But The Moon Is Still Ours

Russia plants a flag at the bottom of the North Pole.

In the next few hours, Russian scientists hope to dive in two mini-submarines to a depth of more than 13,200 feet, and drop a metal capsule carrying the Russian flag onto the sea bed. Balyasnikov said the dive was to start Thursday morning and last several hours. Each submarine will carry three people.
The symbolic gesture, along with geologic data being gathered by expedition scientists, is intended to prop up Moscow's claims to more than 460,000 square miles of the Arctic shelf which, by some estimates, may contain 10 billion tons of oil and gas deposits.

Maybe they want a province more governable than Chechnya.