INTRODUCTION: RUSSIAN AND SOVIET NAVAL POWER IN THE ARCTIC, 1914-1945

摘要

The Russian Northern Fleet remains the largest and most important of the Russian Fleets, inheriting this position from its Soviet predecessor. The principal surface units of the Russian fleet, the battlecruiser or Heavy Atomic Missile Cruiser (TARKR) "Peter the Great" and aircraft carrier or Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruiser (TAKR) "Admiral Kuznetsov," are based in the north, as indeed is much of her submarine strength. Access to the relatively safe waters of the Arctic and to the open waters of the Atlantic for submarines in particular, continue to justify the expense of retaining such a large force in such harsh climatic conditions.rnIn addition, the exploitation of the Northern Sea Route across the Russian Arctic has received increased attention in recent years given the impact of global warming, as indeed have the natural resources of the region, particularly gas. The fact that there are few challenges to Russian sovereignty and interests in the region, While to a large extent due to her broader status as a military, nuclear and economic power, also owes much to the fact that Russia's Arctic is clearly militarized — Russia has an obvious, even if still beyond the Russian government's means, military presence in the region, and even if the cost is substantial not only in a financial but also environmental sense.