{"id":1829,"date":"2026-06-24T12:25:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/?page_id=1829"},"modified":"2026-06-24T12:25:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:25:32","slug":"the-arctic-grand-challenges","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/?page_id=1829","title":{"rendered":"THE ARCTIC: GRAND CHALLENGES"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Original article<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/12SiR2_2026.pdf\"><strong>Download article<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Ivan G. Tananaev<sup>1, 2, 5<\/sup>, Sergey V. Krivovichev<sup>3<\/sup>, Sergey M. Aksenov<sup>4<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><sup>1<\/sup>A. N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (IPCE), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><sup>2, 3, 4<\/sup>Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russia<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><sup>5<\/sup>Tananaev Institute of Chemistry<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><sup>1<\/sup>geokhi@mail.ru, ORCID 0000-0002-2159-8182<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><sup>3<\/sup>s.krivovichev@ksc.ru, ORCID 0000-0001-8352-1394<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><sup>4<\/sup>s.aksenov@ksc.ru, ORCID 0000-0003-1709-4798<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Abstract.<\/strong> This article examines the historical development of the Russian Arctic, the current status of Russia\u2019s claims to extend its continental shelf, and the delimitation of maritime boundaries under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It also discusses the substantial natural resources of the Far North. The region accounts for one-tenth of global oil production and one-quarter of natural gas output. It contains deposits of solid minerals, including tin, manganese, gold, nickel, lead, platinum, and diamonds. \u00a0The article traces the history of establishing the Northern Sea Route, from the first expedition seeking a maritime passage to China to projects proposed by M. V. Lomonosov and D. I. Mendeleev, and outlines its contemporary development. The article further considers an emerging dimension of Russia\u2019s Arctic policy: the restoration of strategically important military bases to support both nuclear and non-nuclear capabilities. These measures are aimed at deterring potential aggression and safeguarding Russia\u2019s diverse interests \u00a0in the region. The authors conclude that the Russian Arctic encompasses key resource, technological, military, and political assets that are critical to the country\u2019s future. The region serves not only as a major center for resource extraction but also as the base \u00a0for a powerful icebreaker fleet, a hub of industrial activity supporting year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route, and a locus of infrastructure essential for national defense. The article also addresses and challenges external claims regarding the status of Arctic territories as \u201ccommon\u201d or \u201cneutral,\u201d as well as allegations concerning environmental degradation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>Keywords: <\/em>Russian Arctic, mineral reserves, continental shelf, geopolitics, Northern Sea Route<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Acknowledgments: <\/strong>This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, grant No. 075-15-2024-534.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>For citation:<\/strong> Tananaev I. G., Krivovichev S. V., Aksenov S. M. The Arctic: Grand challenges. <em>Sever i rynok: formirovanie ekonomicheskogo poryadka<\/em> [The North and the Market: Forming the Economic Order], 2026, no. 2, pp. 167\u2013182. doi:10.37614\/2220-802X.2.2026.92.012.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Antipov S. V., Tananaev I. G. Radioecological problems of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation. <em>Radiochemistry<\/em>, 2023, vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 141\u2013157. doi:10.1134\/S1066362223020029.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lagutina M.\u00a0<em>Russian Arctic policy in the global world<\/em>. Chair InBeV \u2013 Baillet Latiur, 2012.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kuang Z., Ou K. Novaya politika Kitaya po Arktike (o Beloy knige \u201cPolitika Kitaya v Arktike\u201d) [China\u2019s new Arctic policy: On the white paper \u201cChina\u2019s Arctic Policy\u201d]. <em>Mirovaya ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya <\/em>[World E\u0441onomy and International Relations], 2019, vol. 63, no. 7, pp. 84\u201391. doi:10.20542\/0131-2227\u20132019-63-7-84-91. (In Russ.).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kondratiev V. B. Mineral\u2019nye resursy i budushchee Arktiki [Mineral resources and future of the Arctic]. <em>Gornaya promyshlennost\u2019 <\/em>[Russian Mining Industry], 2020, no. 1, pp. 87\u201396. doi:10.30686\/1609-9192-2020-1-87-96. (In Russ.).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Kontorovich A. E., Epov M. I., Burshtein L. M., Kaminskii V. D., Kurchikov A. R., Malyshev N. A., Prischepa O. M., Safronov A. F., Stupakova A. V., Suprunenko O. I. Geologiya, resursy uglevodorodov shel\u2019fov arkticheskikh morey Rossii i perspektivy ikh osvoeniya [Geology and hydrocarbon resources of the continental shelf in Russian Arctic seas and the prospects of their development]. <em>Geologiya i geofizika <\/em>[Geology and Geophysics], 2010, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 7\u201317. (In Russ.).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tolvanen A., Eilu P., Juutinen A., Kangas K., Kivinen M., Markovaara-Koivisto M., Naskali A., Salokannel V., Tuulentie S., Simil\u00e4 J. Mining in the Arctic environment\u2014A review from ecological, socioeconomic and legal perspectives. <em>Journal of Environmental Management<\/em>, 2019, vol. 233, pp. 832\u2013844. doi:10.1016\/j.jenvman.2018.11.124.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bortnikov N. S., Lobanov K. V., Volkov A. V., Galyamov A. L., Murashov K. Yu. Arkticheskie resursy tsvetnykh i blagorodnykh metallov v global\u2019noy perspective [Arctic resources of non-ferrous and noble metals in the global perspective]. <em>Arktika: ekologiya i ekonomika <\/em>[Arctic: Ecology and Economy], 2015, no. 1, pp. 38\u201346. (In Russ.).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Bortnikov N. S., Lobanov K. V., Volkov A. V., Galyamov A. L., Vikent\u2019ev I. V., Tarasov N. N., Distler V. V., Lalomov A. V., Aristov V. V., Murashov K. Yu., Chizhova I. A., Chefranov R. M. Strategic metal deposits of the Arctic Zone. <em>Geology of Ore Deposits<\/em>, 2015, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 433\u2013453. doi:10.1134\/S1075701515060021.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Original article Download article\u00a0 Ivan G. Tananaev1, 2, 5, Sergey V. Krivovichev3, Sergey M. Aksenov4 1A. N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (IPCE), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia 2, 3, 4Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/?page_id=1829\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"sidebar-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1829","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1829"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1830,"href":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1829\/revisions\/1830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/iep.kolasc.net.ru\/journal\/eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}