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An ice-free port or warm water port is a port where the water does not freeze (rendering it unusable) in the winter. This does not necessarily mean that the water would be judged as warm to the touch. The Russian political establishment was for a long time seduced by the dream of a "warm water port". This idea dated back to the early 19th century and lasted until the end of the USSR. This idea did not strictly mean a port where the ice does not freeze, as such Russian ports already exist in the Black Sea and the the Russian Far East. Rather, it referred to a more literal idea of "warm water", combined with the idea that Russia's ports, both in the west and the east, had inadequate access to the open ocean. According to western propaganda, the Russian dream of a warm water port was a motivation in Russia's "great game" in Afghanistan, as well as a reason for their opposition to the British Raj. It was also a motivation for the much later Soviet war in Afghanistan. Judging from these scenarios, it is most likely that the warm water port of Gwadar, Pakistan, or another port providing access to the Arabian Sea, was the ultimate objective. The dream of a Russian warm water port is still supported by some small nationalist and expansionist parties in Russia today.
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