A cruise to the Russian Arctic offers the opportunity to visit remote archipelagos and breathtaking ice-draped coastlines. These cruises bring you closer to locations of  historic significance. This includes the islands of Novaya Zemlya which were once part of an important military region. Franz Josef Land is a remote group of 191 islands, many ice covered. Each island serving as a nature reserve and together forming the most northerly archipelago in Eurasia. They lie entirely within the Arctic Circle.

Wildlife

Travelers may encounter iconic Arctic wildlife such as polar bears, walrus and seabirds.  Visitors can also explore historical sites, view remote seabird colonies and walrus rookeries. Polar bear encounters are also possible, and regions of the Russian Arctic are home to many species of whales.

History

From 1821 to 1824 the Russian Navy’s Fyodor Petrovich Litke embarked on four separate voyages. He improved maps of Novaya Zemlya, Matochkin Shar Strait, and the White Sea Coast. Following 1917 and the Russian Revolution, exploration in the arctic was increased largely. Russia established more polar stations in order to collect information and aid travel.

Weather

Far north, the temperatures stay around freezing, 32 degrees Fahrenheit, during the summer months. Further south the weather is warmer and will stay around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. There have been record-high temperatures in the past years in this region. In the Northern Russian town of Verkhoyansk the temperature reached 100.4 degrees in the summer of 2020.

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