Warm water port
A warm water port is a port where the water does not freeze in winter. Because they are available year-round, warm water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest: the ports of Saint Petersburg and Valdez are notable examples.
A warm water port was a long term aim of Russian foreign policy.[citation needed] This did not strictly mean a port where the water did not freeze, as such Russian ports already exist in the Black Sea and the Russian Far East. Rather, it referred to the idea that Russia's ports, both in the west and the east, had inadequate access to the open ocean. The dream of a Russian warm water port is still supported by some nationalist and expansionist parties in Russia today; Vladimir Zhirinovsky famously indicated his desire to annex Pakistan west of the Indus.[citation needed]
One and only ice free port Russia has in Arctic is Murmansk. Most Lend-Lease ocean convoys originated from Great Britain went to Murmansk. Germans tried to capture it during World War II. To achieve that the needed to advance 80 km from the border. They could advance only half of the distance. Shipments could continue year around.