Russia to Set Up Northern Sea Route Naval Infrastructure

Russia will create several hubs along the Northern Sea Route to enforce security in the region.

The Northern Sea Route stretches along Russia’s Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait in the Far East.

Russia will create several infrastructure hubs along the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic to be used as temporary stations for Russian warships and border guard vessels, according to Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev.

The authorities have drafted a list of “key double-purpose sites in remote areas of the Arctic seas along the Northern Sea Route” to enable “temporary stationing of Russian Navy warships and vessels operated by the Federal Security Service’s Border Guard Department,” Patrushev said during a meeting with officials in Siberia.

The plans are in line with Russia’s Arctic doctrine, approved in 2008, which outlines state policies aimed at maintaining Russia’s role as a “major Arctic nation” and strengthening security and stability in the region. Russia is planning to deploy a combined-arms force by 2020 to guard its political and economic interests in the Arctic.

In April, the Russian government unveiled plans to spend around 1.3 trillion rubles ($44 billion) on economic and social projects in the Arctic before 2020. According to the Russian Ministry for Regional Development, the projects will include the creation of new transportation corridors and the development of new hydrocarbon deposits and social infrastructure in the region.