At Saint Petersburg's historic Baltic Shipyard, cranes hover over the shining Neva River as hundreds of workers take part in the construction of four nuclear-powered ice-breakers. Flying a Russian flag and named after the country's northern regions, the giant vessels are meant to ensure Moscow's dominance over the melting Arctic. Russia has raced to become a leading power in the region, where the receding ice cover has allowed Moscow to develop a new shipping route. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES