Russian Arctic National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

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 ...

, 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 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, ...

, the northern part of

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 ...

(

Severny Island Severny 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 von Lütke, who explored it. It lies approximately 400 km north of th ...

), and

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 ...

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 bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

s and

bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus''), sometimes called the Greenland right whale, Arctic whale, and polar whale, is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and is the only living representative of the genus '' Balaena' ...

s. The area also includes one of the largest bird colonies in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

, as well as

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...

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, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

rookeries. 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 () is a nature reserve in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. With an area of , it is the largest reserve of Russia and Eurasia, as well as one of the largest in the world. History The Great Arctic State Nature Reserv ...

is located on counter-side of

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 ...

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 () is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth-largest island in the world, and at in area, it is Canada's second-largest i ...

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 has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

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 or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are s ...

, 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 the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

. 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 mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...

s in the nation. Instances 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. on 24-05-2014 and

Gray whale The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of , a weight of up to and lives between ...

s 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