The Russian Arctic Sectoral Concept: Past And Present

Abstract

In 1907, Canadian Senator P. Poirier suggested dividing the Arctic into sectors belonging to the Arctic rim states. Canada in 1925 and the Soviet Union in 1926 established legislation based on this sectoral concept. The 1926 Decree of the USSR on the Arctic sector was more or less consistent. However, the attitude to the Arctic sector of the Russian Federation, as successor to the USSR in the North, is not quite clear. This article focuses on the doctrinal views and state practice of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation relating to the sectoral concept.