Images of the Northen Sea Route in the Russian Official Discourse (2008–2024)

This article uses a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of key strategic planning documents and speeches by top government officials from 2008 to 2024 to explore how the image of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) has evolved in contemporary Russian official discourse. Throughout this period, and particularly since 2012, the Russian leadership has steadily increased its attention to the Northern Sea Route, a trend that has become particularly pronounced in the 2020s. Despite the Northern Sea Route being legally defined, official discourse uses various formulations when referring to it, shaping perceptions of the route within strategic documents and speeches by top officials. The main dilemma of Russia’s NSR policy, “internationalisation versus nationalization,” manifested itself in official discourse in the 2010s, with two competing images of the Northern Sea Route emerging. The first, as “Russia’s national transport communication in the Arctic,” is virtually identical to the legislative definition, although it originated earlier. This image usually appears in strategic planning and national security documents that are fundamental to the Russian Arctic. The second, as the “(International) transport (transit) corridor,” emerged in 2018–2019, coinciding with a sharp increase in cargo turnover along the NSR after the commissioning of Yamal LNG in late 2017. With the exception of one international declaration, this image appears in strategic documents with a socio-economic profile targeted at the domestic audience, i.e. the state authorities. Despite the competing images in the Russian official discourse, there is general continuity in official perceptions of the NSR, particularly in foundational Russian Arctic documents. At the same time, as infrastructure development has progressed, perceptions of the Northern Sea Route have evolved from that of a domestic Russian transport route to that of a competitive global one.