Today, Russia’s foreign policy in the Arctic is becoming particularly relevant due to the growing interest of various states in the region. The Arctic possesses vast natural resources and holds strategic importance in the context of climate change and the opening of new sea routes. Russia, as one of the key actors in the region, must adapt its foreign policy strategy to new challenges and opportunities. The global shift in the polarity of international relations in 2022 has transformed Russia’s foreign policy priorities in the Arctic, which in previous decades had been regarded as a sphere of good-neighborly cooperation with Western Arctic states. However, the sharp deterioration of Russia’s relations with the West – peaking after 2022 – along with the decline in the effectiveness of the Arctic Council, became the main prerequisites for Russia’s “Arctic turn to the East.” This shift has intensified cooperation within BRICS and raised the question of establishing additional platforms for advancing the sustainable development agenda in the Arctic. The aim of the article is to assess the potential of BRICS as a new model for the transformation of international regimes in the Arctic, including the involvement of non-Arctic states, under the influence of external political challenges.
BRICS; Arctic; Russia; India; China; Arctic strategy; model of international cooperation in the Arctic.