mgimorusjirlRussian Journal of World Politics and Law of NationsRussian Journal of World Politics and Law of Nations2949-6322МГИМО МИД России10.24833/RJWPLN-2024-1-4-15mgimorusjirl-62Research ArticleRegional and national securityRegional and national securityThe Kara Sea as an Object of International Legal Policy of RussiaMinchevaN. A.

Natalia A. Mincheva – MGIMO University

76, pr. Vernadskogo, Moscow, 119454

N_Mincheva@rosneft.ruMGIMO UniversityRussian Federation20242310202531415Copyright © Mincheva N.A., 20252025Mincheva N.A.Mincheva N.A.Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.https://polities.mgimo.ru/jour/article/view/62

Of all the Arctic seas going into the coast of Siberia, the Kara Sea is noticeably separated by islands from the rest of the Arctic Ocean. These islands have always been under the sovereignty of Russia. These features have predetermined the character of the power of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and modern Russia in relation to the Kara Sea. In 2022, seven Western member states of the Arctic Council brought their disagreements with Russia regarding the non-Arctic issue, thus breaking the traditional “immunity” of the Arctic from political and legal conflicts in other regions.The author researched legal documents of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation, along with research publications relating to the status of the Kara Sea. General research methods and specific methods of jurisprudence are used as the methodological basis of the study.During the period of the Russian Empire, the advisor on international law to the Head of the Russian State was adamant that the Kara Sea could only be classified as internal waters of Russia. However, during the Soviet period, Soviet legal scholars unanimously qualified the Kara Sea as part of the state territory of the USSR. However, no relevant legal act was adopted at the official level to confirm this. In 1985, a government decree was adopted dismissing the previous doctrinal position, and most of the Kara Sea was qualified as waters beyond the state’s maritime territory.In the author’s opinion, the 1985 Decree of the Government of the USSR has conse­ quences in the context of general international law – that is, it is impossible for modern Russia to return to the Soviet legal position as formulated by Soviet legal teachings. However, the 2022 breaking by the seven Western Arctic states of the traditional Arctic “immunity” from non-Arctic conflicts (as noted above) has made the retaliatory meas­ ures of the Russian Federation in the Arctic legitimate. In this context, Russia is entitled to respond by strengthening its regulatory measures in the Kara Sea. The relevant re­ search views regarding such measures are put forward in this article.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.