'Russia reportedly deploying 2 army brigades to 'defend Arctic'

from alaskadispatch.........

"Two Russian army brigades will be deployed to that nation's far north to protect its Arctic interests, as well as its claims to the natural resources believed to exist underneath the Arctic Ocean, according to the Wall Street Journal.The story says that as many as 4,000 troops will be sent either to Murmansk, Archangelsk, or another location, in response to a buildup of troops by other European Arctic nations like Finland, Norway and Sweden. "Russia has staked a claim to a large part of the Arctic, which is thought to hold as much as a quarter of the world's oil and gas reserves, arguing that an underwater ridge running from its northern Siberian shores leads directly to the North Pole," the story notes. Four years ago, Russia planted a flag on the Arctic ocean seabed, though the story notes that the act was more symbolic than legal. A Russian dignitary at the Arctic Imperative Summit in Girdwood earlier this month compared the planting of the flag to the U.S. planting a flag on the surface of the moon. The Journal notes that Russia's decision is intended to send a message that its claims to the Arctic's resources -- some say 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil, natural gas and other minerals -- are "serious"...............LINK