The Akademik Lomonosov and the Arctic legal regime: geopolitics versus international law?

This article investigates the case of the Akademik Lomonosov with the aim to contribute to the research on the interplay between geopolitics and international law, which has not been sufficiently investigated, yet. To this aim, two sectors strictly linked to each other, namely energy and environment, have been taken into consideration. Both of them are relevant in the analysis of the Akademik Lomonosov because it is a floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) that has raised several environmental concerns. Additionally, the Akademik Lomonosov is not regulated by international law. It is functional to the geopolitical aim of Russia to economically develop the Arctic, which is necessary to modernise the whole state and thus to affirm its great power status both regionally and internationally. The analysis, which is conducted from the classical geopolitics perspective, shows that the employment of the Akademik Lomonosov responds to the energy security goals of Russia. At the same time, Russia’s approach to international law also derives from its geopolitical aims.