Soviet maps

[RN7]

Has anyone picked up the story from the Canadian media over the past year about the possibility of Soviet submarines secretly prowling around the Canadian Arctic during the Cold War?

Information from Soviet Cold War nautical maps point to considerable Soviet underwater knowledge of the Canadian Arctic. Soviet maps dating from the 1970's are highly detailed and more accurate than modern Canadian or known American maps, and possess knowledge of crucial internal waterways such as the Northwest Passage. Other maps mark details of choke point on Nares Strait off Cape Isabella between Ellesmere Island and Greenland which pass the U.S. air base at Thule in Greenland, and links the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and avoids the waters east of Greenland that were heavily patrolled by NATO during the Cold War. This doesnt include Soviet or Russian maps not available to general public.

[Legbreaker]

Makes a lot of sense to me. It's not like the area is all that far from their own back door....

[James Langham]

I seem to remember Victor SUvarov stating that Soviet maps were often slightly inaccurate to confuse anyone who captured them...

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by RN7

Has anyone picked up the story from the Canadian media over the past year about the possibility of Soviet submarines secretly prowling around the Canadian Arctic during the Cold War?

I don't doubt that for a second. And vice versa.

[Trooper]

Subs???

Where does all that information come from???

Soviet freighter captain = soviet naval reserve officer

Soviet trawler captain = soviet naval reserve officer

Soviet airline pilot = air force reserve officer

Etc...

During the cold war there was a huge fleet of soviet "trawlers" collecting oceanographic data and SIGINT.

Soviet civilian maps were full of disinformation. In western USSR cities were 5-10 km "dislocated". In eastern Siberia that distance could be 100 km or more.

Soviet military topographic maps are high quality maps. They did even write "tourist guides" of enemy cities with high quality drawings. (If you didnt have a local pilot in ship or "local terrorist" have removed signs.)

[pmulcahy11b]

At least some of their world-class competing and Olympic athletes were also Spetsnaz operators.

[RN7]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

At least some of their world-class competing and Olympic athletes were also Spetsnaz operators.

Undoubtably they were, members of the Central Army Sports Club produced 850 European champions, 625 world champions and 182 Olympic champions alone. By 1979 they had set also 341 European and 430 world records.

[RN7]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Makes a lot of sense to me. It's not like the area is all that far from their own back door....

At the time it would have undoubtably been for military purposes, but the maps have come to light now as the Arctic is beginning to open up due to warmer weather and the massive hydro-carbon reserves known to be under its polar caps. It is estimated that Arctic hydo-carbon reserves are greater than Saudi Arabia's and at least twice that of Russia's land reseves.

Its becoming the new frontier for many countries and energy corporations that have territorial and economic interests in the Arctic Circle. Canada, Denmark and Russia have begun to refocus their defence policies towards the Arctic, even China wants a stake in it.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by RN7

At the time it would have undoubtably been for military purposes, but the maps have come to light now as the Arctic is beginning to open up due to warmer weather and the massive hydro-carbon reserves known to be under its polar caps. It is estimated that Arctic hydo-carbon reserves are greater than Saudi Arabia's and at least twice that of Russia's land reseves.

Its becoming the new frontier for many countries and energy corporations that have territorial and economic interests in the Arctic Circle. Canada, Denmark and Russia have begun to refocus their defence policies towards the Arctic, even China wants a stake in it.

Oh great, let's pump more carbon into the air, and while we're at it, have a war in an ocean that's supposed to be frozen over all the time, but increasingly isn't...