The Arctic: Putin’s New Frontier for Invasion? | Russia’s Frozen Goldmine (Documentary)

The Arctic: Putin’s New Frontier for Invasion? | Russia’s Frozen Goldmine (Documentary)

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beyond the Arctic Circle in Russia a Red
Army soldier 35 M High watches over the
city of
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M located in the northeast of the
country MK is the largest port in the
Russian Arctic it is also home to a huge
military Naval base housing half of the
Navy’s nuclear submarines and the fleet
of nuclear ice
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breakers the year is
2019 today the renowned City celebrates
the launch of the world’s first floating
nuclear power
plant the academic
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lomos
among the senior officials who attended
the celebration meet alexe Liev head of
R the Russian nuclear
giant is Vladimir Putin’s former deputy
economy
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minister
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the power station the one 140 M long by
30 m wide ship painted entirely in the
colors of Russia white blue and red only
a small group of journalists was able to
visit it we are the only ones from
French television the location is
sensitive and the visit is highly
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supervised
installing a nuclear power plant on a
boat seems like a crazy idea and it
worries the journalists among them is a
Japanese man since the Fukushima
disaster in 2011 people in his country
are highly sensitive to everything
concerning nuclear safety the plant
director agrees to answer
questions
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for
this journalist comes from Finland
located just 150 kilom from
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m
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a few minutes later the sailors cast off
this floating power station is the will
of the Russian State the head of rosat
Home designed this unique prototype the
first of its kind to supply electricity
to isolated AAS north of the Arctic
Circle
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the floating nuclear power plant is
leaving on a 4mon journey it will travel
4,000 km to reach a small Port of only
5,000
inhabitants PC north of the bearing
Street this power station is a symbol of
Vladimir Putin’s desire to conquer the
Arctic
the Arctic is the world’s new El Dorado
its subsurface is full of riches gold
uranium rare soil and of course oil and
gas today it is the Envy of the eight
countries that surround it including the
United States and especially Russia
which has the largest territory in the
area what’s more global warming is
making making the arctic’s natural
resources even more
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accessible these NASA images show the
state of the Arctic seies in 40 years it
has lost 40% of its surface area opening
up new navigation routes and
facilitating the exploitation of mineral
mining resources this presents an
opportunity for Vladimir Putin who is
increasing projects like this huge IFI
Gas Plant built on the icy ground north
of the Arctic
Circle and with regards to the Kremlin
this Conquest also involves the
militarization of the region in the
Arctic the Russian army is stepping up
its demonstration of force and building
spectacular bases on islands that were
previously virtually
uninhabited
this is enough to frighten the other
countries in the Arctic Zone who now
fear being invaded by
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Russia you can see ukraina what is
happening we have a border to Russia in
the north so you never know who is Trac
it NATO decided to send a strong message
to the Kremlin to show that could push
back a Russian invasion at any time the
Atlantic Alliance organized the landing
of 35,000 strong Army in
Norway but there is also a Russian
presence in the Arctic that worries
NATO settlements in Northern Norway
former coal mines that have been there
for 90
years
definitely Frozen in time so uh it looks
nice but I’m curious how it was to be uh
actually here you
know Russian enclaves in the heart of
NATO that Putin doesn’t want to give up
at any
cost the target of Kremlin ambition the
Arctic has become a new zone of
international
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tension 2 years after its launch in the
port of MMS we were allowed to go and
see the floating nuclear power plant
this was before the war in
Ukraine to reach the confines of the
Russian Arctic we will need two days of
travel and no less than four
planes we are meeting at Magadan airport
in the Russian Far East to reach the
Arctic Circle Ros atome the nuclear
giant has chartered a special plane an
old Antonov from the 1980s a relic of
the former
USSR a propeller-driven aircraft capable
of landing on short runways and in
extreme weather conditions inside
rosatom officials and a dozen
journalists some westerners but also
Russians as it is the first time the
media are given access
we leave Magadan small town in the Far
East of Russia and we will go all the
way North to pivik the port where the
nuclear power station is
located a 5-hour flight over nearly
deserted
areas he
is considered by the Russian authorities
as a sensitive area normally forbidden
to
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foreigners to get here you need a
special permit validated by the Army and
the FSB the Russian Secret
Service the town is located 15 km from
the
airport
we walk along ruined
buildings and disused
factories the region was famous for its
uranium mines where the prisoners of the
gulak worked and suddenly at abandon the
road the floating nuclear power plant
appears moed at the entrance to the
town
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PC long brightly colored five-story
buildings on the edge of the Arctic
Ocean a city plunged Into Darkness 3
months a year because of the Polar night
extreme conditions -40° in Winter and
icy winds that can reach 200 km an
hour f ,000 people live here in this
remote part of the
world meet
NAD she lives here with her husband and
three
daughters
and then you would have to go and wash
your
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hands the family has lived here for 10
years the husband Paul how you doing is
an engineer in a gold mine nja who did a
part of her studies in the United States
has had to learn to adapt to the
constraints of life in the Arctic the
extreme cold but most of all the food
supply well we don’t have like farming
or gardening here in U in our area
because the summer is so short and we
cannot grow any
food uh food from the ground so all the
food is brought here by ships from the
end of July to
to I think November it’s in our year
it’s called navigation the big ships are
coming over they bring everything they
bring food clothes and they they must
bring enough food for the entire year
and during winter time in Winter we only
have uh planes coming over with food the
plane brings food but it’s very
expensive Nadia and her husband agreed
to show us behind the scenes of daily
life in pic it is October and snow and
ice are not yet forcing the town’s
inhabitants indoors it is – 10° almost
spring-like weather for the couple used
to the extreme winter
temperatures the first thing that
strikes you when you walk through the
streets of pic is the absence of a town
center just a succession of buildings no
shops no
windows there are grocery shops and they
are located on the first story building
because we do not have separate
buildings like for the stores from here
we can see at least two shops one two
and uh around around the corner but how
can you see there is a
shot the sign you can see the little
sign over there on the
top these are the little signs at the
entrance of the building that indicate
the presence of the shops like here the
grocery shop nja
frequence
inside the grocery shop entire walls are
covered with Goods not a single space is
free from floor to ceiling the owner
stores enough food to last through the
winter because for 6 months the ocean is
frozen and no boats can reach
P this morning she’s worried because a
20 ton container of food she ordered has
still not
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arrived
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for
the other problem is fresh produce such
as fruit and vegetables in winter only a
few planes connect pivc to the rest of
the
world if the plane comes once a month we
get fruits and vegetables once a month
if the plane comes once in two months
then we get Once in two months as a
result fruit and vegetables here are
considered luxury products 9 for a kilo
of oranges 10 for pears and 12 for a
kilo of cucumber or
tomatoes it’s expensive but wages here
are 30 to 50% higher than in the rest of
the country and heating and electricity
are
free because the state wants to
encourage Russians to settle in PC to
exploit the Region’s natural riches like
gold and uranium
the problem the old Coal Fired Power
Station isn’t powerful enough to power
the
mines so today Russia bets its hopes on
the floating Atomic Power
Station the ship is mored on a special
Ponto articulated arms are used to
stabilize the vessel in case of rising
water levels the reactor was activated
in December
2019 inside a Labyrinth of corridors and
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pipes our guide is Kil toov the plant
director St
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for
he takes us to the heart of the nuclear
power
plant
rosat to’s engineers and workers aren’t
used to having cameras on board and it
stressed them out of
B
on the other hand there’s no problem
with filming the relaxation areas
provided for employees such as this gym
a total of 130 people work here full
time some sleeping on the port and
others inside the plant
itself they work in shifts 24 hours a
day the floating power plant operates
using two reactors the same type as
those used on nuclear submarines or the
French Navy’s aircraft carrier the sh
the energy produced there is far
superior to the need of PX 5,000
inhabitants why do you bring this
nuclear
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in
for rosatom these plants represent a
future Market they can supply
electricity to the most remote parts of
the world the Kremlin has ordered three
new ones to be installed in the Arctic
are they more dangerous than
conventional power plants it’s too early
to tell in any case PX inhabitants
weren’t consulted and had no other
choice but to
accept
no are you sometimes afraid afraid at
the beginning I
was I mean at the beginning I think
everybody was afraid because this is
something new we’ve never seen we we
haven’t heard how this thing works you
know everybody was afraid but with time
everybody got used to a peaceful machine
is over there and we’re all hoping that
it it will uh produce energy and heat
and electricity for the for our our
region for our area and um we’re hoping
for that and praying for safety we’re
praying for safety of that Flo floating
um plant and for the safety of our
area n and po are choosing to think
about only the positive aspects of the
arrival of the power
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station
for you
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want the city has changed a lot in 2
years the secondary school and sixth
form have been renovated playgrounds
have been built in front of the Endless
blocks of buildings all of this thanks
to money from
rosat every effort is being made to
attract new inhabitants and investors
with this power station the Kremlin
hopes to make pivik the spearhead of its
Conquest to the far north in Russia the
Arctic Zone represents approximately 20%
of the country’s total area it is a
sparsely populated area with an
abundance of Natural
Resources for the past 15 years Vladimir
Putin has made it his number one
priority he takes regular trips to the
most remote regions of the Arctic like
here in
20177 during an expedition to the fris
Joseph archipelago the northernmost
islands in the
country there he once again States his
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intentions
for mik this figure is far from being
overestimated a teacher at Sciences po
Meritt specializes in the geopolitics of
the polls according to him exploitation
of the Arctic is of Paramount importance
to the Russian
government
the Putin era’s most spectacular
achievement can be found on the yamal
peninsula 600 km north of the Arctic
Circle a gigantic industrial plant built
on stilts on the permafrost The arctic’s
Frozen
Ground its purpose to exploit the
Region’s gas deposits and Export liquid
gas to the entire world thanks to Giant
ships LG tankers that can sail through
the
ice yamal reaches -40° in Winter and for
4 months it’s shrouded in the darkness
of the Polar
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night
the construction took 5 years and in
2017 Vladimir Putin himself came to
inaugurated with this project which he
made his own personal challenge he prove
that Russia can build huge Industrial
infrastructures in the polar
zone
here is his message to the Russian
population
and if Putin has succeeded in carrying
out this extraordinary project it is all
thanks to the French company total the
petrol giant participated in the
construction of the plant and today owns
20% this is where total and its Partners
John forces to develop yal LNG on the
group’s website there is a video from
2016 in which toown CEO Patrick poan
celebrates the
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investment we wanted to ask the
company’s manager about yamal but since
the start of the war in Ukraine radio
silence the oil company refuses to
discuss this sensitive subject the only
thing we know is that total hasn’t
withdrawn from the
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project the Russian AR is thought to
contain 20% of gas reserves yet to be
discovered on the
planet a gift that total doesn’t want to
give up for one very simple
reason
for today in M new gas projects are
already underway and the Kremlin is only
accelerating the construction of ice
breakers because thanks to the melting
of the ice pack a new sea route has
appeared the Northeast passage allowing
cargo ships to link Asia to Europe via
the south in 20 days instead of 40 a sea
route the Kremlin wants to
control for this endeavor Putin has
begun to remilitarize the whole
region in less than 15 years former
military bases of the USSR have been
renovated and four new ones built one of
which is located on the island of
celi this is the northern Clover the
largest and most spectacular base
painted in the nation’s colors it is the
Undisputed Pride of the northern Fleet
the Army controlling the entire Russian
Arctic the base can accommodate up to
250 men the ministry of Defense has
invited around 20 journalists to the
base both Russian and Western on the
program a demonstration of Russian
strength and a presentation of the
latest model of missile
truck the message of this organized
visit is crystal clear the Kremlin wants
to show the world that the Arctic is its
newest hunting
ground
but NATO won’t sit back as Russia
presents itself as the only dominant
power in the region a spectacular
display is on the
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way let’s head to Norway one of the
eight states in the Arctic bordering
Russia it is now March
2022 1 month after the outbreak of war
in ukra
Ukraine a French warship the dixm awaits
in the middle of the
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field Altitude 2 0 heading 1
15 and on aort your intention are not
clear you’re approaching aition was
end of the alert and end of the exercise
there are no enemy aircraft the Dig
smood is not at War but it may as well
be the French helicopter is
participating in a large scale NATO
operation it is simulating a war in the
Arctic where Norway has just been
involved by a powerful enemy Army NATO
armies have one goal to rescue
it the mission is called cult response
its aim to train NATO armies to fight
north of the Arctic
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Circle Captain Emmanuel Mah is in
command of the digs he consider ERS the
exercise more than Justified today the
French navy has to be completely ready
to conduct combat in the open sea in the
Arctic or
elsewhere
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and in the fjords the ship’s Captain
really will be conducting a war
operation as he organizes the landing of
a French Army regiment on a Norwegian
Beach on board the ship are 300 men of
the first Rema the Regiment of marine
infantry and more than 80 combat
Vehicles including three amx3 tanks the
dixm is not only a helicopter carrier it
also has Landing crafts with the tanks
on board they speit along the fields at
almost 50 km an
hour the crew get to experience
firsthand the extreme climatic
conditions of the AR because the dicks
mood is based in too long and was
therefore designed to maneuver the
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Mediterranean
the weather in the fs is changeable and
erratic but it’s absolutely essential
that all of the man and armor reach the
shore before nightfall the operation
will last 8
hours
on the shore the inhabitants of this
small fishing Village watch the ship
approach with interest since the start
of the war in Ukraine the Norwegians who
live here have been wary of a possible
Russian
invasion I don’t want to think about it
but
uh I think about it more than I want we
are a small country we a long country
but not so many people and uh Russia is
Big so yes I think about it so Nat is
more important now
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yes we very happy that natu is uh around
here why are you really happy yeah you
can see ukraina what is happening we
have a border to Russia in the north so
you never know pu is crazy Putin crazy
man so it means you feel safer of course
of
course at the same time only 20 km away
from the French arrivals more soldiers
are landing on the
beach these are the US Marines coming
directly from North Carolina with their
amphibious vehicles and their well
practice
speeches I think the Marine Corps is
always ready uh regardless of the status
in the world the United States Marine
Corps of force and Readiness we are
ready at a moment’s notice to act
anywhere around the globe and that’s why
exercises like cold response are so
important to who we are we are prepare
ready postured and prepared to operate
in the high North when
needed 35,000 soldiers from 28 Allied
countries are taking part in this
operation here they’ll face a genuine
enemy hiding in the mountains in ambush
appeared the Norwegian Army playing the
role of the bad guy their tanks are
equipped with thermal cameras and their
camouflage techniques are perfectly
adapted to the Nordic environment they
are ready to confront the NATO
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troops we will do a slow down the enemy
for uh quite a distance uh North and uh
when we have done that we’ll group and
prepare for a attack the Norwegians are
playing at home in climatic conditions
they could navigate with their highest
Club a normal winter up here it goes
down to – 30- 35 and uh we’re more than
capable to fight in that environment but
the other Army you think they can uh
with a little practice like we’re doing
now they will be able to yeah the battle
will last two weeks over an area as big
as a French overseas
Department to have one two three four
objectives
okay boasting warships and submarines
tanks helicopter gunships and fighter
jets NATO’s strength is truly
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spectacular for colonel
who’s leading the French offensive the
challenge is not only to get used to the
Region’s extreme weather conditions
after years of war against terrorist
groups the French army needs to prepare
itself to fight against regular armies
again armies that are modern and
well
the enemy everyone is thinking about is
of course Russia but for diplomatic
reasons none of the soldiers on the
field refers to
it in Paris at the ministry of Defense
the discourse is far more
direct for General Lani spokesman for
the general staff the development of
military force is sending a direct
message to
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Moscow
k
at any rate the message was well
received by the Arctic countries 2
months after the end of the exercise
Sweden and Finland officially applied
for NATO
membership but there is also a far more
discreet Russian presence in the Arctic
today NATO is worried to about two
settlements in the heart of
Norway barenburg and pyramidal are
located in the heart of the swbo
archipelago barenburg is a Russian
Enclave that has been legally
established on Norwegian soil for 90
years a village of 400 inhabitants
floating in the middle of the glaciers
barenburg was built in the 19 1930s to
exploit a coal mine we were able to
shoot here before the invasion of
Ukraine everything here reminded us of
the motherland the Orthodox Church the
colorful lowrise buildings typical of
contemporary Russia and right in the
middle of the main Square Lennon’s
bust the mine is still in operation its
facade recently
renovated should
roslan is Russian he’s the chief
engineer and has been working in the
barenburg mine for 3
years
the mine is dangerous ran is responsible
for its
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safety the security measures are
Draconian we have to shoot with a
special camera the mine was duck into
the permafrost and has a depth of almost
500 M below the ground it dates back to
1932 the Russians were able to settle
here at that time because a 1920 treaty
allowed foreign countries to exploits
wbo’s natural
resources powdered coal can be seen and
the
wagons 130 miners work here 24 hours a
day to entice them Russia offers good
salary
but the mine hasn’t been profitable in
years the coal is scars and of poor
quality in fact it’s mainly used to
provide heat and electricity to the
town but the Russians will never give up
this strategic position in the heart of
Europe the proof lies in the
construction of this brand new consulate
with its bunker-like
appearance inside a marble staircase and
a small fountain can be found the owner
of the building is a peculiar looking
consule named Serge Gushi appointed in
2018 gin is Now 51 years
old usually uh consoles uh who who came
here they uh were near their retirement
so they were quite old people and it was
their last assignment and then
retirement but you’re very young yeah
young because it was my dream to come
here according to the 1920 treaty the
Russians only have the right to retain
The Colony if they have economic
activity there so the consule had a
brilliant new idea to develop tourism in
the area the Skool mining is getting
less profitable each year and uh three
uh years since
201 uh 15 there’s been more profit from
the tourism than from coal
mining so tourism is growing coal mining
is decreasing but still we we we have to
have this coal mining operations because
it’s our you know a fundament for our
presence here in a bit to attract
tourists to this remote part of the
world the Russians have decided to
exploit a spectacular remarkable
Place Another Russian colony in swoard
is located just 3 and 1/ half hours by
boat from
barenburg every week during the summer
season a boat takes tourists on an
unforgettable Journey back in time there
you see leftovers of a hunting cabin
there they date back to different
times on boarders tobas a German guide
who has been working in the archipelago
for 10 years he shows tourists buildings
along the coast that were built by
Russian Pioneers their presence on the
archipelago goes back over a century and
Tobias has his own ideas about how
Russia have managed to hold on to swbo
for so
long now when the CIA Retreat the cers
there will be more things to find I
guess so even yeah maybe even more
minerals I don’t know maybe even gold
maybe oil I don’t know so maybe there is
a reason there why they want to be like
here and be present and as soon as you
leave a place
forever it’s hard to get back again
right the boat arrives at its
destination an almost abandoned Port
littered with Rusty cranes and
Industrial
ruins
um so welcome to Russia no I’m just
kidding welcome to
pyamid um from here on he will be your
guide I will just follow the group and
uh hold you together it’s very important
that we keep as a group because we never
know there could be a polar bear so he
has the rifle I only have a signal gun
so stay close to us shorts right the
armed man in the red jacket is a Russian
guide so pleas he’ll be giving us the
tour let’s go exploring
guys in the middle of the Arctic
glaciers the tourists will discover a
fascinating Relic from the former
USSR
pyamid this former Coal Mine abandoned
in 1998 is now a ghost
[Music]
town
here time has stood still the town was
once home to up to 1,000 inhabitants a
Russian company now manages the site
transformed into a tourist
[Music]
attraction every year 20,000 tourists
come and battled the extreme weather
conditions to see what life was like in
the USSR era
Ian is one of the 10 Russian tour guides
he always starts his visits with the
bust of comrade
Lannon as soon as we’re going to enter
the stairs to the culture house and you
face The View over there then you will
realize that this com rate having the
best view ever in the
world let’s go gentlemen to the north Mo
school and
kindergarten yeah that will follow you
with their great
[Music]
emotions in the school everything is
still exactly in place in
1998 the inhabitants of pidan left with
just their personal belongings leaving
any furniture behind many thought that
the closure of the mine was only
temporary the dormatory is still intact
and on the de desk lie abandoned school
books from the
period Then you have the physical
culture mathematics Russian
literature another building was reserved
for recreational activities with a
Sports Hall and even a swimming pool
everything was provided to ensure the
inhabitants
comfort no I mean it’s definitely Frozen
in time so
uh but uh yeah it looks nice but I’m
curious how it was to be uh actually
here you know when in Soviet times yeah
like if it was nice or if it just looks
nice you
know to answer this question the guides
have planned a surprise visit the
pyramidan cinema which houses a real
treasure so this is the storage of a
judgment day if every everybody we left
we’re going to be placed over here we’re
going to hide in here a total of 600
films from the Soviet era are stored
here invaluable nuggets of information
perfectly preserved thanks to the
extreme cold Stanis love is in charge of
restoring these
films stanislav man as a Spider-Man goes
[Music]
up he has even brought the projection
room back to life to show tourists his
[Music]
findings propaganda films made in the
1980s encouraged Russians to come and
work in pyamid they promised the perfect
life wealth that the Russians could only
dream of because at the time they had
nothing school and Healthcare were also
free and more importantly miners could
earn up to seven times the national wage
in the Soviet
Union after the screening tourists are
treated to a musical
performance
dear friends we have the left hand we
have the right hand
and on the program today rock music
russan of
[Music]
course on the base we have a special
guest The conso Who for the occasion has
abandoned his three-piece suit and to
finish with a bang some forl with Kinka
the traditional Russian
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
anth but that was before the war in
Ukraine today tourists are rare because
Norwegian ships have decided to stop
sending their ships to this destination
as for the Russians they’ve not budged
and seem more determined than ever to
keep their colonies in the heart of
Europe

The territorial ambitions of Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to have no limits. Another of his main objectives appears to be the colonisation of the Arctic and the North Pole, a project that has been ongoing for more than twenty years.

This area, which remains virtually unexploited, is one of the last El Dorados on the planet. The subsoil is full of oil, gas, rare earths and precious minerals like gold, uranium, copper. With global warming and the melting of the ocean’s ice, these riches are now more accessible, fueling the greed of major Western powers.

But in this conquest of the Arctic, Russia already has a head start. For years, the country has been equipped with gigantic nuclear-powered icebreakers: a means of controlling navigation in the icy waters surrounding the North Pole. Vladimir Putin has invested in extraordinary industrial projects such as an enormous gas processing plant anchored in the permafrost, and the construction of an incredible floating nuclear power plant intended to supply energy to Pevek, a small isolated port north of the polar circle. These are but a few examples of the flagship projects commanded by Russia’s leader, in this new conquering of the Arctic.

For Moscow, this policy also involves a militarisation of the region. Fearful of these expansionist ambitions, NATO decided to react by sending a strong message to the Russian President. The Atlantic Alliance recently gathered of an army of 35,000 men in Norway to show that it could repel a possible Russian invasion at any given time.

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