Russia Trying to Say it Owns the Arctic

Russia Still Suffers From Paranoia and Delusians of Grandieur as exampled by this story in Pravda

USA to steal oil-rich Arctic region away from Russia
Pravda
12/08/2005 18:40

The US administration plans to launch an extensive economic intrusion in the Arctic from Alaska
One can hear political experts and international observers saying that Russia has been taking firm steps to win the title of a full-fledged member of the system of international relations. Does Russia have any other competitive advantages besides natural resources, which could include the country on the list of great superpowers?
According to experts' estimates, the evident advantages, which Russia obtains from its mineral wealth, may soon bring significant problems to the country in the future. Russia has been taking certain measures lately to ease the country of the "oil well dependence." However, extraction still tops the priority list for authorities, and the exploration of new oil fields remains somewhere in the background.
There are obviously many unexplored oil and gas deposits in Russia. Oil and gas reserves of the explored deposits will soon be exhausted. Furthermore, Russia may lose new perspective resources of world's most wanted raw material, oil.
The richest deposits of mineral resources can be found on Russia's vast Arctic territory. However, there is still no detailed plan on the development of this oil-rich area. The government does not have a precise concept for the development of the Arctic region. The ice-breaking fleet, which used to be a part of USSR's national pride, has been desolated. Russia may have only one ice-breaker left in a couple of years, although the vessel is still being built.