Russia Reopens Arctic Base

As the race to discover and recover the natural resource riches locked in the Arctic continues, Russia has reportedly ramped up the competition as, according to a Reuters report, that country is reopening a Soviet-era military base in the Arctic.

The report cited, President Vladimir Putin saying it is part of a drive to make the northern coast a global shipping route and secure the region's vast energy resources. Nearly 20 years after abandoning it, Russia reportedly sent 10 warships behind four nuclear-powered ice breakers to the base on the Novosibirsk Islands. The flotilla was reportedly led by Russia's flagship nuclear-powered cruiser, Peter the Great, along the Northern Sea Route, which connects Europe to Asia across Russian waters from the Kara Gate to the Bering Strait.

Russia has staked future growth on mining the Arctic's energy resources, and reviving the Soviet-era shipping route is part of theplan.