December 21st, local time, Russian President Putin signed an order that the Russian Northern Fleet will officially become an independent military administrative unit on an “equated” with the Western, Southern, Central and Eastern Military Regions of Russia from January 1, 2021.
According to Russian media, the Northern Fleet will “enjoy the authority of cross-service and strategic regional command”, and the military institutions in the
Murmansk Oblast, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Komi Republic and other regions of Russia will also be under the jurisdiction of the Northern Fleet Command, which is the first time in Russian history.
The Russian Northern Fleet’s area of operation covers the entire Arctic Circle, the North Atlantic and the waters around Canada.
Since the Soviet era, the fleet has been at the forefront of the confrontation between the United States and Russia, and will also undertake important tasks to protect Russia’s northern waterways in the future.
