Currently, the geographical space of the Arctic is one of the potential geopolitical grounds on which major world powers have focused their attention and developed national strategies for the region. One of the main reasons underlying a particular Arctic interest of the leading countries is the vast hydrocarbon energy reserves which are concentrated beneath the Arctic sea ice.
Under the influence of globalisation in the Arctic space, there is an intensification of international cooperation in the oil-extracting sector of the economy and commodity exchange between the Arctic countries is strengthening. In the course of my own experience as a political scientist, it is usually revealed that Russian Arctic policy seems controversial and mysterious for many Western countries. The work of Geir Hønneland illustrates the content of Russian Arctic policy and shows the socio-cultural characteristics of life in the Russian north.
The book consists of seven major parts and 13 chapters. The work is a collection of scientific observations of the author, published at different times: from ‘early tentative reflections on potential cultural conflicts’ in Chapter 1 (originally published in 1998) to increasingly well-documented observations of the same concerns in Chapters 2–3 (published in 2003 and 2004), Chapters 6–7 (published in 2004 and 2005), Chapters 8–9 (published in 2010) and Chapters 12–13 (published in 2016) (p. 5). The book represents a collection of short stories, which can be read separately and in any order for the convenience of readership with different backgrounds.
We can already get from the book's title that the author devoted his research to Russian international policy in the Arctic. However, in the first part of the book the object of the study is not the entire Arctic region of Russia, but only the northeast of the country. For the Western reader the interviews with residents of the Russian north might be of special interest because respondents answer questions such as ‘how to be a Northerner’ and ‘how to be a Russian’. These interviews illustrate the stereotypes in use by and of Russian northerners: well educated, hardworking, calm, considerate and friendly. According to the author the level of education, the high living standards and the harsh northern climate are represented by the four Cs of Russian northernness: competent, cultured, calm and considerate (p. 182).
Throughout the entire book, we can observe the author's attempts to understand and explain the peculiarities of the Russian approach to the Arctic, caused by a special Russian mentality and Russia's eternal fate. The author assumes that the Arctic for Russia is more than just a region. The Arctic is the shrine of Russia's national idea, a new political and spiritual continent, a promised land, Russian destiny. At the same time, the declared goal of publishing this work corresponds with the trend of modern anti-Russian rhetoric in the West: ‘Above all, the book aims to show the Janus face of Russian foreign policy, in relation to the Arctic as elsewhere’ (p. 5).
Direct analysis of the history of Russia's contemporary Arctic policy is presented by the author in the final seventh part ‘Arctic talk, Russian politics’. Russia was the first Arctic state to file a claim with the Continental Shelf Commission, as early as 2000. According to the author, planting a metal Russian flag into the sea bed at the North Pole proved the starting shot for the ‘race for the Arctic’.
Analysing the large number of Russian articles, the author comes to the conclusion that Russia is preparing for a global battle in the Arctic (p. 267). The author mentions that the common theme in foreign-policy oriented media articles is the perception that the other Arctic states are ‘actively flexing their muscles’ and that Russia must necessarily respond. The other Arctic states are not only fighting to defend their own rights in the Arctic, they are actively mobilising to wipe Russia off the board. Interspersed with these accounts of Western aggression, the author found many stories in the Russian media depicting Russia as a peace-loving nation: ‘The past of Russian north is proud and it's future bright’ (p. 290).
Interesting, but not entirely justified, is the author's hypothesis that in modern conditions Russia sees Canada as the main geopolitical enemy in the Arctic and is preparing for an active confrontation with this state (p. 274). The author assumes that Arctic debate in Russian media outlets mainly focuses on Canadian intentions in the Arctic and that Canada is largely depicted as the aggressor in the region. Overall, the author asserts that the Russian media portray a model of the world where NATO is surreptitiously preparing for the rush for the Arctic, while Russia insists on international cooperation and open dialogue. Canada is the main villain, with its harsh rhetoric and unilateralism (p. 321).
There are minor inaccuracies in the work. For example, at the beginning of the book the author mentions the Russian scientific expedition to the North Pole of 2007 (instead of 2009), during which, for the first time in history, people reached the sea floor at the geographical North Pole point (p. 3).
Overall, this book is of special importance to the representatives of the social sciences, politicians, anthropologists, polar historians, indigenous researchers, educators, the public and government officials. However, we should remember that this work is somewhat biased and generally reflects the author's perceptions. This book can serve as a good resource to understand the specificity of the Russian northwest and provides supplementary references to any Arctic science course at a college and university level.
