Putin’s Arctic Strategy

Abstract

Russia’s Arctic policy was inaugurated not only to harvest the vast economic resources to be found there, but also for the associated political benefits of restoring Russia’s status vis-à-vis the West and appealing to Russian pride, patriotism, and exceptionalism, notions especially important for Putin’s regime after the disturbances of 2011. While Russia’s activity in the region had been more collaborative than conflictual, since the 2013–2014 Ukrainian events a more confrontational approach has emerged—an approach driven by increasing disappointment and frustration with the West.