"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 ina 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…