Russian permafrost

Arctic research cooperation may never return to how it was before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Since the end of the Cold War, the Arctic has been heralded as a beacon of international collaboration and amity—a region so otherworldly, so unique, that geopolitical tensions don’t really apply there.

Now, the rose-tinted glasses are off. The romantic notion of Arctic exceptionalism has crumbled, and this singular ‘zone of peace’ may be irrevocably divided into two Arctics—one Russian, one managed by the US and its allies.