The New York Times has a very interesting article today about a retired U.S. Navy officer, Alfred S. McLaren, who claims that the Russians stole his idea and plan for a polar dive under the Arctic ice cap, which of course resulted in the polemical flag-planting stunt, roiling relations with Canada:

Dr. McLaren’s plan drew on federal polar data and recommended specific sensors and methods to ensure a safe return. “I wrote the procedures for the dive,” he said in an interview. The Russians, he added, “went for the territorial claim.”