The northernmost land of Russia, the northernmost archipelago of Eurasia, the largest national park of the country called ‘Russian Arctic’ — Franz Josef Land is a place of mosts, where you can feel yourself a real pioneer. The most experienced yachtsmen anchor in numerous bays of the archipelago. Here everyone can make a personal achievement or discover something new. The scientists of the Russian Geographical Society enlist new caves or other interesting features of the landscape almost every year. Anyone can make a contribution — the possibilities for discovery here are endless!
To disembark, you have to use a Zodiac — there are no mooring walls. An unswerving perimeter control by an armed National Park inspector and perimeter escort for any landings are in place — polar bear encounters have become routine here.
The area is difficult to navigate, even though the Barents Sea is less icy than the neighbouring Kara Sea due to Atlantic currents. But cruising on an ice-class yacht in the optimal period from July to September is worth the efforts. A yacht will navigate its way through steep cliffs, outlet glaciers and ice tongues, while icebergs train the skipper's nervous system.
Tourists often choose the high side of the icebreaker ‘50 Let Pobedy’, which anchors in Tikhaya Bay of Hooker Island, at Cape Trieste of Champ Island or at Cape Tegetgof of Island of Gull on its way to the North Pole or back. However, this route has already become habitual and cannot give that feeling of close contact with the elements, which can be experienced in the Franz Josef Land archipelago (FJL).
Long-time residents of FJL casually call the icebreaker ‘Poltinnik’ ('a fifty'). The archipelago consists of more than 190 islands, though sources still argue whether to include 191 or 196 islands in the FJL — the dynamics of natural changes constantly makes corrections. The average amount of ice covered water area also vary, with 45% in September being the most suitable for navigation.
Even in summer the water surface temperature here is about -2 °C. And in August the air temp may rise up to +1.5 °C, but in the end of the month a permanent snow cover is usually formed to remain for the next 300 days.
The northern cluster of the national park (the southern cluster is located on Novaya Zemlya and deserves a separate story) includes the territory of the archipelago and the adjacent 12 nautical mile wide water area. This northern edge of the European continental shelf lies between 79°46‘ and 81°52’ north latitude and 44°52‘ and 65°25’ east longitude.
The archipelago stretches more than 370 km from west to east and almost 230 km from south to north. It is only 900 km from here to the North Pole (unreachable for a yacht, of course). The Kola Peninsula is 1200 km away. Quirks of high latitude geography: the distance between the northern cluster of the National Park and Spitsbergen is a hundred km less than between the northern and southern clusters. The distance from Novaya Zemlya to the FJL is 360 km.
The Ice Class
Yacht expedition tours to Franz Josef Land remain an exclusive offer — only four vessels of the relevant class are available for charter in Russia. Together with two schooners, this allows to welcome no more than a hundred visitors per season.
It takes two days to reach FJL by sea from Murmansk and one a half days from Novaya Zemlya. An application for permission to visit the national park is to be submitted to the park manager a month before the date of the visit, and a co-operation agreement is concluded 10 days in advance. The application specifies basic information about the vessel, the purpose and timing of the visit, the place of entry and exit. A place on the vessel must be provided for the accompanying inspector.
Under The Domes
Scale on the verge of fragmentation (and vice versa) is a characteristic feature of these places. But therein lies the scenic charm attracting travellers who choose to sail here. The British Channel and the Austrian Strait divide Franz Josef Land into three large groups of islands: Western, Central and Eastern.
Each island within Franz Josef Land has its own unique character: the western islands are rocky, the eastern islands are sandy. Most of the islands of the archipelago are quite small in size.
However, there are some large islands on which people are regularly present. Now it is the island of Alexandra Land, and before it was Graham-Bell. From time to time, expeditions have reached islands of George Land and Wilczek Land, and the graves of travellers have been preserved.
The islands of Gull, Salisbury, McClintock, Jackson and Hooker are particularly popular with tourists who explore them from a yacht. These islands are impressive in their beauty and diversity of landscapes.
The numerous straits that line the archipelago are a particular delight. The shores of wide straits such as the British Channel or the North East Channel create a feeling of comfort and cosiness. And the narrower Rhodes, Pondorf or Collinson Straits can provide an unforgettable experience.
The shores of many islands are decorated with glacier domes. That is why Franz Josef Land is considered the most glaciated part of the Russian Arctic landmass.
The most studied glacial domes are located near the Omega research station on Alexandra Land. The Kropotkin and Lunniy glaciers are regularly explored by specialists from the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences during the annual RGS expedition, and they still have surprises.
For example, a cave has formed at the base of Kropotkin's 380-metre dome, which is favoured by bears and Arctic foxes. Before entering, visitors have to make sure that they are the only guests at the moment. But it is worth entering the new cave — an amazing adding to the feeling of being one of the first visitors to the place is that there are seashells on the walls of the cave! Yes, there was once a sea here.
The high-latitude hydrocosm is generally reminiscent of tropical abundance. Underwater drones in our expeditions are equipped with cameras and invariably show underwater wealth, not inferior to the coral reef.
In 2024, the Russian Geographical Society is preparing to open a scientific laboratory at the year-round Omega station. It is already the centre of life on Franz Josef Land and will only grow. The base is located on a flat low-lying terrace of an ancient marine accumulative plain, and shallow lakes form around the base in summer.
Omega will become not just a laboratory, but a real centre of research and discovery. And what is most interesting is that RGS invites volunteers to work there. On expeditions, they perform work that does not require special training, but is important for data collection. Imagine: you are going on a fascinating journey to the most remote corners of the Arctic, where incredible discoveries and adventures await you. You will explore ancient glaciers, observe sea creatures, and perhaps even find traces of ancient civilisations. And you can also feel like a real polar explorer, living in harsh conditions and overcoming difficulties together with a team of like-minded people. It will be an unforgettable adventure full of discoveries and new impressions! Don't miss your chance to be a part of this unique project and contribute to the study of one of the most mysterious places of our planet.
Human capital
According to my observations, people go to the Arctic to reset their previous life experience, to reboot and open up a new, purely white sheet of life, like northern snow. It would seem that this transformation should take place in solitude and silence. But no. Often it is meetings with remarkable people that become the main discovery of Arctic wanderers. A conversation, a look, a gesture become the catalyst that triggers a change of life scenarios. But why only meetings with people? The animals of the ‘Big Arctic Five’ (from bear to seal, from beluga whale to narwhal) are just as capable of astonishing even those who have forgotten how to be surprised.
Franz Josef Land's (FJL) has always been lucky to have a 1st grade human capital. To get to know these powerful stories, you need to be on the ground.
How about the old polar weather station Nagurskaya? In contrast to the super-modern military ‘Trefoil’ it brings one question to mind: how could great science be done in such spartan conditions? Or the interaction with seismologists of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences — the station is part of the global monitoring network and records the movement of the Earth's crust. It is here, and in the past FJL was shaking decently — palaeoseismologists in our expedition recorded ancient earthquakes up to 5 and more points.
Behind every polar explorer there is a unique story, and even more so for a national park employee. A state inspector sits on a yacht and becomes a part of the crew for the whole period of his stay in the Russian Arctic.
It is a pleasure to make a route. About 30 most interesting landing points are divided into three categories: historical (places of base camps of past expeditions), natural and historical-natural sights. Each point is accompanied by a brief summary and an indication of the anchorage.
Among the places that you should not miss if you are on Alexandra Land in summer, it is worth mentioning a trip to Melikhov Cape, Strelka, Nagursky Cape, Nimrod. Whale bones in the centre of the island, a stone tree, an abandoned German station... The natural and the man-made merge on the FJL into one Arctic ensemble, playing, it seems, a rock — that is fateful, fated. Human joined it a century and a half ago, so every voice is still heard and important here.
