Russia to plant its flag in the North Pole Seabelt

This is an update to my previous article on how Russia is claiming a huge swathe of the polar region as part of its territorial extension as they are asserting that the underwater geological feature called the Lomonosov Ridge is an extension of the Siberian continental shelf.Click on the image to see it in better resolution.

Their earlier claims in 2001 had been nixed by the UN before.However,a team of explorers plan to descend 4,300 metres down to the seabed in a miniature submarine to stake Russia’s claim to this Arctic belt-the combined size of Germany, France and Italy-and plant a one-metre Russian flag, made of titanium.
With four other countries(Canada, the United States, Norway and Denmark)laying claim to the Arctic shelf, this deep seated drive towards imperialism may only lead to more conflict in a resource constrained world.With this move, Russia is sending a clear signal to world powers that it has shrugged off its post-cold war weakness.

[More here...]

Russia into Land 'Addition'

Is the Russian Federation out to grab the Arctic landmass?
The Arctic North Pole is not owned by any country.Russians are now laying claim to the Lomonosov ridge whose bed is filled with tons of natural gas and oil.
How is such a claim possible? They are doing so by claiming that the structure of the continental shelf is similar to the geological structure within its territory.

The shelf is 200 meters deep and oil and gas would be easy to extract, especially with ice melting because of global warming.

Russia has the world's largest gas reserves. It is the second largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia. The Kremlin is keen to secure Russia's long-term hegemony over global energy markets, and to find new sources of fuel.

Link:The Guardian

This post has been updated. Check this latest article on Russia planting its flag on the polar sea bed.