Arctic Shamrock is the northernmost outpost of the Russian Federation, as well as the northernmost structure of its kind. The uniqueness of this object is observed in everything: from the architectural features of the complex to the latest technologies that ensure the full functioning of the outpost.
Country of Ursa Major
Country of the Great Bear - this is how the word "Arctic" can be translated from Greek. This is the northernmost region of the world. The area of the Arctic, depending on the method of territorial division, varies from 21 to 27 million square kilometers.
Exploration of the Arctic began a long time ago. To this day, this area attracts many researchers. The Arctic is rich in minerals, and this explains the disputes of the northern countries about the definition of their territories. Interest has risen in recent years due to global warming, which promises to make mining less expensive in the future and open up new routes.
To the Arcticterritories are claimed by Russia, the USA, Denmark, Norway and Canada. The UN Convention governs legal relations in matters of division of the Arctic.
Russia in the Arctic
Exploration of the Arctic by Russia, with some interruptions, has been going on for centuries. The development of oil fields was actively carried out by the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the USSR, the developments were abandoned and mountains of garbage remained in their place. The cleanup of the territory began only in 2011.
Russia's interest in the Arctic is due to many factors. First, it is the richness of the natural resources of the region. Secondly, the massive melting of ice in the Arctic Ocean in the future will provide the formation of new transport routes. The third and one of the most important factors is the military. Since the shortest route between the Russian Federation and Western countries passes through the Arctic Ocean, it is obvious that in the event of a military conflict, it is in the Arctic that the main theater of military operations will unfold. This fact is the main reason for the construction of the Arctic Shamrock military base in the Arctic.
In 2014, D. Medvedev signed an order to resume development. It meant the opening of thirteen airfields, ten air defense stations, sixteen ports. In addition, drifting and search stations have resumed work.
Construction
The construction of the base "Arctic Shamrock" began in 2007, but information about the stages of construction became publicly available only in 2015. The location of the base was the island of Alexandra Land in the archipelago of Franz Josef Land oneighty degrees north latitude. This is not the only Russian military facility located in the northern latitudes. In the archipelago of the New Siberian Islands on Kotelny Island, there is the Northern Clover - the first Arctic base in Russia, the Shamrock became the second.
Arctic Shamrock is the northernmost object in the world, which was created using not only construction and installation, but also earthworks. They consist in the device of buried foundations, load-bearing structures and summing up communications. Despite the fact that the construction has not yet been completed, the base is already inhabited and fulfills its functions. Construction work is carried out by SpetsStroy of Russia. More than eight hundred people are involved in the construction. Unique technologies were used for the structures, which allow the construction of permanent structures in permafrost conditions, and modern materials that effectively retain heat and significantly reduce the cost of maintaining a positive temperature in the base buildings.
Description of base
On the territory of the "Arctic Shamrock" there are several buildings and special structures. The main building of the base is an administrative and residential complex, made in the form of a three-pointed star. This is a five-story building, painted in the colors of the Russian tricolor.
Three elliptical buildings were built between the branches of the administrative and residential complex. They have a kitchen and a dining room, rooms forleisure, medical and administrative blocks. The outpost also has a boiler house, a power plant, warehouses, garages and other outbuildings. The buildings are interconnected by insulated passages. This is a very important communication that allows you to move freely around the territory of the base even in the most severe frost.
In addition, roads are organized on the territory of the island, a fuel pumping station is equipped on the shore. All this makes the Arctic Shamrock complex autonomous. The equipment of the base is capable of providing a one-time stay of one and a half hundred people for eighteen months.
Unique features
During the construction of the outpost, the designers encountered certain difficulties due to the remoteness of the complex from the mainland and the very low average annual temperature of the region. Equipment and building materials are delivered to the facility via the Northern Sea Route. However, this is only possible for four months of the year during summer navigation.
The main feature of the "Arctic Shamrock" is a pile foundation, the presence of which eliminates the risk of snow drifts of buildings. The administrative and residential complex is located in the center of the base, and from it, like rays, there are branches to other buildings and buildings. Moreover, even from space, the Arctic Shamrock is able to amaze with its unique architectural solutions.
Life at the base
For the garrison guardingnorthern borders of the Russian Federation, comfortable conditions are organized both for work and for leisure. The main building of the base is divided into four blocks - three beams and the central part, which has an atrium with a glass roof, which ensures the flow of daylight into the building. In addition, the observation deck on the roof of the building allows you to observe every point of the base. In the beams of the building are mainly residential premises. From the central part, insulated passages lead to other main buildings.
In addition to the main buildings, the base houses technical and utility facilities that can ensure the autonomy of the facility for a long time.
air defense
Protection of the northern borders and air defense of the territory of the Russian Federation is the main task assigned by the Ministry of Defense to the Arctic Shamrock. The organization of an air defense division in the Arctic today has become one of the priorities of the Ministry of Defense.
Even in the days of the Soviet Union, when the likelihood of war with the United States was brewing, great attention was paid to the installation of air defense in the Arctic, because the shortest route from the United States to Russia lies precisely through the Arctic Ocean. But after the end of the Cold War, many bases were closed and abandoned. And now, more than twenty years later, in connection with the aggravation of relations between Russia and the West, they are talking about air defense in the Arctic again.
There are already two military bases in the northern latitudes of the country. This is the "Northern Clover" "Arctic Shamrock".
The construction of the Shamrock significantly strengthened the grouping of Russian troops in the Northern latitudes and ensured the protection of the Northern Sea Route.
Shamrock Functions
In addition to its main function - the protection of the air borders of the Russian Federation, meteorological research is carried out at the base. The control of the Northern Sea Route is not only military protection, but also ensuring the safe passage of ships in terms of weather conditions. Modern equipment installed at the base helps to analyze the current, ice movement and other factors that can slow down or impede navigation.
Prospects
More recently, the existence of the base was known only to a certain circle of people. In March 2017, Russian President V. V. Putin. The visit was also attended by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology. One of the purposes of the visit was to visit the outpost. And already in April, a new project was launched on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation - a virtual tour of the Arctic Shamrock. Now everyone can get acquainted with the conditions in which the northernmost military unit lives.
As political scientists predict, a fierce struggle for the Arctic territories will unfold on the world stage in the near future. In addition to the five contenders known for a long time, having borders in the Arctic Ocean, other countries began to claim their rights to the northern territories.
Massive melting of glaciers opens up newprospects for the development of the northern territories, rich in their natural resources. In addition, from the point of view of the country's defense, the Arctic is of strategic importance.
