Kovalchuk calls the Arctic a testing ground of the future
The Arctic is the testing ground of the future, Russia needs to ensure its interests in this region. This was stated by Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of the National Research Center (NRC) Kurchatov Institute on January 23 Mikhail Kovalchuk during a meeting on the participation of the country's higher educational institutions in ensuring technological sovereignty in shipbuilding.
"If you listen to what [ U.S. President Donald] Trump says, you and I should realize that the day the Soviet Union collapsed, the Yalta-Potsdam model of the world ended, because it was held on the Soviet Union as a core participant. It was obvious to any thinking person," he said.
According to Kovalchuk, a new model should emerge now, and it is already taking shape. He pointed out that the Arctic is a global advantage for Russia, for which Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a lot of steps.
"The Arctic is the testing ground of the future. <...> We are the masters of the Arctic today for a number of reasons, because we have 60 icebreakers, which is more than 50% of the world's icebreaker fleet," he said.
Kovalchuk added that it is the Russian Maritime Board under the leadership of Nikolai Patrushev that can "consolidate all forces, all opinions" and develop a fundamentally new concept to protect and promote Russia's national interests in the Arctic.
"We must be super strong, and today we can take positions in the Arctic in which it will be very difficult to catch up with us," the president of the Kurchatov Institute added.
Earlier, on January 17, Kovalchuk said that Russia is a key country in the Arctic region. He noted that the Arctic region has colossal riches. According to him, "the whole world will move there," as much attention is currently paid to the Arctic.
