President Vladimir Putin attended the annual Navy Day celebrations in St. Petersburg on July 31 with the inspection of the fleet and the “parade of the ships.” Putin also signed a new Naval Doctrine and the Ship Charter of the Russian Navy. “The key here is the capabilities of the Navy, that it is able to respond with lightning speed to anyone who decides to encroach on our sovereignty and freedom.” Putin also remarked that the Russian Navy would soon also be armed with hypersonic missiles.
The new Naval Doctrine replaces the Naval Doctrine of 2015. The doctrine states: “The main challenges and threats to the security and development of the Russian Federation associated with the World Ocean, are: the U.S. strategic course for dominance and their global influence on the development of international processes, including those related to the use of transport communications and energy resources of the World Ocean.” The new doctrine would therefore intensify Russian activities in the Arctic, in the Svalbards, Franz Josef Island, Novaya Zemlya, and Wrangel Island. It will also provide a means of bypassing the blockade of Kaliningrad through the creation of a ferry route from St. Petersburg.
