In 1734, the Dvinsk-Ob detachment of the Great Northern Expedition set out from Arkhangelsk, from which the state study of the Arctic began. It was then that it was possible to map the shores of the Arctic Ocean and for the first time explore sections of the waterway, which today we know as the Northern Sea Route.
The Arctic. Photo: Nikolai Gernet
In search of new lands and paths
The Great Northern Expedition was the first to comprehensively explore the Arctic. It was attended by such prominent pioneers as Vitus Bering, who led the entire enterprise, the Laptev brothers, Stepan Malygin, Semyon Chelyuskin. As a result, a “Map of the entire Russian Empire, the northern and eastern coasts …” appeared.
In the 19th century, the study of the polar lands made it possible to make new discoveries. Alexander Pushkin’s classmate Fyodor Matyushkin explored the coast of the Arctic Ocean from the mouth of the Kolyma River to Kolyuchinskaya Bay in Chukotka. Fyodor Litke explored the shores of the White Sea, made a map of Novaya Zemlya, discovered several new islands and described the shores of Kamchatka. Eduard Toll explored the New Siberian Islands in detail.
Irkutsk merchant and philanthropist Alexander Sibiryakov invested a lot of money in expeditions along the northern routes. It was thanks to his help that in 1878-1879 it was possible to complete the entire Northern Sea Route for the first time, although it took two years for the Vega barque by Adolf Nordenskiold.
Nowadays, this transport artery between Europe and the Far East helps to supply and service the northern and Far Eastern territories of the country. Goods are also actively transported along it — if sailing to Shanghai from St. Petersburg via the Suez Canal takes about 50 days, ships reach there in just 28 days via the Northern Sea Route.
Geographical discoveries in the Arctic continue to this day. Thus, a comprehensive expedition of the Northern Fleet and the Russian Geographical Society in 2020 confirmed the existence of five new islands with an area of 900 to 54.5 thousand m2, which appeared as a result of melting ice. They were discovered remotely — the islands were discovered on satellite images by students of the Arctic Faculty of the Admiral Makarov State University of the Marine and River Fleet.
Arctic exploration
It became clear more than a century ago that the Arctic is a real treasure trove of minerals. Back in 1912, Vladimir Rusanov went on an expedition to Svalbard on the Hercules to explore coal deposits. And in just a month and a half, he managed to stake out 28 coal deposits for Russia — they became the source of fuel for icebreakers that managed to master the Northern Sea Route in the twentieth century.
The Arctic. Photo: Nikolai Gernet
Of course, the expedition was not limited to coal alone. Along the way, the navigators conducted serious oceanographic research in the surrounding waters and collected paleontological, zoological and botanical collections — Arctic expeditions have traditionally been complex in nature.
In 1931, the Chibyu oil and gas field was discovered, and eight years later they began to produce them. At the moment, it is in the Arctic that the largest Russian gas fields are located: Urengoyskoye, whose reserves, according to experts, amount to 4.2 m3, Shtokmanovskoye — 3.9 m3, Tambeyskoye — 3.8 m3. And this land is very rich in oil — there are 1.3 billion tons of it in the Payakhskoye field alone.
There are also gold and diamonds, copper and apatite ores in the Arctic. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 95% of Russian platinoids, 76% of rare earth metals, 73% of nickel, 55% of cobalt are stored here.
Finds of mammoth and whale remains
In ancient times, the tusks of prehistoric shaggy elephants were the subject of trade: in 1770, the merchant Lyakhov received a license for their extraction, and in 1806— the merchant Syrovatsky. The expedition aimed at finding these valuables included the merchant Yakov Sannikov, who saw the land that later received his name and gave rise to the organization of a number of new expeditions.
From the point of view of paleontology, the Arctic is just as attractive as from the point of view of mineral reserves. For example, in 2015, scientists unearthed more than 30 thousand in Svalbard. the fossilized remains of the inhabitants of the ancient sea. The finds allow us to judge the rare wealth in the past — there are scales of small fish, fossils of mollusks, and bones of five-meter ichthyosaurs.
On Wilczek Island, part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, the Arctic Floating University 2025 expedition discovered a massive accumulation of prehistoric whale remains exposed by a retreating glacier. And the researchers of the 2020 integrated expedition stumbled upon the remains of a deer fossil.
Of course, the expedition participants also pay due attention to the living inhabitants of the Arctic — red Book polar bears, whales, walruses and seals. In the same year, 2020, the scientific group of the Russian Geographical Society identified a previously unknown walrus rookery on Harley Island — about 500 individuals were found there. In 2022, the “white bear” census partially took place — scientists conducted aerial monitoring using unmanned vehicles.
New expeditions are sent to the Arctic every year, and each time they bring unexpected results and impressive discoveries. Lifeless and inhospitable at first glance, the earth harbors many riches and secrets that are so interesting to reveal.
Olga Ladygina
