For one, Moscow has simply invested more financial resources in the region than any other nation and have been doing it longer. Russia was the first country to drill for oil in the Arctic in 1915. The Yermak, which was the first icebreaker in the world, was commissioned in 1898. Icebreakers were essential for the Russians for business purposes, as they needed to clear pathways on its northern shores to get to ports in St. Petersburg, Riga, Vladivostok and Arkhangelsk.