The Russian Arctic islands are a number of islands groups and sole islands scattered around the

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

Geography

The islands are all situated within the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

and are scattered through the

marginal sea This is a list of seas of the World Ocean, including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits. In many cases it is a matter of tradition for a body of water to be named a sea or a bay, etc., therefore all these ...

s of the

, namely, the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...

Kara Sea The Kara Sea 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. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...

, Laptev Sea,

East Siberian Sea The East Siberian Sea (; ) is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the Arctic Cape to the north, the coast of Siberia to the south, the New Siberian Islands to the west and Cape Billings, close to Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotka, ...

Chukchi Sea The Chukchi Sea (, ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, ...

and

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

. The area extends some from

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

in the west to the Chukchi Peninsula in the east. The largest of the Arctic islands is Severny Island, with an area of about . It is

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

's second largest island next to

Sakhalin Island Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

, and the fourth largest island in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

History

The

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

officially claimed the Arctic islands to its north in a Note of the Russian Government of 20 September 1916 - this covered the islands of Henrietta, Jeannette, Bennett, Herald, Edinenie, New Siberia, Wrangel, Novaya Zemlya, Kolguev, Vaigach and others. On 15 April 1926, the Soviet Union reaffirmed this claim.

Islands

The area includes from west to east:
, Islands Web Site * Victoria Island (Russian Arctic), Victoria Island (Остров Виктория; Ostrov Viktoriya), about *

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land () is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of , stretching from east ...

(Земля Франца Иосифа; Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa), about ** Zemlya Georga (Земля Георга, Zemlya Georga), about ** Wilczek Land (Земля Вильчека; Zemlya Vil'cheka), about ** Graham Bell Island, (Остров Греэм-Белл, Ostrov Graham Bell), about **

Alexandra Land Alexandra Land () is a large island located in Franz Josef Land, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Not counting detached and far-lying Victoria Island (Russian Arctic), Victoria Island, it is the westernmost island of Franz Josef Land. It is the site ...

(Земля Александры, Zemlya Aleksandry), about ** Hall Island (Arctic) (Остров Галля, Ostrov Gallya), about ** Salisbury Island (Остров Солсбери; Ostrov Solsberi), about * Kolguyev Island (о́стров Колгу́ев, Ostrov Kolguev), about *

Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; , ; ), also spelled , is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, considered the extreme points of Europe ...

(Новая Земля, Novaya Zemlya), about ** Severny Island (остров Сeверный, Severny ostrov), about ** Yuzhny Island ( Южный остров, Yuzhny ostrov), about ** Vaygach Island, Вайгaч, Vaygach), about * Bely Island, (Остров Белый, Ostrov Beliy), about * Shokalsky Island, (Остров Шокальского, Ostrov Shokal'skogo), about * Vilkitsky Island (Kara Sea), (Остров Вильки́цкого; Ostrov Vil'kitskogo), about * Oleniy Island, (Остров Олений, Ostrov Oleniy), about * Zapovednik Islands (Острова Заповедник), about ** Dikson - Sibiryakov Islands, (Диксон-Сибиряковский острова), about ** The

Islands, (Острова Карского моря), about *** Sverdrup Island, (Остров Свердруп, Ostrov Sverdup) *** Arkticheskiy Institut Islands, (Острова Арктического института, Ostrova Arkticheskogo Instituta), about 259 km2 (100 sq mi) *** Izvestiy TSIK Islands, (Острова Известий ЦИК, Ostrova Izvetsiy TsIK), about 102 km2 (39 sq mi) *** Uedineniya Island, (Остров Уединения, Ostrov Uedineniya) *** Sergei Kirov Islands, (Острова Сергея Кирова, Ostrova Sergeya Kirova) *** Voronina Island, (Острова Воронина, Ostrova Voronina) *** Taymyr Island, (Остров Таймыр, Ostrova Taymyr) *** Kolchak Island, (Остров Колчака, Ostrov Kolchaka) *** Minina Skerries, (Шхеры Минина, Shhery Minina) and number of smaller islands. ** Nordenskiöld Archipelago (Архипелаг Норденшельда, Arkhipelag Nordenshel'da), about *** ''Litke Islands'' (острова Литке; Ostrova Litke) *** ''Tsivolko Islands'' (острова Циволько; Ostrova Tsivolko) *** ''Pakhatusov Islands'' (острова Пахтусова; Ostrova Pakhtusova) *** ''Vostochnyye Islands'' (Восточные острова; Ostrova Vostochnyye, Eastern Islands) *** ''Vilkitsky Islands'' (острова Вилькицкого, Ostrova Vilkitskogo) *** ''Lafetenyye and Prolifnyye Islands'' (Ostrova Lafetnyye i Prolivnyye) * Vize Island (Остров Визе, Ostrov Vize), about *

Ushakov Island Ushakov Island (, ''Ostrov Ushakova'') is an isolated island located in the Arctic Ocean, Russian Federation. The average yearly precipitation ranges from at a height of and between and around the highest point of the island's ice cap. Geogr ...

(Остров Ушакова, Ostrov Ushakova), about * Severnaya Zemlya (Северная Земля, Severnaja Zemlja), about ** October Revolution Island (Остров Октябрьской Революции, Ostrov Oktyabrskoy Revolyutsii), about ** Bolshevik Island (о́стров Большеви́к, Ostrov Bolshevik), about ** Komsomolets Island (остров Комсомолец, Ostrov Komsomolets), about ** Pioneer Island (остров Пионeр, Ostrov Pioner), about * Bolshoy Begichev Island, (Большой Бегичев, Bolshoy Begichev), about * New Siberian Islands (Новосиби́рские острова, Novosibirskiye Ostrova), about **

Anzhu Islands The Anzhu Islands or Anjou Islands (; ) are an archipelago and geographical subgroup of the New Siberian Islands archipelago. They are located between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea in the Arctic Ocean. Etymology The Anzhu Islands are na ...

(Острова Анжу, Ostrova Anzhu), about ** De Long Islands (Острова Де-Лонга, Ostrova De-Longa), about ** Lyakhovsky Islands (Ляховские острова, Ostrova Lyakhovskiye), about * Medvezhyi Islands (Медвежьи острова, Medvezhyi ostrova), about * Ayon Island (Айон, Ayon), about *

Wrangel Island Wrangel Island (, ; , , ) is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the List of islands by area, 92nd-largest island in the world and roughly the size of Crete. Located in the Arctic Ocean between the Chukchi Sea and East Si ...

(остров Врaнгеля, Ostrov Vrangelya), about *

Big Diomede Big Diomede Island or Tomorrow Island (; Ratmanov Island, ; ) is the western island of the two Diomede Islands in the middle of the Bering Strait. The island is home to a Russian military base which is located midway along the island's North sh ...

(остров Ратманова, Ostrov Ratmanova), about

References

* ''Islands of the Arctic'', by J. A. Dowdeswell and M. J. Hambrey. , Cambridge University Press, 2002

External links

An article about the land and the people of Arctic Russia
{{coord, 74, 46, 32, N, 57, 33, 46, E, source:svwiki_region:RU_type:landmark, display=title Islands of the Arctic Ocean Islands of Russia