This volume is the first study of the entire history of the Northern Sea Route, from its earliest exploration to the twenty-first century. It includes the West-European search for a new waterway to the Orient (sixteenth to seventeenth century), the Russian Kamchatka expeditions (eighteenth century), and the navigation from Europe to the major rivers in north-west Siberia (late nineteenth to early twentieth century), as well as the Russian utilisation of the sea route in the Soviet epoch and later.

History and geographical characteristics of Northern Sea Route and legal regime.

Yohei Sasakawa The Northern Sea Route is the shortest shipping route connecting the Far East and Europe. However, the route has been practically inaccessible to commercial vessels, due to the harsh natural conditions in the area, which make navigation possible for only a small part of the year, and then only with an icebreaker leading the way. Opening the Northern Sea Route would greatly facilitate international shipping, making two routes - a northbound one through the NSR, and a southbound one through Suez- available throughout all seasons. The Northern Sea Route would also help to boost economic development, including the exploitation of natural resources in Russian regions along the coast of the Arctic Ocean. Thanks to international cooperation, we have been able to set up and successfully conclude a special project to investigate the possibilities of developing the Northern Sea Route as a commercial route, while protecting the environment, wildlife and peoples of the Arctic Ocean region. This represents a highly significant step in terms of future global development.

Yohei Sasakawa The Northern Sea Route is the shortest shipping route connecting the Far East and Europe. However, the route has been practically inaccessible to commercial vessels, due to the harsh natural conditions in the area, which make navigation possible for only a small part of the year, and then only with an icebreaker leading the way. Opening the Northern Sea Route would greatly facilitate international shipping, making two routes - a northbound one through the NSR, and a southbound one through Suez- available throughout all seasons. The Northern Sea Route would also help to boost economic development, including the exploitation of natural resources in Russian regions along the coast of the Arctic Ocean. Thanks to international cooperation, we have been able to set up and successfully conclude a special project to investigate the possibilities of developing the Northern Sea Route as a commercial route, while protecting the environment, wildlife and peoples of the Arctic Ocean region. This represents a highly significant step in terms of future global development.

Relates the attempts since 1553 of men from various nations to navigate the dangerous Northeast Passage through the Arctic to the Pacific Ocean.