Russia's Arctic Policy: Geopolitics, Mercantilism and Identity-Building

The maritime border delimitation deal between Russia and Norway sensationally announced by President Dmitri Medvedev in Oslo on 27 April 2010 and signed in Murmansk on 15 September 2010 warrants a re-appraisal of Russia’s Arctic policy. It would have been too simplistic to explain away the pronounced emphasis on cooperation in Russia’s foreign policy by the impact of economic recession, which has undercut the previous rise of ambitious self-assertiveness.