Russian Arctic National Park (russian: Национальный парк "Русская Арктика") is a national park of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, which was established in June 2009. It was expanded in 2016, and it covers a large and remote area of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

, the northern part of Novaya Zemlya (

Severny Island Severny Island (russian: Се́верный о́стров, Severnyy ostrov, Northern Island) is a Russian Arctic island. It is the northern island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. It was historically called Lütke Land after Friedrich Benjamin ...

), and

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land, Frantz Iosef Land, Franz Joseph Land or Francis Joseph's Land ( rus, Земля́ Фра́нца-Ио́сифа, r=Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa, no, Fridtjof Nansen Land) is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited on ...

Geography

After expansion in 2016, approximately 74,000 km², 16,000 km² in land area and 58,000 km² in sea area were added to the National Park. In 2009 the total area of the national park was 14,260 km², including 6,320 km² on the land and 7,940 km² of the Arctic Ocean. The area is the habitat of polar bears and bowhead whales. The area also includes one of the largest bird colonies in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...

and

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

rookeries A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds. Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals ( true seals and sea lions), and ...

. In addition to preserving natural habitats, the area of the national park is important for preserving the cultural heritage, which is related to the history of discovery and colonisation of the vast Arctic territories starting from the sixteenth century. The

Great Arctic State Nature Reserve The Great Arctic State Nature Reserve (russian: Большой Арктический государственный природный заповедник) is a nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife san ...

is located on counter-side of

Kara Sea The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...

History

The Russian government first established the Franz Joseph Land Conservation Area on 23 April 1994. Plans for a national park covering northern Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land were launched in the 2000s. When Russian Arctic National Park was established on 15 June 2009, Franz Josef Land and

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

were excluded. Announcing the event, Prime Minister

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

expressed his hopes that the National Park could help develop tourism in the area. Putin visited the archipelago in 2010, describing it as a "giant rubbish tip". By 2011 the national park had been expanded to also include Franz Josef Land in a move to better accommodate tourism in the archipelago. Russia commenced a 1.5 billion

ruble The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

, three-year clean-up project starting in 2012 to remove more than 100,000 tonnes of waste which had accumulated during the

Soviet era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

. These include a quarter million barrels of oil products, a million old barrels and dilapidated vehicles, radar installations and aircraft, among others.

Wildlife

The park is regarded as one of the most well-established protected areas for

marine mammal Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as seals, whales, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their ...

s in the nation. Existences of BowheadProkosch P., 2012. Bowhead Whale, Franz Josef Land, Russian Arctic National Park. http://www.grida.no/photolib/detail/bowhead-whale-franz-josef-land-russian-arctic-national-park_cd31.

UNEP/GRID-Arendal GRID-Arendal is a United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment, or UNEP) partner, located in Arendal, Norway. The Norwegian government created AGRID-Arendal years ago. GRID-Arendal informed there would be 50 million climate refugees by ...

. on 24-05-2014 and Gray whales in the area make the park's ecological value to be extraordinary.

References

{{authority control National parks of Russia Geography of Arkhangelsk Oblast Protected areas of the Arctic Franz Josef Land Novaya Zemlya Protected areas established in 2009 2009 establishments in Russia Tourist attractions in Arkhangelsk Oblast