November 07, 2024

Vanished Land


Vanished Land
Franz Josef Land, Russia. Franz Josef Land, Russia. Wikimedia Commons.

On November 1, the Russian Geographical Society announced Russia had lost land, but not due to the war in Ukraine. An island of the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, part of Arkhangelsk Oblast, has sunk due to climate change. 

The disappearance of Mesyatsev Island was detected through satellite imagery. Students and researchers from RISKAT, an interregional project to find changes in the Earth from space under the direction of Moscow Aviation Institute associate professor Alexey Kucheiko, discovered the phenomenon.

Said Kucheiko, "In the zone of the Eva-Liv island of the archipelago of the Franz Josef Land in the Arctic, an ice formation called the Mesyatsev Island has disappeared. We have followed this [phenomenon] from 2020 to 2022. Now, the island has completely melted, which will require a correction in navigation maps."

The Mesyatsev island was formed in a peninsula of the same name as a result of a glacier melting in the Eva-Liv island before 1995. The creation of the island was detected through satellite images.

In August 2015, Mesyatsev Island had a surface area of 53 hectares (about 150 acres). By August 2024, the island had shrunk to only three hectares (about eight acres). A month later, it had completely disappeared from satellite images.

The Russian Geographical Society published on its website, " The [research] group put forward the following hypothesis: in the Arctic regions climate change leads to the melting of glaciers and rising sea levels. This causes an erosion of the coastline and, as a result, the disappearance of some landforms." The report also notes that additional research is needed to confirm the disappearance of Mesyatsev island and identify possible changes in the seabed.

According to Carbon Brief, Russia is the fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. Its oil and gas industry fuels the country's carbon emissions. Despite promises from President Vladimir Putin that the country would move towards carbon neutrality, Russia's emissions have risen in recent years

As its land melts, Russia has cracked down on climate justice activists, designating 38 organizations as "foreign agents" and banning Greenpeace.

You Might Also Like

Greenpeace Declared
  • May 21, 2023

Greenpeace Declared "Undesirable"

The Russian General Procurator announced Greenpeace has been declared an "undesirable organization," banning it in Russia.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955