At Arctic Frontiers in Tromsø, The American Sunlight Project (ASP) and the Bellona Foundation shared new evidence on how Russia communicates about the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The findings are striking — and extend far beyond the Arctic.

Analyzing more than 4,400 pieces of content from Russian state linked channels, we identified three core narratives: that the NSR will benefit the world through faster shipping; that only Russia possesses the tools and technology to develop it safely; and that a new multipolar world order depends on Russia asserting sovereignty in the High North.

Much of this content is pushed through the Pravda network, a coordinated set of state-linked websites posing as independent media while amplifying Kremlin narratives. Posts also appear in closed channels on Telegram and WhatsApp.

This pattern suggests a new tactic: targeting algorithms and large language models (LLMs), not just human readers. We cannot prove Russia’s exact intent, but the scale and structure of this content make it a reasonable concern. From 2024 to 2025, mentions of the NSR rose 238%, while........

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