Russian Policies for the Development of the Northern Sea Route

Jawahar Bhagwat (jawahar.bhagwat@gmail.com) is an Associate Professor at the Northern Arctic Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation (RF). He is the lead author of the book "Evolution of India’s Polar Policies", published online in 2025. His research work focuses on the NSR, Arctic geopolitics, and India’s national security. Jawahar holds a Candidate of Political Sciences (Ph.D.) from Saint Petersburg State University and a Ph.D. (History) from the University of Mumbai. Captain Jawahar Bhagwat is a veteran submariner of the Indian Navy with over 25 years of service, including the command of a nuclear submarine and two Shishumar (Type 209)-class submarines.

• List of FiguresList of TablesList of Abbreviations1: Introduction2: Transport policy in political science research3: Public policy for the development of maritime transport routes4: The policy of the USSR for the development of the Northern Sea Route5: The geopolitical and geo-economic significance of the Northern Sea Route6: Organizational structure of Russian public policy for the development of the NSR7: Regulatory framework for the development policy of the NSR8: The role of the regions of the Russian Arctic in the development of the NSR9: Russia’s public-private partnership for the development of the NSR10: Russia’s engagement with foreign countries and businesses for the development of the NSR11: Russian policies for search and rescue and maritime safety on the Northern Sea Route12: Assessment of Russian policies for the NSRAppendicesAppendix A: Overview of Plan-2022: development of the infrastructure of the NSR for the period up to 2035 Appendix B: Portfolio of orders for ships of the Arctic fleet, 2022 Appendix C: Projects of the regions of the Russian Arctic related to the development of the NSR, in accordance with the Plan-2019 Appendix D: Projects of the regions of the Russian Arctic related to the development of the NSR, in accordance with the Plan-2022 Appendix E: Main projects for the development of the infrastructure of the NSR using PPP mechanisms Appendix F: The dependence of the Russian Arctic fleet shipbuilding programme on foreign shipyards, 2022 Appendix G: Status of Arctic transport fleet shipbuilding Appendix H: Influence of Western sanctions on Russian projects linked to the NSR Appendix I: Assessment of transport-logistics support to key projects of the Plan-2022 Appendix J: SWOT analysis of Russian policies for the NSR Index