{"id":46110,"date":"2021-05-18T21:46:16","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T21:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/18\/russias-northernmost-base-projects-its-power-across-arctic\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:33:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:33:45","slug":"russias-northernmost-base-projects-its-power-across-arctic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/frozen-pathways\/2021\/05\/18\/russias-northernmost-base-projects-its-power-across-arctic\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia\u2019s northernmost base projects its power across Arctic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NAGURSKOYE, Russia \u2014 During the Cold War, Russia\u2019s Nagurskoye airbase was little more than a runway, a weather station and a communications outpost in the Franz Josef Land archipelago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was a remote and desolate home mostly for polar bears, where temperatures plunge in winter to minus-42 Celsius (43 degrees below zero Fahrenheit) and the snow only disappears from August to mid-September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, Russia\u2019s northernmost military base is bristling with missiles and radar and its extended runway can handle all types of aircraft, including nuclear-capable strategic bombers, projecting Moscow\u2019s power and influence across the Arctic amid intensifying international competition for the region\u2019s vast resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shamrock-shaped facility \u2014 three large pods extending from a central atrium \u2014 is called the \u201cArctic Trefoil\u201d and is painted in the white-red-and-blue of the national flag, brightening the otherwise stark vantage point on the 5,600-kilometer (3,470-mile) Northern Sea Route along Russia\u2019s Arctic coast. Other buildings on the Island, which is called Alexandra Land, are used for radar and communications, a weather station, oil storage, hangars and construction facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/02\/27\/northern-border-with-canada-not-southern-is-what-worries-norad-leaders\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"166\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5120725-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Northern border along Arctic, not southern, is what worries NORAD leaders<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The top officer at U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command warned lawmakers about growing Russian and Chinese interest in the Arctic.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia has sought to assert its influence over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/02\/27\/northern-border-with-canada-not-southern-is-what-worries-norad-leaders\/\" target=\"_blank\">wide areas of the Arctic<\/a> in competition with the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway as shrinking polar ice from the warming planet offers new opportunities for resources and shipping routes. China also has shown an increasing interest in the region, believed to hold up to one-fourth of the Earth\u2019s undiscovered oil and gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited estimates that put the value of Arctic mineral riches at $30 trillion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tensions between Russia and the West will likely loom large over Thursday\u2019s meeting of the Arctic nations\u2019 foreign ministers in Reykjavik, Iceland, where Moscow is set to take a rotating chairmanship in the Arctic Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have concerns about some of the recent military activities in the Arctic,\u201d U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday after arriving in Iceland for talks with foreign ministers of the eight members of the Arctic Council. \u201cThat increases the dangers of accidents and miscalculations and undermines the shared goal of a peaceful and sustainable future for the region. So we have to be vigilant about that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138029320404.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-92453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138029320404.jpg.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138029320404.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138029320404.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138029320404.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138029320404.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Soldiers stand at a radar facility on the Alexandra Land island near Nagurskoye, Russia, May 17, 2021. (Alexander Zemlianichenko\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Russian base, which sits about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) south of the geographic North Pole, was built using new construction technologies as part of Kremlin efforts to bolster the military amid spiraling tensions with the West following Russia\u2019s 2014 annexation of Ukraine\u2019s Crimean Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following year, Russia submitted a revised bid for vast territories in the Arctic to the United Nations, claiming 1.2 million square kilometers (over 463,000 square miles) of Arctic sea shelf, extending more than 350 nautical miles (650 kilometers) from shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the U.N. pondered that claim and those from other nations, Russia has said it sees the Northern Sea Route as its \u201chistorically developed national transport corridor,\u201d requiring authorization from Moscow for foreign vessels to navigate along it. The U.S. has dismissed Russia\u2019s claims of jurisdiction on parts of the route as illegitimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moscow has declared its intention to introduce procedures for foreign ships and assign Russian pilots for guidance along the route, which runs from Norway to Alaska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of that effort, Russia has rebuilt and expanded facilities across the polar region, deploying surveillance and defensive assets. A base in the similar trefoil shape and patriotic colors to the one in Nagurskoye is on Kotelny Island, between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea on eastern end of the shipping route, also with missiles and radar.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/08\/30\/russian-navy-conducts-major-maneuvers-near-alaska\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20241399195787.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Russian navy conducts major maneuvers near Alaska<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Russian navy conducted major war games near Alaska involving dozens of ships and aircraft, the military said Friday, the biggest such drills in the area since Soviet times.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adm. Alexander Moiseyev, chief of Russia\u2019s Northern Fleet, said last week that Moscow has the right to set navigation rules along the shipping lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPractically the entire Northern Sea Route goes through Russia\u2019s territorial waters or the country\u2019s economic zone,\u201d Moiseyev told reporters aboard the Peter the Great missile cruiser. \u201cThe complex ice conditions make it necessary to organize safe shipping, so Russia insists on a special regime of its use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NATO is increasingly worried about the growing Russian military footprint in the Arctic, and Washington sent<a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/02\/26\/b-1b-lancers-conduct-first-bomber-task-force-mission-from-norway\/\" target=\"_blank\"> B-1 bombers to Norway<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIncreased Russian presence, more Russian bases in the High North, has also triggered the need for more NATO presence, and we have increased our presence there with more naval capabilities, presence in the air, and not least, the importance of protecting transatlantic undersea cables transmitting a lot of data,\u201d NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moiseyev fretted about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2021\/05\/14\/russian-admiral-frets-over-us-military-presence-provocative-nato-drills\/\" target=\"_blank\">the U.S. military assets in Norway<\/a>, saying it has led to an \u201cincrease of the conflict potential in the Arctic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/05\/14\/russian-admiral-frets-over-us-military-presence-provocative-nato-drills\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21133606673831.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Russian admiral frets over US military presence,  \u2018provocative\u2019 NATO drills<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Adm. Alexander Moiseyev, the commander of Russia\u2019s Northern Fleet, said that NATO navy ships\u2019 presence in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea have reached levels unseen since World War II.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Russian Foreign Ministry last week fumed at a U.S. nuclear submarine calling at a Norwegian port, saying it reflected what it described as \u201cOslo\u2019s course for the militarization of the Arctic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the sidelines of this week\u2019s Arctic Council meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to hold talks with Blinken \u2014 an encounter intended to lay the groundwork for Putin\u2019s meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden planned for next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blinken has pointed out that with the Arctic warming at twice the rate of the rest of the global average, Russia has moved to increase its presence in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRussia is exploiting this change to try to exert control over new spaces,\u201d he said last month. \u201cIt is modernizing its bases in the Arctic and building new ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blinken has rejected Russian calls to resume a military component of the Arctic Council. He also took Lavrov to task for comments earlier this week in which the Russian diplomat dismissed such criticism because the Arctic \u201cis our territory, our land.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have to proceed all of us, including Russia, based on the rules, based on norms, based on the commitments that we\u2019ve each made and also avoid statements that undercut those,\u201d Blinken said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138030305297.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-92454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138030305297.jpg.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138030305297.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138030305297.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138030305297.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21138030305297.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An Icebreaker making the path for a cargo ship with an iceberg in the background near a port on the Alexandra Land island near Nagurskoye, Russia, May 17, 2021. (Alexander Zemlianichenko\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since Putin visited the Nagurskoye base in 2017, it has been strengthened and expanded. It now houses a dedicated tactical group that operates electronic surveillance, air defense assets and a battery of Bastion anti-ship missile systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A runway has been extended to accommodate all types of aircraft, including Tu-95 nuclear-capable strategic bombers, said Maj. Gen. Igor Churkin, who oversees air force operations at the base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe modernization of Arctic airfields significantly increases the potential of the Northern Fleet\u2019s aviation to control the airspace in the area of the Northern Sea Route and allows to ensure its security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In March, the Russian military conducted drills at Nagurskoye with ground troops and a pair of MiG-31 fighters flying over the North Pole. The exercise also saw three nuclear submarines smash through the Arctic ice next to one another in a carefully planned show of force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, Lavrov rebuffed Western criticism of Russia\u2019s Arctic expansion and bristled at what he described as Norway\u2019s push for a stronger NATO presence there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe hear whining about Russia expanding its military activities in the Arctic,\u201d Lavrov said. \u201cBut everyone knows that it\u2019s our territory, our land. We bear responsibility for the Arctic coast to be safe, and everything our country does there is fully legitimate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Isachenkov reported from Moscow.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Russian base was built using new construction technologies as part of Kremlin efforts to bolster the military amid spiraling tensions with the West following Russia&#8217;s 2014 annexation of Ukraine&#8217;s Crimean Peninsula.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":92451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":115,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,115,36,30],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3320,1411],"class_list":["post-46110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-frozen-pathways","category-newsletters","category-smr"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"BMTPEPKEQFFZNFODZW3L4SJS3U","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/05\/18\/russias-northernmost-base-projects-its-power-across-arctic\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Russia\u2019s northernmost base projects its power across Arctic - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Russian base was built using new construction technologies as part of Kremlin efforts to bolster the military amid spiraling tensions with the West following Russia&#039;s 2014 annexation of Ukraine&#039;s Crimean Peninsula.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Russia\u2019s northernmost base projects its power across Arctic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Russian base was built using new construction technologies as part of Kremlin efforts to bolster the military amid spiraling tensions with the West following Russia&#039;s 2014 annexation of Ukraine&#039;s Crimean Peninsula.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/frozen-pathways\/2021\/05\/18\/russias-northernmost-base-projects-its-power-across-arctic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-18T21:46:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T09:33:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kostya Manenkov, The Associated Press, Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kostya Manenkov, The Associated Press, Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading 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