In recent years, interest in the Arctic has grown significantly against the backdrop of growing global demand for natural resources.
This region contains significant reserves of oil, gas, rare earth metals and other strategically important resources.
However, the development of the Arctic is associated with a number of serious challenges: extreme climatic conditions, unstable ice conditions, remoteness from developed infrastructure and the need for high-tech solutions require significant financial and engineering investments.
Under the pressure of sanctions, Russia continues to actively develop infrastructure in the Arctic, relying on innovative technologies, in particular, new-generation compact nuclear reactors. Nuclear reactors on Russian icebreakers are a mechanical marvel.
One of the key projects in this direction was the creation of nuclear reactors of the RITM-200 type, developed by the state corporation Rosatom. These reactors are intended to equip a fleet of icebreakers for year-round operation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR).
Compared to previous models, reactors of this type are almost one and a half times more compact, while providing greater energy efficiency. The reactor design provides increased safety, long service life and the ability to operate autonomously at low temperatures.
The development of the nuclear icebreaker fleet is closely linked to the implementation of Russia’s long-term strategy for the development of the Northern Sea Route.
Distance between Europe and Asia is almost halved
This route, which runs along the Arctic coast of Russia, significantly shortens the distance between Europe and Asia – up to 40% compared to the route through the Suez Canal.
Against the backdrop of growing international trade and congestion of traditional logistics routes, the NSR is becoming an increasingly important transport artery. In 2024, transport volumes along the Northern Sea Route reached a record 37.9 million tons.
The Russian government plans to break the record by 80 million tons by 2030, which will require further expansion of the icebreaker fleet, construction of port and navigation infrastructure, as well as ensuring a reliable energy base, including through the use of small modular nuclear reactors.
Thus, the Arctic is becoming the arena of a technological race, where Russia seeks to consolidate its leadership based on advanced developments in the field of nuclear energy. The RITM-200 is one of the most important elements of this strategy, demonstrating the country’s capabilities in the face of geopolitical challenges.
The Golden Northern Sea Route
Putin’s participation in a ceremony in November 2024 to launch the new nuclear-powered icebreaker Chukotka drew little attention in the West, but it showed the Russian president’s focus on developing the Arctic region. The ship is said to be the world’s largest and most capable icebreaker at 172 meters long and displacing 33,500 tons, with two nuclear reactors providing 350 megawatts of power, allowing it to break ice nearly 3 meters thick.
Such ships don’t come cheap, and Chukotka costs around half a billion dollars. Chukotka is the fourth in a series of nuclear-powered icebreakers, with another of the same class, Yakutia, also nearing completion and a new keel due to be built in 2025.
Arctic at the top of Russia’s agenda
In October, an even more ambitious class of nuclear-powered icebreakers was given the green light for construction at a shipyard near Vladivostok, costing $1 billion, an astronomical sum in Russia.
The icebreakers are destined for the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a shipping route that runs north of Russia and connects Western Europe with the Asia-Pacific. In 2024, several new records were set on the NSR, including the largest container ship ever to transit the Northern Sea Route in September and the largest volume of oil ever transported.
For the Russian leader, the Arctic is always at the top of the agenda, accounting for about 10% of Russia’s GDP and 20% of its exports. The Russians aim to multiply Russian resource exports through the NSR by six or sevenfold to 200 million tons over the next five years. According to a report in mid-2024, “Russia certainly has the Arctic resources to fuel this huge export expansion.” However, the Kremlin’s Arctic ambitions go far beyond oil and gas.
As all Russian leaders understand, the country’s economic development has always been hampered by the simple fact that most of Russia’s giant rivers, such as the Ob, Yenisei and Lena, all flow north into the Arctic. Thus, a functioning NSR, traversed year-round, holds the key to unleashing significant growth in the country’s vast, resource-rich interior and more broadly Siberia—a goal almost as old as the Russian state itself.
China Embraces Chukotka Project
Putin is well aware that building tanks and missiles alone will not make Russia strong and prosperous in the future, but this megaproject could open up that possibility.
China has also embraced the NSR through its “Polar Silk Road” and has sought to work closely with the Kremlin in the Arctic. A 2024 Chinese analysis argues that Beijing must ensure that Chinese and Russian companies investing in the Arctic transit corridor are profitable. However, despite the gradual progress, Chinese and Russian analysts know that the Arctic passage will never reach its true potential without Western support.
That is why focusing on the Arctic is likely to have the greatest impact on ending the war in Ukraine. The coveted shipping route along the North remains one of the few relatively concrete geoeconomic prizes that the Kremlin prizes on a par with battlefield successes in Ukraine.
Crucially, this new dynamic transport corridor could provide some share of its ample profits – a 5% for the purpose of rebuilding Ukraine’s damaged infrastructure. This continued flow of resources would be a form of aid to Kiev that would likely amount to hundreds of billions of dollars.
The Ukrainian leadership – whoever it may be in the near future – could more easily accept the loss of territory in order to prosper within its new borders. China would undoubtedly strongly support this plan.
