Sovereign Territory

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As global warming thins polar ice, Arctic Circle nations are eyeing territorial expansion. The polar seafloor contains an estimated 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and natural gas reserves. Not long ago, a Danish exploratory mission set off from Greenland with the intention of proving that an underwater mountain belt, the Lomonosov Ridge, is connected to the Danish territory's continental shelf. This week, a Russian team planted a flag 14,000 feet beneath the North Pole ice in a symbolic stake on the region. To quote the press spokesman of the St. Petersburg-based Arctic Research Institute, "It is an extremely important act for Russia ... like raising a flag on the Moon."

Before the expedition's well-publicized success, the research ship carrying the submersible stalled a day into its journey. The vessel was fixed before a nearby nuclear-powered icebreaker and state-sponsored crew from Murmansk could come to its aid. National pride rested on the explorers' shoulders.

The desired expansion of Russian economic control.

The name of their vessel, Akademik Fyodorov, helps reveal Russian national aspirations. There are two notable academicians by the name of Fyodorov who worked in geology. Yevgraf Fyodorov was a late-Romanov era mineralogist who studied crystal polytopes using mathematical methods. Yevgeny Fyodorov, the ship's namesake, was a geophysicist who analyzed polar climatic conditions and headed the Soviet weather bureau. He was awarded the Order of Lenin five times and was also named a Hero of the Soviet Union. But, probably not coincidentally, another famous Fyodorov was an explorer who mapped the coasts of Kamchatka and Alaska at the beginning of the 18th century. These men embody Russia's glorious scientific past and expansionist ambitions. Moreover, that the ship was christened in memory of a high-ranking Communist official also reveals that modern Russia has not expunged its memories of the Soviet era -- if anything, Russia strives to combine the relative stability of the Soviet Union's twilight years with the imperial prestige of Peter the Great.

No longer the other geopolitical pole, Russia has redefined itself as an energy superpower. The Kremlin runs the state like an oil company; it often flexes political muscle by cutting off oil and natural gas to Ukraine and Belarus. The E.U.'s protestations upon losing access to the critical Eastern European pipelines are invariably ignored. Some speculate that when Vladimir Putin steps down from the presidency next year, he will take over the reins at Gazprom, the state-owned energy giant.

The corporate autocracy pleases its stockholders -- the Russian populace -- with a high dividend -- newfound material opulence. Governmental rights abuses are dismissed so long as the economy booms. Unable to boast global political and military influence, especially after losing Chechnya, Russians now take pride in their resource-driven affluence. That is why the Russian media blanketed the world with coverage of the recent Arctic feat, and why Putin personally called each member of the team. In fact, the leader of the mission, who traveled in the submersible to the seafloor, and another crew member, are representatives of the spineless pro-Kremlin party in the Duma.

In 2001, Russia filed a claim to the north-east quarter of the Arctic Circle with the commission that monitors observance of the Law of the Sea. The request was denied, citing incomplete evidence of geographical contiguity. The Law of the Sea Convention allows Arctic Circle nations governance of a 200 nautical mile swath off the coast, but permits expansion of the area through sufficient proof that the continental shelf off the nation connects to the requested annex. A primary objective of the recent Russian mission was to scout the geology and geography of the Lomonosov Ridge and prove that it's an extension of the continental shelf off Russia.

Certain pundits assert that Canada's multibillion dollar Arctic Circle-oriented naval buildup heralds the growing tensions of the polar contenders. Foreign minister Peter McKay compared Russia's newest stunt to the "15th century" land grabs of colonial powers. But as global warming accelerates, Canada too will try to stake a claim on the shrinking Arctic ice and the obscured riches beneath.