Why Russian Military is in the Arctic

Russia’s military posture in the Arctic is informed by the changing geopolitical environment, and can no longer be considered in isolation from the country’s growing tensions with the West.

Explainer Video Updated 22 October 2020 7 minute watch

Why Russian Military is in the Arctic

Mathieu seeks to demystify Moscow’s military build-up in the region. He explains that if Moscow is indeed militarizing the Russian Arctic, the military build-up and the Kremlin’s intentions are, at least for now, defensive in nature.

The project was supported by the Finnish Ministry of Defence, Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the NATO Defence College. This support does not imply endorsement of the views expressed in this video. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Read more in Mathieu’s paper Russia’s Military Posture in the Arctic: Managing Hard Power in a ‘Low Tension’ Environment