Russia’s New Maritime Collegium Inaugurated in Renewed Focus on Arctic Policy

Sergey Sukhankin

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On August 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree inaugurating the Maritime Collegium of the Russian Federation. Under the collegium’s umbrella, three additional bodies—the Council for Strategic Development of the Navy, Council for Defense of the National Interests of the Russian Federation in the Arctic, and Council for Development and Securing of Maritime Activities—were established (Kremlin.ru, August 13). The new entity will be directly subordinated to the Russian president and headed by former Secretary of the Security Council and long-term Putin ally Nikolai Patrushev, who is currently in charge of national maritime policy (Vzglyad, August 13). The creation of this new collegium will likely bring a renewed focus to Russia’s policies in the Arctic, given the document’s visible pivot to the region. In addition to continuing militarization, Russia may be expected to strengthen its defense and military partnerships with China in the Arctic.

According to the official decree, the collegium’s main task is to “elaborate on measures aimed at preserving the status of a great naval power.” This broad task includes several specific measures that will be monitored and coordinated by the new body. These include the following:

• The development of Russia’s naval potential, including fixing problems in the shipbuilding industry and the drastic renewal of domestic naval research and development by attracting scientists and research institutions to best implement national maritime policy and the protection of Russian national interests;
• The defense of Russian national interests in terms of the exploration, exploitation, and protection of natural resources in the World’s Ocean, as well as the Arctic and Antarctic regions;
• The development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as a “national transportation communication” artery to secure Russia’s guaranteed access to global transit via the World’s Ocean; and
• The development of mutually beneficial partnerships and relations in naval activity, given the conditions for “forming a polycentric world,” entailing a multipolar approach to Russian international relations in the maritime sphere (Kremlin.ru, August 13).