Russian Troop Build Up In The Arctic Over OIL; Putin Readies To Defend Against U.S.

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Vladimir Putin is saying Russia’s special armed forces will be fully implemented in the Arctic by 2015, and are aimed at protecting the country’s geopolitical interests there. < (OIL). 

While this story has surfaced off and on over the past few years I thought it important enough to bring back to the forefront. Putin has made big advances in militarizing the Arctic. Further down in the article are new comments released by Mark Begich Senator and Democrat from Alaska and so this news becomes relevant once again.

It is no secret that over the last decade, Russia has kept a tight grip on its hydrocarbon- rich Arctic offshore territory, but the government has recently promised that foreign companies will have access to the region. Putin has also promised, he will speed up the development of the Russian Arctic and that 21 billion rubles will be spent on modernization and construction of infrastructure there in the next three years.

The first of these troops already in position is the 200th Independent Motorised Rifle Brigade (200 IMRB) based at Pechenga (69⁰ 33’ 10” N 031⁰ 13’ 10” E), near Murmansk, some 10 kilometres from the Norwegian border. The brigade will receive new and upgraded equipment suited to the arctic environment, while retaining its existing armoured vehicles and tanks. These changes were to be completed by the end of 2011. The second brigade is to be based a further 300 nautical miles east, at Arkangelsk (64⁰ 32’ 00” N 40⁰ 32’ 00” E). This brigade’s disposition remains to be clarified. The ignored stated reason for creating these new Arctic formations was a perceived threat from the United States and Canada, who had reputedly formed similar brigades. Russia claimed to be balancing the situation. However, neither the United States nor Canada has any such formations.

Mark Begich the Democratic Senator from Alaska, says the Obama administration has been largely ignoring the Arctic, and the battle for influence happening there. “It’s like they’ve never heard of it,” he said.

“With the Obama administration we’ve had to push back pretty hard to convince them and show them why they need to invest in not only icebreakers, but forward operating bases for the Arctic.”

While Putin is preparing for for the New Cold War, and it is likely we will not see our dependence on foreign oil end any time soon as the Obama Administration continues to drag their feet as Russia builds up armed forces in the region. Moscow is acutely aware that the swath of Arctic territory that it has claimed could be home to oil supplies double the size of Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves, and that this region contains up to one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas reserves.

The creation of two Arctic brigades – in concert with new equipment for Russian border guards and coast guard forces – is thus seen as a prudent move to protect Russia’s claim to these natural resources. It is also important to note how the fear of invasion of the Rodina (motherland) plays on the Russian psyche and will be an important motivation for the formation of these new brigades.

In this context, the proximity of these two closely stationed together Arctic brigades to the disputed area immediately north of Murmansk may have some significance. Moscow has several aspirations for their new military reforms but the one that most pertains to the formation of the Arctic brigades can be found resonating in a statement from then Russian defence minister Anatoliy Serdyukov: “All ground forces to become fully manned, permanent-readiness units.” In practical terms, this meant the desire for the most modern equipment, the adoption of a regular (annual/cyclic) training regimen and the readiness to deploy on short notice (six to eight hours) within their areas of responsibility.

To attain this, the number of officers was to be dramatically reduced, with warrant officers removed altogether. The remaining non-commissioned officer cadre was to become professionalized, with increases in pay and benefits. Army brigades in the North Caucasus Military District (now the Southern Military District) were to be manned mostly with professionals.

It was claimed that once implemented the military’s new look would result in an estimated 30% increase in equipment by 2015 and a 70% increase by 2020. On 27 November 2009, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that all units of Russia’s naval infantry will be fully equipped with advanced weaponry by 2015.

Included in this upgrade will be T-90 tanks, BMP-3 IFVs, 2S31 120mm mortar/artillery tracks, BTR-82A armored personnel carriers, air defense equipment and small arms. With weapon-system upgrades occurring in the Russian Airborne (VDV) forces as well, similar changes or modifications to the Arctic brigades are not surprising.

surprising.    

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