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specified and regularly updated by other documents. On 20 February 2013, a document
titled “The Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation”
was approved by President Vladimir Putin (Konyshev and Sergunin 2014a). For more
information see Konyshev, V., Sergunin, A. (2014a). Is Russia a revisionist military
power in the Arctic?. Defense & Security Analysis. Routledge.
9. Russia has several aspirations for these new military reforms but the one that most
pertains to the formation of the Arctic brigades can be found resonating in a statement
from then Russian Minister of Defence Anatoliy Serdyukov: “All ground forces to become
fully manned, permanent-readiness units.” In practical terms, this meant the desire for the most
modern equipment, the adoption of a regular trainings and the readiness to deploy on
short notice (six to eight hours) within their areas of responsibility (O’Gorman 2013).
10. Over flights of Russian military aircraft over the Arctic