Author name: Sairakshit Raghupathy

Russia’s Arctic military expansion has been driven by more than just resource interests. It reflects a combination of the logic of sovereign protection, homeland defence, second strike nuclear capacity, and anxiety regarding NATO’s northern position. Moscow has rebuilt Arctic airfields, increased radar coverage, and deployed layered air defence equipment in places such as Novaya Zemlya. […]

The Northern Sea Route matters because it shortens the maritime connection between the Russian Arctic and Asian consumers, making Arctic LNG and oil projects more commercially relevant. Overall, the Arctic energy politics will no longer be defined mainly by a Euro–Atlantic framework; instead, Asian demand centres and Eurasian trade dynamics will increasingly shape how Arctic