Izvestia Interviews Patrushev: "The geopolitical situation requires additional measures"

The venerable Nikolai Patrushev landed a plum gig at 73.

Long known as a fearless, tough-as-nails negotiator and no-nonsense talker, with the post-election reshuffling of Team Putin, Nikolai was returned to his childhood roots growing up in Leningrad and its ships as his father was a Soviet naval officer. Putin signaled the move late last year when the need for better shipyard management and a more rapid naval building program was determined—almost all shipbuilding in Russia is publicly owned as state enterprises. The interview is primarily about Patrushev’s new role, although it does stray into the Kursk attack. In the Gym’s archive are several reports on Russian shipbuilding those wanting more info can peruse: “Banking, Shipbuilding & Russia's Economy,” and “Rossiyskaya Gazeta Interviews Patrushev.”

NATO is increasing its naval presence in geopolitically significant areas of the World Ocean, including the waters adjacent to Russia - in the Black and Baltic Seas. It is the growing threats from the West that force Moscow to pay great attention to shipbuilding, the development and production of new models of military naval equipment, which will be done by the Maritime Collegium of the Russian Federation created this week by the head of state. This was stated to Izvestia by Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev, who was appointed chairman of the new structure. He noted that anti-Russian sanctions create an incentive for the development of shipbuilding, new supply chains and an increase in foreign economic activity. About the functionality of the Maritime Board, the importance of unmanned underwater and surface marine equipment and who is behind the attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Kursk region - in an exclusive interview with Nikolai Patrushev to Izvestia.

"NATO continues to increase its presence in geopolitically significant areas of the world's oceans"

— Nikolay Platonovich, the Marine Collegium under the government has existed since 2001. What results have been achieved to date and what is the reason for the decision to abolish the old structure and create a new one?

— The Marine Board was originally established under the Government of the Russian Federation. The idea of its formation appeared in a time of crisis for our country. If the Soviet Union's sea power was undeniable, then in the 1990s Russia could have lost its status as a great maritime power. The mass shutdown of shipbuilding enterprises, the destruction of port infrastructure, the widespread closure of secondary specialized educational institutions, the reduction in admission to universities, the cessation of scientific research have significantly weakened the navy, reduced cargo and passenger sea transportation, and led to the loss of some competencies in the field of shipbuilding.

In recent years, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, the foundation has been laid for strengthening Russia's position in the World Ocean, protecting and implementing the national interests of our country in the field of maritime activities.

The current geopolitical situation and the tasks set by the head of state to develop the economy and strengthen the defense capability of our country require additional measures. That is why the President decided to form the Maritime Collegium of the Russian Federation and abolish such a collegium under the government.

The Maritime Board will be the current coordinating body. Its key task will be the preparation of presidential decisions in the field of maritime activities and the organization of strict implementation of the decisions of the head of state in this area.

- The basic document of the national maritime policy of the Russian Federation is the Marine Doctrine. Which of its provisions are particularly relevant in the current geopolitical situation?

"The President approved the doctrine in 2022, and all its provisions are still relevant today. First of all, the goal of preserving the status of a great maritime power for the Russian Federation remains. It is necessary to realize national interests and maintain strategic stability in the oceans.

The Maritime Board will have to analyze the regulatory framework in the field of maritime activities and update a number of documents, taking into account the achievement of the national development goals of our country, approved by the President, and the neutralization of external security threats.

It should be recognized that the role of the factor of force in international relations is not decreasing. Washington's promotion of the Indo-Pacific strategy has a clear anti-Russian and anti-Chinese character. NATO continues to build up its naval presence in geopolitically significant areas of the World Ocean, including in the oceans and seas adjacent to the territory of the Russian Federation.

— Including in the Baltic and the Black Sea?

- The West seeks to deprive Russia of access to the Baltic Sea, turning it into an "internal sea" of the alliance, using the newly minted NATO countries - Sweden and Finland - for this. The Westerners are actively implementing a strategy to tie down Russia in the Black Sea, where NATO is preparing to increase its presence in violation of the Montreux Convention. In order to increase their influence in the world's oceans, the United States and its allies ignore or try to revise other international agreements.

"Growing threats from the West are forcing us to increase our combat readiness"

— Three Councils will be formed as part of the Maritime Board: for the strategic development of the Navy, for the protection of national interests in the Arctic, as well as for the development and support of Russia's maritime activities. What tasks will these bodies have?

— Indeed, three councils have been formed in the Marine Board. Regulations on the activities of each of them will be approved later. They will include only members of the board. At the same time, a scientific and expert council will be created, which will be engaged in the expert study of issues submitted for consideration by the Maritime Board. The necessary specialists will be involved in its work.

In particular, the Council for the Strategic Development of the Navy, which is being created, will become a "think-tank" that will focus on preparing a strategy for the development of the Navy.

Growing threats from the West force us to increase the combat readiness and technical equipment of the fleet, pay special attention to the problems of shipbuilding, the development and production of new models of military naval equipment, and the training of specialists for the Navy.

- In the context of the NWO, the role of unmanned naval equipment in modern conflicts and the means of combating it is being actively discussed all over the world. Should we expect the same effective and rapid measures in this area that Russia was capable of in the field of UAVs?

— In different historical periods, the idea of shipbuilding priorities has changed. Today, for domestic science and military-industrial enterprises, the creation of unmanned underwater and surface marine equipment is becoming a relevant direction. Marine drones have undoubted advantages, such as eliminating the risk of crew losses, equipping with payloads for various purposes, maneuverability and high speed development. It is worth noting that in addition to new naval equipment, the use of technologies that have proven their superiority over time will continue.

"The operation in the Kursk region was caused by a premonition of the collapse of the Kyiv regime"

- We cannot ignore the latest events related to the special military operation. Last week, the Armed Forces of Ukraine broke deep into the territory of Russia in the Kursk region. The West claims that they did not know about the plans of the Kyiv regime. Can the current operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine be coordinated by the Western military and special services?

It was the West that put a criminal junta at the head of Ukraine, NATO countries pumped Kiev with weapons, military instructors, constantly supply intelligence and control the actions of neo-Nazis. The operation in the Kursk region was also planned with the participation of NATO and Western special services. This criminal action was caused by a premonition of the approaching imminent collapse of the neo-Nazi Kiev regime.

Statements by the US leadership about non-involvement in Kiev's crimes in the Kursk region are not true. The United States regularly says one thing and does another. Without their participation and direct support, Kyiv would not have risked entering the territory of Russia.

Lies and provocations are the usual companions of the policy of Washington and other Western countries. It was the Americans who organized Saakashvili's military adventure in August 2008, although they claimed that they had nothing to do with it. Direct U.S. intervention in Georgia's affairs led to the secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. I believe that the Georgian people know that they are paying for the actions of the Americans with their suffering.

Currently, for the sake of American interests, the inhabitants of Ukraine are suffering, which the United States has turned from a state into a military anti-Russian project. Washington's efforts have created all the prerequisites for Ukraine to lose its sovereignty and lose part of its territories, including those that some American allies have long had their eyes on.

- Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that it is the West that is fueling mass protests in this Balkan country. Recently you met with Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vulin, who was on a visit to Moscow. To what extent do you share such assessments?

We know that the West uses various pretexts to organize "color revolutions" and attempts to replace legitimate governments with politicians who are obedient to Washington, trained abroad. The West also tried to do this in Serbia.

Mass riots are organized by Westerners in other countries as well. It is no coincidence that former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina considers the United States to be involved in her resignation and rampant crime in her country. The reason, in her opinion, could be her refusal to Washington to provide the Bangladeshi island of St. Martin in the Bay of Bengal for an American military base.

The level of US interference in the sovereign affairs of Venezuela is not decreasing. Following another failed coup attempt in this country, Washington offers Nicolas Maduro an early resignation, promising him in return to abandon his further prosecution in accordance with American laws.

It can be observed that the United States and Great Britain, faced with domestic political squabbles, economic and financial problems, and unrest caused by the confrontation between migrants and natives, are seeking to transfer chaos beyond their borders and increasingly stir up military, interethnic and interfaith conflicts abroad.

"In terms of its Arctic potential, Russia is far ahead of all Arctic states combined"

- Attempts by the United States to create problems for Russia in the Arctic have also become more frequent. To do this, they use both the environmental agenda and actively militarize the region. What is Russia doing in this regard?

Russia is committed to the peaceful development of the Arctic. At the same time, it is time for Western countries to understand that in terms of its Arctic potential (both military and civilian), Russia is far ahead of not only the United States, but also all the Arctic states combined.

The development of this area will be on the agenda of the Council for the Protection of the National Interests of the Russian Federation in the Arctic, which is being created in the Maritime Board.

In the Arctic, Russia has the goal of comprehensive development of the Northern Sea Route as a safe year-round transport communication with the simultaneous improvement of port infrastructure, increasing the carrying capacity of railways for the transportation of goods in the northern latitudes. At the same time, I would like to emphasise that the Northern Sea Route is Russia's national transport route.

The Council will also focus on Arctic research and the socioeconomic development of the Arctic territories. Attention will be paid to the extensive development of natural resources in the exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, and to the creation of favourable conditions for the activities of Russian oil and gas production and gas transportation companies. Other topical issues will also be considered.

- The West is actively trying to limit Russia's foreign economic activity with the help of sanctions. Will it be possible to squeeze us out of sea transport communications?

- Inventing more and more new anti-Russian sanctions over and over again, the West saws off the branch on which it is sitting. So, trying to regain the title of "queen of the seas" in a non-competitive struggle, England recently added 11 Russian oil tankers to its already quite large sanctions list. At the same time, I want to draw attention to the fact that England has left the top 10 countries in terms of industrial production.

The income of the tourism industry of the Baltic countries has decreased several times due to the ban on cruise ships to visit St. Petersburg. Sanctions boomerang to cause significant damage to the Western states themselves.

At the same time, some Western sanctions have partially limited the charter of ships, insurance activities, and affected shipbuilding enterprises. The measures taken in this direction have allowed Russia to give a new impetus to the development of shipbuilding, the emergence of new supply chains, and an increase in foreign economic activity by searching for new markets in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and Africa.

The Council for the Development and Support of Maritime Activities of Russia, established in the Maritime Board, will pay special attention to the issues of ensuring import independence and technological sovereignty in the maritime sphere.

In addition, solutions are needed aimed at using the advantages of Russia, which owns inland water transport communications.

There are tasks to increase traffic on the Yenisei, Lena, Ob, Amur and other rivers. The agenda includes the development of the river and sea fleet, the increase in oceanographic research, the introduction of new technologies, including digital ones, the expansion of the geography of cargo and passenger transportation, and the stimulation of water tourism.

The emphasis in the activities of the Maritime Board will also be placed on the integrated socio-economic development of coastal regions, improving the quality of life in cities and towns, creating new jobs, social support for seafarers, fishermen and shipbuilders, and personnel training.

It is important that Russia has all the resources and rich historical experience to implement these and other plans. [My Emphasis]

The Valdai Club published a paper “The New Naval Doctrine of Russia” about two years ago that explains its basics and links to other related items. The link within the above text is to the entire Russian pdf document. Numerous other items published by other national media draw different conclusions as revealed via a Yandex search. As you read, Patrushev oversees a vast complex that extends well beyond shipbuilding. Fortunately, he’s a capable and very experienced administrator. Russia will continue to expand its inland navy for deployment on the Caspian Sea and its vast river network, which has the potential to become a strategic force with the further expansion of Russia’s hypersonic missile’s range. But naval vessels aren’t the only ships being built. Special ice class commercial vessels of various types are already working the Northern Sea Route in coordination with Russia’s vast fleet of icebreakers, which are built and managed by Rosatom.

In the geopolitical conflict over the Heartland, the land powers are close to eclipsing the former maritime powers in all facets. I recently was made aware of the work by one of the initiators of Geopolitics, the German Karl Haushofer, who coined the Indo-Pacific concept in his 1924 Geopolitics of the Pacific Ocean along with many other important concepts. I feel obligated to point readers to what I consider a very important essay published in July 1942 by Foreign Affairs, “Haushofer and the Pacific: The Future in Retrospect,” because of the insights it provides into American attitudes at the early stages of its involvement in WW2, and then hint provided in the paper’s title about Haushofer’s influence on the future of American policy. For policy makers steeped in Mahan and Mackinder, IMO Haushofer’s concepts would be very strong and addictive drink given the history we’ve experienced since 1945.

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