ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to examine the ambiguity focusing particularly on the rationale of Russia's efforts to expand its military presence in the High North and the feasibility of its plans to modernize the infrastructure supporting this deployment. It starts with a juxtaposition of economic interests and military activities, continues with an evaluation of divergence between Russia's strategic priorities in and symbolic perceptions of region, and then places the Arctic policy into the context of Russia's "pivot" to the East. The pivotal geopolitical, strategic, and economic importance of the Arctic for Russia has been proclaimed so many times that questioning this proposition may appear senseless if not outright absurd. One of the most pronounced and most strikingly surrealistic elements of Russian political perceptions of the Arctic is the belief that it contains enormous mineral resources, first of all oil and gas. The annexation of Crimea in March 2014 marked an irreversible decision to withdraw from and attack the European security system.
