As of 2025, Russia is the only country in the world that has a nuclear icebreaker fleet. Nuclear icebreakers ensure safe navigation in the Arctic and are a key link in the work on the Northern Sea Route.

Today’s Russian universal nuclear icebreakers of Project 22220 can operate without refueling for up to 7 years, and their food supplies last for more than half a year. Even the crew changes at sea when the icebreakers meet in the ice. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

clearing paths through the ice

Tags: Murmansk city · Vladivostok city

In the mid-1950s, rich deposits of diamonds were discovered in Yakutia. The kimberlite pipe “Mir” was discovered in 1955. A new town named after it was founded near the future quarry, located about 1,100 km from Yakutsk.

Today, the town of Mirny with a population of about 34 thousand people has several large quarries and mining and processing plants for diamond mining. It is often called the capital of the diamond region or the diamond capital of Russia. Mirny on Google Maps. Photos by Stepanov Slava.

one of the largest excavated holes in the world

Tags: Sakha Republic · Yakutsk city