Russia Has A Master Plan For The Arctic

Currently, Canada, US and Russia and other Northern countries are trying to acquire the Arctic as part of their country.

Why would anybody want a giant piece of ice you may ask, well it is said to have about 25% of the worlds untouched oil and gas. 

So far, Russia has been taking this matter a little further than the other nations.  In 2007 there was a canister containing the Russian flag dropped in the Arctic, by two civilian mini-submarines that were gathering water samples and doing geological tests.

Russia has decided to take the ice-breaker game a bit more serious now.  Vice-Admiral Oleg Burtsev has told a Russian news agency that Russia plans to use their navy to secure a claim over the arctic.

"In any case, Northern Fleet submarines will be used to either explore or protect Arctic territories adjacent to Russia" - Oleg Burtsev (quoted in a Russian news report)

Aside from the great amount of oil that has been 'found' in the Arctic, there is also another huge benefit of having reign over this part of the world.  Due to global warming, the ice caps in the Arctic are melting rapidly, yeah we know this.  What does that mean for a nation in the North?  Well new trading routes will open up and countries will be able to get to new trading partners at a quicker rate.

I just hope that this guy doesn't mind hanging out with Putin and his gymnast boo.

- Nick Francis, TFH Correspondent