How Russia Claimed Ownership of the Arctic?

In the past, the Arctic was equally divided among neighboring countries, but in 1997, Russia joined the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which distinguishes between territorial waters, the contiguous zone, and the continental shelf (exclusive economic zone). According to this convention, Arctic neighbors had 10 years to agree on the extent of the continental shelf, but disputes remain unresolved to this day. A new study by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty focuses on Russia's efforts to 'claim the Arctic' and reveals the tumultuous history of the world's only mobile base in the Arctic. In the early 1990s, French adventurers Christian Dumont d'Urville and Bernard Biévy, in exchange for heavy investment in the Arctic Museum in St. Petersburg, managed to obtain a license to conduct Arctic tours. With this goal, they initially established a small base in Siberia and then an ice base named 'Barneo.' Besides managing Arctic tours for adventurous tourists, they were also collecting mammoth remains and one day succeeded in finding a complete mammoth skull among the ice. Their concern was to transport this skull along with the surrounding ice to their base in Siberia. There, they met two individuals: Frederick Paulsen and Arthur Chilingarov. The former wanted to visit the North Pole during his travels to the most remote parts of the Earth, while the latter wished to celebrate his 60th birthday at the North Pole. It was agreed that these two would cover the travel costs and find a helicopter to transport the frozen mammoth skull to the North Pole with the French tourists. However, the helicopter could not land due to thinning ice at the end of the season; the frozen mammoth skull lacked cells for Dumont d'Urville and Biévy's plan to clone mammoths, and even all the champagne bottles for the birthday celebration burst from the cold. Although that trip appeared unsuccessful, that acquaintance became a turning point in Russia's claim to Arctic ownership. Seventeen years ago, two Russian submarines (Mir-1 and Mir-2) reached the depths of the Arctic Ocean at a point where an imaginary rotational axis passes through the Earth's surface. Six years later, Frederick Paulsen, a Swedish billionaire with pharmaceutical factories, described this journey in an interview with Forbes magazine as the most challenging and difficult adventure of his life. According to Paulsen, he is the only person on Earth who has managed to visit eight points in the most remote areas of the planet. This interview was published under the title 'The Billionaire Who Knows No Fear.' Seventeen years ago, two Russian submarines (Mir-1 and Mir-2) reached the depths of the Arctic Ocean at a point where an imaginary rotational axis passes through the Earth's surface. Six years later, Frederick Paulsen, a Swedish billionaire with pharmaceutical factories, described this journey in an interview with Forbes magazine as the most challenging and difficult adventure of his life. According to Paulsen, he is the only person on Earth who has managed to visit eight points in the most remote areas of the planet. This interview was published under the title 'The Billionaire Who Knows No Fear.' According to research by the Russian section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the plan to reach the depths of the Arctic Ocean dates back to the 1990s and a deal between Alfred McLaren, a former commander of the American submarine 'Queenship' (who had mapped the Arctic Ocean floor after secret explorations in Siberia for 20 years), and renowned oceanographer Don Walsh to participate in a dive to the Mariana Trench. They were supposed to benefit from the help of Mike McDowell, an Australian sports promoter responsible for securing the necessary funding, and Anatoly Segalovich, the Russian designer of the Mir submersibles. However, preparations for this trip took more than 15 years, and ultimately, according to McLaren, his idea was stolen. The final team consisted of Frederick Paulsen and Alfred McDowell in the Mir-1 submersible and Segalovich, along with Arthur Chilingarov and Vladimir Grozdev, who were both lawmakers in the Duma at that time, in the Mir-2 submersible. The Swedish billionaire covered all travel expenses (about five million dollars), while his Russian counterparts were responsible for obtaining the necessary permits. The mission of the Russian political officials was announced as 'collecting evidence to prove Russia's ownership of the Lomonosov Ridge' (a submarine ridge 1,800 kilometers long between Siberia and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago). A month after the dive to the depths of the Arctic, the Russian government officially declared the Lomonosov Ridge as part of its territory. Chilingarov, Grozdev, and Segalovich received the 'Hero of Russia' award from Vladimir Putin, while Frederick Paulsen received the 'Friendship Medal.' However, Russia's territorial claim faced sharp criticism from the United States, Denmark, and Canada. Then-Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said, 'The era when one could claim ownership of a piece of land by planting a flag on it is over, and Russia is at least 300 years late.' The handover of the 'Barneo Base' Most sources mention the year 2001 as the establishment of the first ice base in the Arctic named 'Barneo,' and its founder as Alexander Orlov, without mentioning that this base was created by two French adventurers who managed it for ten years. Alexander Orlov, introduced by Chilingarov, became the head of an association called 'Pole' and established a base near the French base in 2001. Three years later, the Russian government revoked the license for the French to conduct Arctic tours, ignoring that a marathon was supposed to be held in the Arctic, and participants from various countries had paid six-figure sums for their tours. Dumont d'Urville and Biévy initially tried to negotiate the conditions for continuing their work with the Russians but received 'death threats' that ended their presence in the Arctic. However, Russia's territorial claim faced sharp criticism from the United States, Denmark, and Canada. Then-Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said, 'The era when one could claim ownership of a piece of land by planting a flag on it is over, and Russia is at least 300 years late.' Most sources mention the year 2001 as the establishment of the first ice base in the Arctic named 'Barneo,' and its founder as Alexander Orlov, without mentioning that this base was created by two French adventurers who managed it for ten years. Alexander Orlov, introduced by Chilingarov, became the head of an association called 'Pole' and established a base near the French base in 2001. Three years later, the Russian government revoked the license for the French to conduct Arctic tours, ignoring that a marathon was supposed to be held in the Arctic, and participants from various countries had paid six-figure sums for their tours. Dumont d'Urville and Biévy initially tried to negotiate the conditions for continuing their work with the Russians but received 'death threats' that ended their presence in the Arctic. The flag planted by Russia on the seabed of the Arctic Ocean in 2007 According to sources from the Russian section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Alexander Orlov was one of the key figures of the most important criminal group of that time known as 'Soltzov.' The criminals of this group were involved in arms and drug trafficking and were suspected of multiple murders, including in Europe. At the same time, Sergey Mikhailov, the head of this criminal group, was a major financial supporter of the 'Pole' association and traveled with Orlov and Chilingarov to the 'North Pole-32' base, which was established next to 'Barneo.' Although Mikhailov financed this base for a time, he was the only one not invited to Vladimir Putin's party for participants of Arctic trips at the Kremlin. In 2017, ten days after Alexander Orlov's death, Frederick Paulsen's company 'Polar Holding' purchased 'Barneo' and sought to continue using this base for tourism purposes. The COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, disrupted this plan; however, with the help of Arthur Chilingarov, several groups of tourists have managed to visit this base in the last two years. Chilingarov passed away in early June this year. Among the few visitors to 'Barneo' in the past two years was a man from Serbia. A photo of him holding a flag was published by the leader of a pro-Russian party in Montenegro, and even a video of him dancing with a group of Russian officials near the North Pole was broadcast by Russian television channels. This man, who visited 'Barneo' in mid-April 2023 and claims to be the first Serb to reach the North Pole, is Serjan Lulic. Three weeks before his trip to the North Pole, he played a role in the daring escape of Artyom Os from detention in Italy, likely under the supervision of Russian intelligence agencies. At the same time, Sergey Mikhailov, the head of this criminal group, was a major financial supporter of the 'Pole' association and traveled with Orlov and Chilingarov to the 'North Pole-32' base, which was established next to 'Barneo.' Although Mikhailov financed this base for a time, he was the only one not invited to Vladimir Putin's party for participants of Arctic trips at the Kremlin. In 2017, ten days after Alexander Orlov's death, Frederick Paulsen's company 'Polar Holding' purchased 'Barneo' and sought to continue using this base for tourism purposes. The COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, disrupted this plan; however, with the help of Arthur Chilingarov, several groups of tourists have managed to visit this base in the last two years. Chilingarov passed away in early June this year. Among the few visitors to 'Barneo' in the past two years was a man from Serbia. A photo of him holding a flag was published by the leader of a pro-Russian party in Montenegro, and even a video of him dancing with a group of Russian officials near the North Pole was broadcast by Russian television channels. This man, who visited 'Barneo' in mid-April 2023 and claims to be the first Serb to reach the North Pole, is Serjan Lulic. Three weeks before his trip to the North Pole, he played a role in the daring escape of Artyom Os from detention in Italy, likely under the supervision of Russian intelligence agencies. Artyom Os was convicted in September 2022 for smuggling military technologies in violation of Western sanctions against Russia and was awaiting extradition while under house arrest after being detained in Italy a month later. He is the son of Alexander Os, a friend of Vladimir Putin, who until recently was the governor of the Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia and is now a legislator in the Federation Council (the upper house of the Russian parliament). His escape to Russia caused a scandal in Italian political-security circles. So far, four of the seven suspects who helped Os escape have been arrested, but Serjan Lulic is not among them. After his meeting with the governor...