A tragic fire aboard a secret Russian nuclear ‘mini-sub’ in the Barents Sea that killed 14 senior sailors has refocused media attention on a little noticed flash point of the world: the Arctic. That an important Russian system was being tested or demonstrated was suggested by reports “that among the 14 dead were 7 senior navy captains and 2 ‘Heroes of Russia’.” The presence of so many Russian navy worthies raises questions because brass do not typically twiddle dials on mini submarines but watch them being twiddled until something went horribly wrong.