The Russian Military Is Taking the Arctic

Canada might be using science and the discovery of an old ship to bolster its claims to Arctic lands. But now its neighbor, Russia, is employing something far more aggressive for its own claims: military power.

A recent series of military operations has demonstrated Russia's desire, under Vladimir Putin's public direction, to consolidate its Arctic lands, even in the face of increasing diplomatic interest over the fate of the world's most northern region. There have been reports of Interceptions of Russian bombers near Canadian airspace over the last few months during diplomatic standoffs over the Ukraine crisis. And last weekend, it was revealed even more MiGs came into Western airspace.

CBC News reported that Canadian radars picked up Tupolev Tu-95 long-range bombers venturing some 75 kilometres from Canadian Arctic airspace on October 18, with two CF-18s dispatched to intercept them. Hours before that, American F-22 fighter jets, based out of Alaska, were scrambled to intercept two MiG-31 bombers flying too close for comfort.

The classic manoeuvre by the Russian bombers, to measure response times and to see snippets of NATO's air defence capabilities, is a case of Cold War déjà vu.

For Putin, the Arctic is not only another frontier of Russia's resource economy, with 90 billion barrels of possible oil sitting underneath the North Pole, and another 1,700 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. It's a national emblem to promote its statehood. This summer, he touted a major militarization plan to reopen old Soviet bases in the High Arctic to help defend future trade convoys.

"This is our territory and we will renew our infrastructure and the infrastructure of the Emergencies Ministry, because we need to provide security for convoys and shipping along the trade route," as Putin was quoted by the RIA Novosti Russian state news agency in August.

He's backed that up with a reported list of war machines: 40 new naval vessels, new nuclear attack submarines, and biblical super-icebreakers. Putin also has plans to resurrect decommissioned Soviet military infrastructure in the Far North. According to another recent RIA Novosti report, Putin is advancing into northern Siberia to begin rebuilding a naval base in Severomorsk, near the Norwegian border.

Then again, it's part and parcel of a longer game being played by the Russian Federation.

"People are saying the Russians are starting to do something in the last few months, the tendency is to tie it to Ukraine," Rob Huebert, a renowned Arctic expert at the University of Calgary, told me. "But the reality is the Russians have been revamping their Arctic capabilities since about 2003-2004, making serious efforts to rebuild what was ultimately allowed to deteriorate at the end of the Cold War."

According to Huebert, Russia is certainly interested in developing their oil and gas resources, just like Canada, for an energy-reliant economy. But it's also interested in strategic defense.

"What we're seeing is just a continuation of what the Russians know: that there is both regional and security interests that they must defend that have to be placed in the Arctic region," he said. "Everyone forgets that the nuclear deterrent is still the core security policy and posture of all the major nuclear powers."

For the Russians, he added, the ideal place for their defensive nuclear missile systems is the area along the Kola peninsula, which "offers the best place for them to place their submarine ballistic missile system."

"So even if the Arctic weren't melting and people weren't focusing on it for its oil and gas, the Russians, as they resume their great-power status, would ultimately be putting military capabilities, if nothing else, to protect their nuclear deterrent system," said Huebert.

The Canadian Forces, for their part, aren't necessarily sitting idly by, with plans of expanding new patrol vessels, to potentially weaponized drone systems, all with an eye on the Arctic. The Harper government has also made it a priority to replace Canada's CF-18 fleet, the same planes intercepting Russian bombers. Those planes are set to be swapped for F-35s, but that procurement process has been a nightmare.

In the end, with climate change doing most of the work, revealing new lands and waterways for international trade, regional militaries will continue expanding capabilities in the Arctic theatre. Ultimately, that puts Putin's Russia at odds with countries like Canada, weary of any Russian expansionism—especially in a year full of it.