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On November 20–21, 2025, the Third International Scientific and Practical Conference “The World Ocean - A Space for Cooperation and Competition” dedicated to the memory of the Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union S.G. Gorshkov was hosted by IMEMO at the Academician N.N. Inozemtsev Conference Hall (3rd floor).

In 2025, the conference was held under the title ‘Old Theaters – New Challenges’ and was dedicated to the anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. It included a plenary session, presentations of two books, and five thematic sections. Forty-three experts from 13 countries participated in the conference. The event was attended by representatives of embassies from 16 foreign countries including post-Soviet states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan), Asia (the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam), America (Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico), and Africa (Angola, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Eritrea).

The plenary session on November 20 was opened remotely by IMEMO Director and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dr. Feodor Voitolovsky, who noted the enduring importance of international dialogue and cooperation in the world ocean for the normal coexistence of powers in a polycentric world. The head of IMEMO's Center of the Indo-Pacific Region, Dr. Alexey Kupriyanov, reviewed the forecasts made at previous conferences in 2021 and 2023: it turned out that, on the one hand, some of the forecasts have not yet come true (such as a reduction in shipping volumes due to the vulnerability of channels and straits, accelerated ice melt and the transformation of the Northern Sea Route into the main shipping route from Asia to Europe, complete robotization of shipping), and on the other hand, new factors are influencing global maritime trade – the shadow fleet and the development of unmanned vehicles, which are important to consider for the future. Vice Admiral A.B. Singh (India) drew attention to the drivers of international competition in the ocean (the growth in the number of military ships, the desire to increase fish catches, and attempts to expand state control over the shelf and exclusive economic zones) and to environmental problems (global warming, oil spills, and illegal fishing). On his part, Vice Admiral Alexander Balyberdin (MIREA) pointed out the importance of fulfilling the tasks of the decade for the Russian Federation: building research vessels and training human resources for this purpose, creating “floating universities” – educational institutions for training oceanographers.

Two new works were presented at the conference: Lead Researcher Dr. Alexander Polivach presented IMEMO's new Index of Maritime Powers for 2025. Its main conclusion is that competition in the ocean is intensifying between China and the United States, which are far ahead of other powers in terms of maritime resources, instruments, as well as maritime activities. The second work was presented by Ekaterina Roeva-Mkrtchyan (Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University) – a collective monograph entitled Admiral Isakov, in which the biography of Admiral Ivan Isakov, First Deputy People's Commissar of the USSR Navy (1939-1946) and Chief of the Main Naval Staff (1940-1942), is reinterpreted on the basis of documentary sources, both published and newly introduced into scientific circulation. The book fills a number of gaps in the biography of Ivan Isakov and provides a better understanding of his activities during the Great Patriotic War.

On the first day of the conference, two thematic sessions were held. The first, entitled “The Baltic Reveille: Challenges and Modes of Regulating Relations” gathered participants to discuss a range of current international political issues in the region affecting relations between Russia and EU and NATO member states. These issues affect relations between Russia and the EU and NATO member states. Dr. Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky (IMEMO) pointed to trends toward long-term militarization in the region and the risk of losing control of escalation, when even a local incident could trigger an uncontrollable chain of events leading to military confrontation. Daria Akhutina (Norden Center for Sustainable Development) presented a different view: she noted the rich historical experience of cooperation between Russia and its neighbors in the region, reviewed new threats, noted current work to preserve the marine environment, and expressed confidence that sooner or later the geographical community of the region would require the restoration of relations. Associate Professor Dr. Luka Juri (Slovenia) analyzed the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) in the region: concluding that there is a security paradox (the strengthening of one side's defense is perceived by the other as a threat, which increases the risk of war), he proposed ideas for de-escalation (creating buffer zones, multilateral dialogue on security issues for all parties, and using historical experience to normalize relations). Dr. Nikolai Mezhevich (Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences) drew attention to the fact that the Gulf of Finland has historically remained a strategically vulnerable area for Russia, which must retain its ability to act and control the situation in the framework of a hostile environment and complex geography. Dr. Yuri Zverev (Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University) expressed a similar view, noting that the Baltic region has already formed a “gray zone” of confrontation between Russia and Western states, which are balancing on the brink of armed conflict. He emphasized the importance to not succumb to provocations in order to avoid unnecessary escalation.

Participants in the second session, “The Greater Mediterranean Between Peace and War,” noted the emergence of new threats and challenges in the region. The session was opened by Dr. Lotfi Sour (Algeria), who pointed to the presence of hybrid threats in the region, the intensification of transnational crime, and competition between regional (Algeria-Morocco) and external players, proposing the development of regional mechanisms to stabilize the situation. Egypt's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia (ret.) Dr. Ezzat Saad Al-Sayed emphasized the enduring importance of the Suez Canal despite the emergence of alternative maritime trade routes and called for the comprehensive development of infrastructure and the transformation of the canal's economic zone into a logistics and industrial hub. Rear Admiral (ret.) Demetrios Tsailas (Greece) noted the growth of “hybrid” and “gray” threats using high-precision weapons, cyberattacks, AI, and drones, which are blurring the lines between peace and war. To stabilize the situation, he recommended moving from a balance of power to the coordination of legal norms, multilateral governance mechanisms, and the naval presence of major powers. Dr. Grigoriy Lukyanov (State Academic University for the Humanities, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) highlighted the evolution of the Libyan crisis in detail, showing that non-traditional threats emanating from Libya (terrorism, illegal migration) cannot be resolved by Turkey alone and will require international cooperation. Rear Admiral (ret.) Cihat Yayci explained his country's position in the dispute with Greece over the division of maritime borders in the Mediterranean Sea, based on the principles of equity, geography (Turkey has the longest coastline in the region, priority is given to mainland coasts, not islands), balance (proportionality of maritime zones to the length of coastlines) and non-encroachment (islands off another mainland should not block its access to the sea). PhD student Amer Mehanni (Algeria) highlighted the growth of non-traditional threats in the region (illegal migration, threats to the environment, energy problems), calling for the revival of the 5+5 political dialogue on climate and water resources, as well as academic cooperation.

On the second day, November 21, three thematic sessions were held. The first was the “The Two Oceans” session, dedicated to a range of issues in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. It was opened by Admiral Dr. Jayanath Colombage (Sri Lanka), who called for defining each player's “red lines” and creating common platforms for discussing security issues in order to overcome mistrust among the powers in the Indian Ocean. Continuing the discussion, Dr. Giovanni Parente (Italy) compared the similarities and differences in the strategies of Germany, France, and Italy in the region, pointing to a lack of conceptualization, as well as the lack of forces and resources among EU states to engage in the region. Dr. С. Raja Mohan (India) analyzed the growth of China's naval presence in the Indian Ocean and forescated that, despite the US's advantage in the Pacific Ocean, China is likely to overtake the Americans over time. Captain Dr. Anurag Bisen (India) compared the importance of the Indian Ocean to India and the Arctic to Russia, pointing to both the potential for bilateral maritime cooperation and the existing challenges. He expressed hope that Russia would build an icebreaker fleet for India. Speaking about the African vector of maritime activity in Russia, Dr. Gleb Sugakov (Institute of African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences) offered recommendations for expanding cooperation (fuel subsidies for fishermen, Russia's abolition of export duties on certain types of fish and seafood, the primacy of national legislation over international law, and the creation of a new architecture for environmental certification of fishing) and pointed to the importance of expanding cooperation in the field of education. Dr. Hans Nibshan Seesaghur (Mauritius) compared the role of traditional (India, the USA, France, Australia, the UK, Russia, and China) and new (the UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia) powers in the Indian region, noting in particular the danger of maritime confrontation between China and India.

Participants in the “The Frigid Sea” session focused on international political issues in the Arctic. Professor (ret.) Dr. Ola Tunander (Norway) compared the current balance of power in northern Scandinavia with the situation in the 1980s. He noted that 40 years ago, the tension between the US and the USSR was balanced by optimism about the end of the Cold War, but now that US troops and ships could theoretically be deployed in Swedish and Finnish waters, the threat of escalation is much more serious. A similar view was expressed by Pavel Devyatkin (HSE University), who noted that NATO's rhetoric about the need to contain Russia in the Arctic ignores the fact that Russia's main military activity in the Arctic takes place within its own territory. Thus, exercises conducted by one side for defensive purposes may be interpreted by the other as preparation for an attack and stimulate escalation, which increases the risk of military incidents. To prevent this, security in the Arctic must be shared, rather than achieved at the expense of the other party's security. Associate Professor Dr. Andrey Stepanov (Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications) emphasized that the development and organization of communication systems—from traditional to satellite, including unmanned systems—is becoming a necessary condition for the development of Russia's Arctic regions. Paul Fuhs (USA) revealed the problem of the impact of sanctions on Russian-US cooperation in Alaska and proposed a number of measures to restore trust, including joint efforts to combat oil spills, ensure safe shipping off the coast of Alaska, monitor weather conditions, and conduct rescue operations. Dr. Dmitry Tulupov (Secretariat of the SCO Business Council), having considered the problems of Russia's current maritime trade, recommended creating a closed trade loop with foreign partners without the use of Western contractors, developing maritime business in friendly countries, and conducting monitoring to assess the capabilities of partner countries ready to cooperate with Russia.

The final panel of the conference was the session “Contours of the Future,” devoted to trends in the development of the navies of a number of leading maritime powers. The session was opened by Alexandre Sheldon-Duplaix (France). He emphasized that the lack of dialogue and transparency, biased ideas, and references to past historical events dominate the conflicting interpretations of relations between Russia and NATO, which could lead to an escalation of the conflict, and supported the idea of the importance of regular exchanges of views to stabilize the situation. Commodore Dr. Arnab Das (India), having considered the political, economic, and geographical difficulties for cooperation between powers in the Indian Ocean, called for resolving them through the settlement of international political problems, the development of research, and the development of prosperity in the countries of the region. Dr. Vasily Kashin (HSE University) showed that, given its geography, China is following the American experience rather than the Soviet one in building its submarine fleet, seeking to create an A2/AD “umbrella” over the South China Sea. This encourages the USA and its allies to step up patrols and freedom of navigation operations in the region, increasing the risk of underwater incidents. Captain 2nd Rank Maxim Shepovalenko (Center for Analysis of Strategy and Technology,) noted the importance of maintaining the Russian Federation's Pacific naval group, equipped with nuclear weapons. Dr. Maxim Minaev (Center for Political Studies) outlined the process of modernizing the Japanese Navy, pointing to the likelihood of new aircraft carriers being built. He stressed that this trend is designed to strengthen Japan's capabilities south of the country, which is in line with US interests in containing China. The issue of the development of the Indian Navy was considered by Dr. Marianna Yevtodyeva (IMEMO). She drew attention to the development not only of traditional components (ships, aircraft), but also of new components of the Navy (satellites, high-precision weapons, engines, cybersecurity systems), emphasizing the significant role of localization in equipping Indian naval platforms. Alexander Chekov (MGIMO University) outlined three stages in the development of the US nuclear navy, noting that while in the 1990s the US relied on non-nuclear deterrence, the role of the nuclear factor in its deterrence policy is now growing, and its new strategy is based on a combination of militarization and norm-setting.

The conference is being held with the support of a grant from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for major scientific projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development No. 075-15-2024-551 “Global and regional centers of power in the emerging world order”.

  PROGRAMME