Russky Island (Kara Sea)

Russky Island

Native name: Ру́сский о́стров
Map of Russky Island
Location of Russky Island in the Kara Sea
Geography
Location	Kara Sea
Archipelago	Nordenskiöld Archipelago
Total islands	1
Area	309 km2 (119 sq mi)
Administration
Russia
Krai	Krasnoyarsk Krai
Demographics
Population	uninhabited

Russky Island (Russian: Ру́сский о́стров), also spelt Russkyy and Russkiy, meaning "Russian Island", is an island in the Kara Sea. It is located in the Litke Islands subgroup of the Nordenskiöld Archipelago.

With and area of 309 km², Russky is the biggest island in the whole archipelago. At a latitude of 77° 03' N, it is also the northernmost island of the group. The climate in the northernmost end of the archipelago is severe and the sea surrounding Russky Island is covered with fast ice in the winter and often obstructed by pack ice even in the Arctic summer.

Administratively Russky Island belongs to the Krasnoyarsk Krai, of the Russian Federation. It is also part of the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve, the largest nature reserve of Russia.

In 1935, during Soviet times, an Arctic station was established in Russky Island. This outpost was part of the building of a modern polar station network undertaken by the Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route (GUSMP) between 1932 and 1940. Besides taking meteorological measurements, the purpose of Russky Island's station was to monitor Arctic navigation along the Northern Sea Route. One of the route's branches coming from the Vilkitsky Strait passed right off Russky Island's NW shores. For many years this lonely Arctic station was the only permanently inhabited place in the whole Nordenskiöld Archipelago.

In 1939, the workers of the Russky Island station made the measuring of the ice layer and the height of embacles on the perpendicular to the bank section as a present to the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.