“Hard security” matters in the Arctic

Russian officials added emphasis on the “hard security” matters in the Arctic in the end-of-the-year self-congratulations. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Security Council and a big fan of Far North, asserted that “strategic risks for Russia in the Arctic are increasing“. Vice prime minister Dmitry Rogozin argued that “serious players are engaged in a battle, so far virtual, over who will gain control over the Arctic first“. Much fanfare was played over the introduction to the Navy of Alexander Nevsky – the second SSBN of the Borey class, but not a word was said about the new tests of the Bulava SLBM, without which both subs are good for nothing. Grand discourse is a poor camouflage for technical failures; it is safer to march the good old way…

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