4 Russian Arctic foreign policies and strategies
4.1 Arctic nationalist narratives
Even though Russia is perceived as an assertive arctic country, it has made huge progress due to its openness and cooperation. The Russian Arctic policy and strategies are created in the spirit of nationalism. Not only the Soviet Union gave the RF cornerstone and history, but also the seed of devotion and admiration to the Arctic. And it has been embedded in the Russian national identity. Moreover, national identity is strongly related to the common history of the given state.187
The significance of the Far North identity has been flowing in the Russian blood. It has been since the rule of the Peter the Great (1682–1725) and his support of the Arctic expeditions.
During the Peter the Great era begun the Arctic fever and literature concerning the Far North started to appear.
The real Arctic Fever began during the rule of Bolsheviks and primary of Joseph Stalin (1929- 1953). The period is also known as High Stalinism. Under his supervision over the Far North, Soviet Union achieved many accomplishments. Still on other hand, it cost enormous amount of financial resources. For Stalin, it was crucial to get a support of the public so that he may continue in Arctic activities even in unfavourable times. Besides the inherited interest and devotion, money weas one of the reasons of creating the well-known Arctic Myth and its state propaganda. The success of it was caused by using patriotism, technology, industry, and most importantly the heroism.188
High Stalinism primarily promoted heroic arctic acts such as polar aviation, or Sibiriakov icebreaker voyaged through the NSR during just one summer in 1932.189 Yet, most of all were
187 WODAK, Ruth, Rudolf DE CILLIA, Martin REISIGL, Karin LIEBHART, Angelika HIRSCH, Richard MITTEN a J. W. UNGER, 2009. The Discursive Construction of National Identity [online]. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-3726-3.
188 MCCANNON, John, 1998. Red Arctic polar exploration and the myth of the north in the Soviet Union, 1932-1939. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511436-2.
189 LARUELLE, Marlene a Sébastien PEYROUSE, 2014. Russia’s Arctic Strategies and the Future of the Far North [online]. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-46034-3. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315700939
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extolled particular heroes such as Soviet heroes named Otto Shmidt190, Valery Chkalov, and Mikhail Vodop’ianov.191
Besides being the captain of the above-mentioned vessel voyage, Captain Shmidt led many Arctic explorations and building local explorative stations.192 At that time there were plenty of articles, stories, sketches, and documentary movies expressing his achievements and love for the Far North and the Soviet Union. Since Stalin was personally interested in polar aviation, the propaganda of the pilots, who were flying over the Arctic, was even stronger. “In 1934, Soviet polar aviators rescued passengers from the Cheliuskin as it sank in the Chukchi Sea.”193 Vodop’ianov required the title of national hero thanks to the participating pilot in the rescue.
However, he became even more (public) famous because of his literature dedicated to the heroic pilots and Arctic Myth. Whereas, Chkalov was the first one, who “flew almost the entire width of the USSR without stopping and also flew via Arctic to America.”194
A relevant example of an ideological and strategic narrative is a folktale called Tale of the Pole (Сказание про полюс), written by Marfa Semyonovna Kryukova in 1937. Kryukova presents her (Arctic) reality as deserved from the Russian position. Her third-person point of view convinces the audience about the author’s devotion to a cause and beliefs. The quest plot of the folktale is unequivocal because of the fact, that pilots had to leave their homes to search and discover unknown in the Far North. This passage of the folktale has three main human characters related to the Arctic environment and actions. First, the strongest authoritative character is Stalin, who talks through the author to the audience. The soviet heroes, who serve as the second character, represent roles of the hero’s character. Third, there are mentioned foreigners, who hold the role of villain and danger, because they try to reach the Far North.
190 It is possible to anglicise it to Otto Schmidt
191 MCCANNON, John, 1997. Positive Heroes at the Pole: Celebrity Status, Socialist-Realist Ideals and the Soviet Myth of the Arctic, 1932-39. The Russian Review [online]. 56(3), 346–365. ISSN 00360341, 14679434.
https://doi.org/10.2307/131748
192 LARUELLE, Marlene a Sébastien PEYROUSE, 2014. Russia’s Arctic Strategies and the Future of the Far North [online]. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-46034-3. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315700939
193 Ibid.
194 MCCANNON, John, 1998. Red Arctic polar exploration and the myth of the north in the Soviet Union, 1932-1939. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511436-2.
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Pilots portrayed as eagles show the Russianness’s core, which is full of bravery and freedom with no barriers. The author praises the pilots for the acts they did for their country as the Soviet Union so the Arctic. On account of “many people from many countries”, it tries to send message that there will be others crave to achieve the Arctic dream. But they are not alike and lack Russian wisdom, bravery, and predestination.
He [Stalin] called together his brave eagles, the arctic pilot heroes, And he spoke to them this speech:
“Hail to ye, my champions brave and hero pilots, Fly ye off to yon country in the distance,
To yonder country, yon cold country, The cold country, yon northern country,
Whereto brave eagles heretofore have never flown, Whereto our champions brave have never fared, Where our good folk have never found abode, A country of great moment to us.
For thence the fits of weather descend All across our native land!
…
Many people journeyed there from many countries, But they had not the wherewithal to cross,
The ability it took and the wisdom,
They had not the courage or the knowledge.
Our brave eagles flew there too,
Our brave eagles, our hero arctic pilots,
They flew across the lofty mountains, icy mountains, And flew across the oceans deep,
They flew yonder to the land of cold…195
195 VON GELDERN, James and Richard STITES. 1995. Mass culture in Soviet Russia: tales, poems, songs, movies, plays, and folklore, 1917-1953. [online] Bloomington, Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-32911-0
48 Table 1. Basic elements of Tale of the Pole
A second narrative is a poem by Robert Rozhdestvensky called Arctic Illness (Арктическая болезнь). The poem contains two characters. Firstly a non-human character, which is the Arctic itself, and simultaneously the most crucial character. The second character, man, shows desperation towards the Arctic. The person is clearly a victim who suffers without the Arctic attributes presence. The author in the first-person point of view. In this case, the poem shows more genuine emotions and feelings about the Arctic. It is believed that Rozhdestvensky tended to point out how the Far North is deeply rooted in Russian individuals in a way as a symbiosis—
properly speaking with its nature and related characteristics, such as cold and snow. The author’s desperation transfers to the audience and leaves a feeling to desire what he desires.
“…I have got the Arctic illness, And it means I have no choice, As She took my heart and called me By Her cool and windy voice.
So no matter where I travel, On the threshold of any spring, I still rave of the polar trails, And I see the snowy dreams...”196´
196 DEKHTYAREVA, Alena, 2019. On local and long-range transported air pollution in Svalbard. Dissertation.
The Arctic University of Norway.
Plot The message was to encourage the conquering and discover the Far North through the combination of romance and the Quest plot.
Character Stalin,
Soviet pilots presented as heroes
Foreigners presented as victims because of Russian greatness and level of advancement
Point of view The author supports the idea of Soviet Union being insuperable, and those soviet heroes are deserved to be praised from his third-person perspective.
49 Table 2. Basic elemens of the Arctic Illness
Plot It shows the indisputable admiration and devotion to the Arctic through the tragedy poem.
Character The Arctic itself with personality traits
Person showing desperation towards the Arctic, who is clearly a victim who suffers without the Arctic attributes presence.
Point of view The author’s monologue towards the Arctic shows that author believes that there is no joyful life without the Arctic.
The third narrative to analyse is the Soviet patriotic song called March of the Happy-Go-Lucky Guys, written by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach and Isaac Dunaevsky in 1934. The human characters in this song are ordinary Russians representing the heroes, whereas the villains are foreign enemies. As a poem above, this song is written from the first-person perspective, which makes the described situation more realistic and serious. In this case, the plot type is Overcoming the monster, where the enemy represents the monster. And the hero has to fight and defeat the monster to stop them. However, the heroes will not fight them until the enemy adopts a warlike stance. Lebedev-Kumach and Dunaevsky show their belief in the protectionism and unity of the Soviet Union/ Russia regarding the homeland and, more specifically, to the Arctic (see in Table 3).
We’ll grasp, discover, and attain it all, The cold North Pole and the clear blue sky, When our country commands that we be heroes,
Then anyone can become a hero.
If our enemy decides to start a battle To take our living joy away from us, Then we’ll strike up our song of battle, And leap to defend our motherland.197
197 DEKHTYAREVA, Alena, 2019. On local and long-range transported air pollution in Svalbard. Dissertation.
The Arctic University of Norway.
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Table 3. Basic elements of March of the Happy-Go-Lucky Guys
Plot The Arctic is worth fighting for, shown by the illustration of the plot called Overcoming the Monster.
Character Russians hold the role of heroes who would defend their motherland (including the Arctic) with their own life.
Enemy (foreigners), on the other hand, are portrayed as villains. They are the ones who will cause a conflict/battle.
Point of view Through the first-person point of view, the author presents the severe situation and possible future development resulting in a battle.
Many Soviet authors emphasized the importance of the harsh unique cold northern nature as an important factor shaping a part of Russian national identity, literally their Russianness.198 Another part of their northerness is their perspective of space and territory size, which constitutes a Russian symbol. The symbol of their Russianness consists of openness, bravery, and openness of Russian heart and freedom. Soviet vast space, which includes the Far North at that time meant endless potential and seeing no edge.199 It overall relates to the technology prowess and heroism and certainty of the non-existence of impossible and unthinkable within the Soviet Union and its soviet people.200
198 HØNNELAND, Geir, 2020. Bibliography. In: Russia and The Arctic : Environment, Identity and Foreign Policy [online]. 2. edit.London: I.B. Tauris, ISBN 978-1-83860-126-3.
199 WIDDIS, Emma, 2004. Russia as space. In: Simon FRANKLIN a Emma WIDDIS, ed. National Identity in Russian Culture: An Introduction [online]. Cambridge University Press, s. 30–50.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511720116.007
200 MCCANNON, John, 1998. Red Arctic polar exploration and the myth of the north in the Soviet Union, 1932-1939. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511436-2.
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