We must focus our efforts on implementing large, anchor projects. Their launch will create completely different conditions for the development of the Northern Sea Route and will require year-round loading.”
December 7, 2018, Arctic activities Yuri Trutnev chaired a meeting of the organizing committee for the preparation of the International Arctic Forum 2019 In particular, the structure of the business program, the composition of participants, and issues of ensuring the sustainable technical functioning of the forum sites were discussed. It is expected that 2,500 participants and guests will attend the forum.
October 4, 2018, Arctic activities Yuri Trutnev held a meeting on priority tasks for the development of the Arctic The main tasks in the field of ecology, development of science, and modernization of the transport infrastructure of the Arctic zone were discussed.
October 4, 2018, Arctic activities On concluding a concession agreement regarding infrastructure facilities of the seaport of Murmansk Order No. 2111-r dated October 1, 2018. The main terms of the concession agreement for the financing, creation and operation of infrastructure facilities of the seaport of Murmansk have been determined. The concession agreement provides for the construction of a coal terminal, the development of existing railway infrastructure on the eastern bank and the construction of new railway infrastructure on west bank Kola Bay.
September 12, 2018, Natural resource management. Subsoil use On holding an auction for the right to use the Yuzhno-Obsky subsoil plot of federal significance, located in the waters of the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea Order of September 8, 2018 No. 1899-r. The area for geological study of subsoil, exploration and production of hydrocarbons has an area of 321.2 square meters. km.
September 4, 2018, Russia’s participation in multilateral agreements, international organizations and associations (except the CIS) On approval by the Government of the Russian Federation of the draft Agreement on the prevention of unregulated fishing on the high seas in the central part of the Arctic Ocean Order of August 31, 2018 No. 1822-r. The goal of the future Agreement is to create an international legal framework for regulating fisheries on the high seas in the central part of the Arctic Ocean.
Order of August 8, 2018 No. 1663-r. As part of the implementation of the mechanism of private concession initiative in federal projects in the field of transport, infrastructure facilities will be created on the basis of a concession agreement with SSHH LLC (Northern Latitudinal Railway) railway transport"Obskaya - Salekhard - Nadym".April 11, 2018, Arctic activities
IN last years Russia's activities in the Arctic have intensified.
Russia puts the development of Arctic latitudes among its priorities. This region is primarily interesting from the point of view of its commercial use. After all, the Arctic subsoil and the Northern Sea Route can bring considerable dividends to our country in the future.
Inexhaustible depths
In 2009, Science magazine published material on research into the potential subsoil reserves of the Arctic macroregion. According to published data, the Arctic ice hides over 10 billion tons of oil and about 1,550 trillion. cubic meters of natural gas. But while oil deposits are predominantly concentrated off the coast of Alaska, almost all Arctic gas reserves belong to Russia.
According to the US Geological Survey, the Russian Arctic zone as a whole is the richest. The Americans call the Kara Sea region particularly promising in this regard, where, according to their assumption, a quarter of all undiscovered reserves of the planet lie.
In addition to hydrocarbons, the Russian Arctic subsoil is generous with rare earth metals, agrochemical ores, and there are large reserves of gold, diamonds, tungsten, mercury and optical raw materials. The official representative of Rosgeologia, Anton Sergeev, emphasizes that the exploration of the Arctic region is extremely uneven and dozens of new fields may be discovered here in the near future.
Recently, the British publication Daily Star tried to calculate the predicted mineral reserves of the Russian Arctic. Experts with Misty Albion They believe this figure could reach $22 trillion. dollars. Russian economists put the figure at $30 trillion. At the same time, the value of proven reserves is estimated at $2 trillion.
Northern Sea Route
In the context of the global melting of Arctic ice, the Russian authorities are relying on the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which could become a significant budget item. Already, development of a financial and economic model of transport lines connecting Russian ports with the cities of Northern Europe and Southeast Asia is underway.
Initially, it is planned to involve Russian cargo in transportation, which is currently transported along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and then to involve international companies in the project. According to experts, with a 75% load on container ships, the annual volume of transportation along the NSR in the near future could reach up to 380 thousand TEU (1TEU corresponds to a container with dimensions of 6.1 X 2.4 m.)
True, according to the developers of the financial and economic model, it will be possible to talk about profitability no earlier than 2028, when bank financing returns. The annual profit in this case should be at least 7.5 billion rubles. By 2035, according to experts, the capitalization of NSR feeder lines from government investments alone will amount to about 55 billion rubles.
But will NSR be of interest to foreign companies? Obviously yes. In September of this year, a container ship of the Danish company Maersk Line with a capacity of 3.6 thousand TEU for the first time in history changed its traditional route through the Suez Canal and passed along the Northern Sea Route. The Maersk press service stated that this was done to study potential opportunities container shipping in northern waters.
It became known that the Danish ship spent 26 days on the entire journey instead of the standard 34. It was predictable because northern route shorter than the southern one by 7 thousand nautical miles. And although Maersk assures that they do not currently consider the NSR as a commercial alternative to existing logistics schemes, domestic experts have no doubt that the Danes have already appreciated the economic benefits of the new project.
Profit is a costly thing
Before making a profit from the use of the Northern Sea Route and the development of deposits in the Arctic, the state must incur significant costs. The head of the department at IMEMO RAS, Andrei Zagorsky, notes that by 2025 it was planned to invest about 260 billion rubles for specific Arctic projects, but due to budgetary difficulties, this amount will be significantly reduced.
It should also be taken into account that logistics in the Arctic will cost 3-4 times more than on the continent. Climatic and geographical features regions have special requirements for the infrastructure being built there. Thus, according to experts, due to the impact of sea storms, port facilities will have to be moved further from the coast, which will significantly increase capital investment.
In addition, in conditions of unstable ice cover and increasing risks of iceberg formation, there is a need to build new nuclear icebreakers, without which year-round navigation is impossible. And such construction is already in full swing.
The lead nuclear icebreaker “Arktika” has already been launched, the cost of which is estimated at $625 million. By 2020, two more serial nuclear-powered ships worth $709 million and $743 million should leave the shipyards. The total cost of the icebreaker project will cost the treasury more than $2 billion.
Also at the design stage is the nuclear-powered icebreaker Leader, which will ensure uninterrupted year-round navigation along the NSR. The estimated costs for it will be about $1.2 billion; however, the return is expected to be good. Such an icebreaker can increase the speed of passage of ice-class tankers along the NSR by 5 times.
Yuri Gudoshnikov, a leading employee of the Arctic Shelf laboratory of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, is convinced that the Russian Arctic project is “long-term money.” In his opinion, to launch a field it takes at least 8 years and prices for hydrocarbons are many times higher than now. But the Ministry of Economic Development calls not to stop, but to accelerate the process of development of the Arctic, including by attracting foreign partners.
In the VKontakte group NORDAVIA - Regional Airlines posted a message: Quote:
Most people took it as an April Fool's joke. Yes, maybe the group administrators themselves created this message as banter. Although, someone believed it, deciding that flights were planned all the way to the North Pole itself. But that's not the point. It turns out that people don’t know that there really are flights to the Arctic? After all, what is included in the Arctic region of Russia: The Arctic zone of Russia is a part of the Arctic that is under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The Arctic zone of Russia includes such territories of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation as the Kola, Lovozersky, Pechenga regions, the closed administrative-territorial formations of Zaozersk, Ostrovnoy, Skalisty, Snezhnogorsk, the cities of. Polyarny and Severomorsk, Murmansk region, Murmansk; Belomorsky district of the Republic of Karelia, Nenets Autonomous Okrug; Mezensky, Leshukonsky, Onega, Pinezhsky, Primorsky, Solovetsky districts, Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk; Vorkuta, Komi Republic; Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug; Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug; Norilsk Krasnoyarsk Territory; Allaikhovsky, Abyisky, Bulunsky, Verkhnekolymsky, Nizhnekolymsky, Oleneksky, Ust-Yansky, Gorny uluses of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); Chukotka Autonomous Okrug; Olyutorsky district of Koryak Autonomous Okrug. Okay, Vorkuta, Naryan-Mar... But for example, to Amderma, Tiksi, Anadyr - passenger planes fly only this way, and this is the Arctic, without any kind there. Don't people know about this? Or does only the North Pole, and the Polar Region with Wrangel, Taimyr and Novaya Zemlya consider the Arctic? Or maybe we need to directly create “tourist products” and announce “here’s your opportunity to fly to the Arctic” so that people get the message?New flight: Murmansk - Arctic - Arkhangelsk. Currently, tour operators and government officials are actively discussing the issue of developing Arctic tourism. In particular, it is discussed completely new route- tourists arrive in Murmansk, from where they go to the vastness of the Russian Arctic, and end the trip in Arkhangelsk. We believe that this direction tourism is very promising, and therefore carried out a set of works to study the capabilities of the Boeing 737 aircraft in terms of landing on Arctic ice. There is successful experience of such aircraft operation in the world of this type, on the basis of which we decided on the possibility of such flights. The North is perhaps the most underrated region by tourists. It's full majestic beauty, calmness and grace. At the same time, its effective development has always been associated with aviation, and its modern development made flights over the Arctic as comfortable and safe as in other parts of our planet. In the near future we will complete all approvals with tour operators, and New Product will be offered to potential consumers. Experience all the beauty of the North with us!
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