Russki imperialism! Dammit, it makes me feel
young again.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday granted “hero” awards to scientists backing Moscow's claim to a mountain range under the Arctic Ocean that is believed to contain huge oil and gas reserves.
The scientists planted a Russian flag under the North Pole ice in August as part of an Arctic expedition that heated up the controversy over the area which a U.S. study suggests may contain as much as 25 per cent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas.
Russia is one of several countries that have laid claims to the area.
After the Russian expedition, Canada vowed to increase its icebreaker fleet and build two new military facilities in the Arctic, while Denmark sent a team of scientists to seek evidence that the ridge was attached to its territory of Greenland. The U.S. government also sent an icebreaker for a research expedition.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080110.wrussarctic0110/BNStory/International/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080110.wrussarctic0110