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

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.
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 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.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  

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