From Northeast Passage to Northern Sea Route: A History of the Waterway North of Eurasia

533 Pages·2022·39.91 MB·English

by  Jens Petter Nielsen, Edwin Okhuizen

From Northeast Passage to Northern Sea Route

From Northeast Passage
to Northern Sea Route
A History of the Waterway North of Eurasia
Edited by
Jens Petter Nielsen
Edwin Okhuizen
Scientific coordinator
Victoria V. Tevlina
Illustration editors
Victoria V. Tevlina
Jens Petter Nielsen
Olga A. Krasnikova
Edwin Okhuizen
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover Illustration and endpapers: British Antartic Survey, 2018. The Arctic, 1:10 000 000, BAS (MISC 15B).
Cambridge, British Antarctic Survey (copyright: ’NERC-UKRI 2018).
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at https://catalog.loc.gov
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025346
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isbn 978-90-04-52184-1 (e-book)
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Contents
Foreword ix
Viktor Ilich Boyarskiy
Preface x
Willy Østreng
Acknowledgements xiii
Romanisation Table and Note on Text xiv
List of Illustrations xv
List of Tables xxi
Abbreviations xxii
Modern Sectional Maps xxiv
Introduction 1
Edwin Okhuizen and Jens Petter Nielsen
Part 1
Out of the Northern Mist (Late Ninth–Mid Sixteenth Century)
Edwin Okhuizen
1 The Early Navigation of the Western Section of the Northeast
Passage/Northern Sea Route 15
Part 2
The West-European Search for a Northeast Passage and the Russian
Navigation of the Eurasian Maritime Arctic (Mid Sixteenth–Mid
Eighteenth Century)
Edwin Okhuizen and Terence Armstrong
Introduction to Part 2 27
2 The West-European Search for an Alternative Trade Route
to the Orient 29
3 The Russian Exploration and Commercial Use of the Eurasian
Maritime Arctic 57
4 The First Kamchatka Expedition, 1725–30 65
5 The Great Northern (Second Kamchatka) Expedition, 1733–43 73
vi Contents
Part 3
The ‘Non-heroic Exploration’ of the Eurasian Maritime Arctic (Mid
Eighteenth–Mid Nineteenth Century)
Edwin Okhuizen
Introduction to Part 3 83
6 Transpolar Expeditions and the Concept of an ‘Open Polar Sea’ 85
7 The Siberian Maritime Arctic 93
8 The European Maritime Arctic 106
9 The Bering Strait Region 128
10 The North-Eastern Extremity of Asia 166
Part 4
The Opening Up of the Northern Sea Route to Siberia
(Mid Nineteenth Century until 1917)
Jens Petter Nielsen and Alexander Ye. Goncharov with a contribution
by Olga A. Krasnikova
Introduction to Part 4 181
11 Early Exploration and Navigations to the Estuaries of the Ob and
the Yenisey 183
12 Russian-Norwegian Relations from the Crimean War until the
Russian Revolution 220
13 Navigating the Northeast Passage 224
14 Safeguarding of the Northern Sea Route until 1905 231
15 The Russo-Japanese War and the Potential Military and Strategic
Importance of the Northern Sea Route 241
16 The Northern Sea Route on the Eve of the Russian Revolution 255
Contents vii
Part 5
The Northern Sea Route during the Soviet Epoch:
From the October Revolution to the Collapse of the Soviet Union (1917–91)
Alexander Ye. Goncharov and Vladimir N. Bulatov
Introduction to Part 5 271
17 Through Revolution and Civil War, 1917 to the Early 1920s 275
18 Establishing Navigation on the Western Sector of the Northern Sea
Route 290
19 Development of the Eastern Sector of the Northern Sea Route 304
20 Soviet Arctic Exploration beyond the Northern Sea Route 310
21 The Soviet Opening Up of the Northeast Passage: The Chief
Directorate of the Northern Sea Route (GUSMP) 318
22 The Northern Sea Route During the Great Patriotic War,
1941–45 333
23 The Post-war Period, 1945 to the Mid 1950s 342
24 The Northern Sea Route in a Changing Era, from the Mid 1950s to
the 1960s: Adding a Human Touch to the Arctic 349
25 A Return to the Days of Glory, 1970s to 1991 357
26 Soviet Polar Science and the Northern Sea Route 369
Part 6
From Break-Up to New Optimism: The Northern Sea Route
in Post-Soviet Russia
Vladislav I. Goldin
Introduction to Part 6 379
27 The Northern Sea Route as an International Transit Route:
Discussions and Experiments 381
28 Development, Challenges and Contradictions in the Use of the
Northern Sea Route  391
Summary and Conclusion of Parts 1–6 403
Edwin Okhuizen, Jens Petter Nielsen and Alexander Ye. Goncharov
viii Contents
PART 7
The Past and Present in Shaping the Future of the Northern Sea Route
and the Northeast Passage
Willy Østreng
Introduction to Part 7 419
29 Permanent Drivers Affecting the Use of the Northern Sea Route/
Northeast Passage 421
30 Changeable Drivers Affecting the Use of the Northern Sea
Route 430
31 Permanent Impediments Affecting the Use of the Northern
Sea Route 439
32 Changeable Impediments Affecting the Use of the Northern
Sea Route 441
33 A Scenario Discussion of Subjective Predictions 449
34 The Long-Term Future of the Northern Sea Route:
A Fresh Prediction 456
The History of the Book Project and Its Authors 461
Victoria V. Tevlina
Bibliography 465
Index of Geographical Names 492
Index of Personal Names 496
Foreword
The Arctic and Antarctica have held a particular place Over recent years, changes in the climate and in policy
in my life. For more than 45 years now I have engaged in have proved beneficial to shipping. This has been demon-
different activities in these locations on Earth that are so strated by the government policy doctrine of the Russian
harsh and distant from civilisation, and yet at the same Federation in the Arctic. For the last few years there has
time so beautiful. A significant portion of my polar biog- been a discernible growth in activity along the Northern
raphy has been devoted to expeditions for research and Sea Route, due to the new projects for the extraction and
extreme sport. I have been a member of international liquefaction of natural gas on the Yamal Peninsula (Yamal
teams to conquer the North on skis and dog sleds, I have LNG and Arctic LNG). There is no question that Russia’s
crossed Greenland from south to north (1988), traversed increasing endeavours to transform the Northern Sea
Antarctica along the longest route of more than 6500 km Route into a transport mainline that functions continu-
(1989–90), I have crossed the Franz Josef Land archipelago ously and safely is determined above all else by economic
on skis across the Arctic Ocean from Severnaya Zemlya interests. Predicted oil and gas reserves on the Arctic sea
over the North Pole to Canada (2005) and I have sailed a shelf, along with the growing demand for fossil fuels, make
small yacht along the Northern Sea Route (2009). it imperative to develop the infrastructure of the Northern
Almost annual visits to the Arctic over the last Sea Route, and to broaden and improve the nuclear ice-
40 years have allowed me to witness the changes that have breaker fleet.
occurred. I am not talking only about climate change. The The history of the development of the Northern Sea
infamous 1990s, when Russia made the transition to a Route is one that covers many centuries and is worthy of
market economy, had a highly detrimental effect on the multidimensional and detailed study. There are a number
situation in the Russian Arctic. The state-coordinated pro- of monographs that examine the history of the devel-
gramme of delivery of supplies to the North was curtailed, opment of the Northern Sea Route, especially works by
which led to a deterioration in the general cargo delivery, V. Yu. Vize, M.I. Belov, and V.M. Pasetskiy. A monograph is
or even ceased altogether the provision of fuel and food essentially a view of history through the eyes of one author,
to Arctic villages; the number of flights connecting the and there is consequently an inescapable subjectivity. In
central regions of the country with the Arctic was greatly contrast to that approach, the volume that we present to
reduced; the population of polar villages began a progres- you here, From Northeast Passage to Northern Sea Route: A
sive decline, and some such settlements simply closed History of the Waterway North of Eurasia, is written by an
down. The collapse of Arctic infrastructure was greatly international team that includes five Russian, one British,
accelerated after the Ministry of Defence abandoned loca- one Dutch, and two Norwegian authors. This fact predi-
tions where their facilities, in particular their airfields, had cates a more objective examination of the history, along-
been the mainstay of Soviet presence. Scientific research side broader materials, maps and illustrations – many of
in the Arctic also completely stopped, which resulted in a them never previously published – which lie at the foun-
halt in the work of the drifting ice stations that lasted for dation of the book. All this instils confidence that the work
12 years. will be successful in playing the role that its international
The pivotal moment in revived interest in the Arctic collective of authors is hoping to achieve. I consider that a
came in the mid 2000s. It was in this period that the first book of such significance will broaden the understanding
Russian drifting ice station was opened (2003), and work of the historical role of exploration of the Northern Sea
started on cleaning the territories of the Arctic archipel- Route in developing the Arctic, and will provide a reliable
agos from the decades of industrial waste that had accu- basis for predicting its future.
mulated there, and oil extraction was commenced on the
Arctic shelf. In addition to this, in a record four years, a Viktor Ilich Boyarskiy
natural gas liquefaction plant was built on Yamal, using Chairman of the Polar Commission of the St Petersburg
gas from what is currently the largest deposit in the world. Branch of the Russian Geographical Society; Honorary
There is no question that the main priority and direction Polar Explorer (Polyarnik) of Russia
of development for the Arctic territories in these new St Petersburg, 1 March 2021
conditions is the restoration of use of the Northern Sea
Route – Russia’s principal mainline route in the Arctic.
Preface
The impressive historical work presented in this large funding and organise a multinational research program to
volume was conceived in 1993 under the auspices of the look into the navigational complexities of this extraordi-
International Northern Sea Route Programme (INSROP) – nary transportation route. The agreement also contained
a multidisciplinary research program implemented in tri- a mutual understanding that the research team should
lateral collaboration between institutions in Russia, Japan be composed of the best experts available irrespective of
and Norway. The overarching objective of INSROP was nationalities, and that Soviet archives should be as helpful
to build up a multinational research-based foundation as possible in providing relevant data for the programme.
of inter- and multidisciplinary knowledge encompassing After preliminary meetings in Moscow (January 1990), Oslo
all relevant areas involved in undertaking viable shipping (June 1990) and St Petersburg (November 1990), an agree-
operations along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). To this ment was reached between the Central Marine Research
end, INSROP was organised as a five- to six-year program and Design Institute (CNIIMF) in St Petersburg and the
and split into four main sub-programs: Fridtjof Nansen Institute to conduct a pilot study defin-
1 natural conditions and ice navigation ing the actual need for a more comprehensive long-term
2 environmental factors and challenges study. The pilot study concluded that the need was immi-
3 trade and commercial shipping nent in multiple areas of navigation, and in 1992 the Ship
4 political, legal, cultural and military strategic factors. and Ocean Foundation (SOF) in Tokyo was invited to join
The approach was designed around two countervailing the programme as a third party on terms equal to those of
parameters: the obstacles to utilisation and promoting FNI and CNIIMF. Funding was secured in April 1993 after
factors of utilisation. The applied aim of INSROP was to long-drawn-out and fairly intricate negotiations between
enable public authorities and private interests to make multiple private and official parties in Russia, Norway
rational decisions on icebound shipping. Apart from and Japan. The breakthrough came in a meeting I had in
research, it was also initiated to serve political objectives. Tokyo with Mr. Yohei Sasakawa – the visionary chairman
On 1 October 1987, the Secretary General of the Commu- of the Nippon Foundation/SOF – who on the spot decided
nist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, made that around 50 per cent of the total costs of the program
a stage-setting speech in Murmansk in which he spoke (which had not yet been calculated) would be carried by
in favour of transforming the Arctic into a zone of peace his foundations. In May 1993, the three parties signed an
through international collaboration in several civil issue Agreement for Research Cooperation. The International
areas. One of these areas contained an offer to open up Northern Sea Route Programme (INSROP) was born, and
the Northern Sea Route to international shipping on the it soon became clear that this programme could also be
condition that East-West relations continued to develop instrumental in formalising political cooperation in the
in a positive way. The overall scheme of the speech was Nordic Arctic.
to make the Arctic – a heavily militarised border zone In January 1993, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia,
of the Cold War and long deprived of multinational Norway, Finland and Sweden met in the small township of
cooperation – a region of constructive interaction across Kirkenes in north Norway to sign the Kirkenes Declaration
the conflict-ridden East-West divide. The international of 11 January, establishing the Barents Euro-Arctic Region
reception was one of sceptical wait-and-see: Was this (BEAR), or simply the Barents Region, as a sub-regional
a serious initiative to promote a change in the regional cooperative entity between the northernmost counties
order, or just another propaganda stunt nurtured by the and national governments of Russia, Sweden, Finland
ideological rivalry of the Cold War? It turned out to be the and Norway. The vision of this project was to replace pre-
former. vious hostility in their border zones with an active form
Only a year later, in November 1988, a high-ranking of inter-societal and political collaboration. To put this
member of the Soviet Ministry of the Merchant Marine vision into practice, transnational working groups were
acted upon the implications of Gorbachev’s speech, and established between the parties in different societal issue
paid me, as Director of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) areas, among them a working group on the Northern Sea
in Norway, a visit, asking for assistance in organising and Route. In 1994, the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs,
funding international research on the Northern Sea Route. Johan Jørgen Holst, claimed that ‘there is keen interest in
Following that meeting, an understanding was reached the [Working] group [on the Northern Sea Route], particu-
that the FNI should take an active part in trying to raise larly among the observer nations in the Barents Council’,