A major shift in the Russian Arctic is underway. As climate change transforms the region and conflict along Russia’s western border persists, Vladimir Putin is increasingly looking to his thawing northern border to support his isolated economy. Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) from the Baltic Sea flows to China through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for the first time, just one facet of a rapidly expanding Russian economic and military presence in the Arctic. This report explores the implications of an increasingly accessible and developed NSR in the context of today’s contested geopolitical tensions.