“Dear comrades! Russia always was and will be a great naval power,” Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, a leading contender to replace President Vladimir Putin next year, said before a June 13 conference in Moscow.

Ivanov has already taken steps to back up those words. A presidential naval commission he chaired has approved a strategy through 2020 to develop the nation’s shipbuilding capability in order to ensure a Russian naval presence in important seas and oceans. Ivanov said a new state-run shipbuilding corporation would step up construction of civilian and naval vessels to ensure a large merchant and military fleet.

The presidential candidate told the conference that Russia has everything it needs in order to become a great naval power. The most important requirement he highlighted was political will.

There is certainly plenty of evidence to show Russia does not lack the political will to rebuild its navy. During the past six years that Ivanov has presided as defense minister, military spending has quadrupled. This has included investments for new nuclear submarines and warships. According to Alexander Pikayev, a defense expert at the Moscow-based Institute for World Economy and International Relations, Russia is now considering building new aircraft carriers at the cost of $1 billion each.

Though Ivanov stated the fleet’s purpose would be to “defend its shores and carry out some limited operations in open seas,” his determination to rebuild Russia’s naval power to Soviet-era levels and then use them merely for defense and other limited purposes is unlikely. Most of the waters north of Russia’s largest population centers are frozen for much the year, and there aren’t many large cities or much infrastructure to protect on its Pacific side.

The truth is, a resurgent Russian navy would be a symbol of national power and a sign of Moscow’s offensive mindset. To understand in more detail where Russia is heading militarily, read our free booklet Russia and China in Prophecy.