One region alone - Yakutia - has 5 million tons scrap metal dumped in polar regions, an ugly Soviet legacy.

Thermometers go above zero in places where the winter should be 20 or 30 degrees colder.

Subsea permafrost thaws faster than previously thought, Russian scientists say.

World's coldest region defies its stereotype. 

Cops in the far north of Siberia 'to be issued with reindeer instead of police cars'.

Endemic to the remote island of Novaya Zemlya, it survived the Ice Age here, scientists believe, the only creature known to have done so.

Customs procedures and rules on foreigners staying in duty-free region will be relaxed in move that will bolster the economy and boost trade from 2016.

This vast region has some of the world's greatest rivers, but they could do much more to support the economic regeneration and security of the country.

Unique archeological and paleontological sites face destruction from gangs seeking to raid and sell prehistoric remains.

Over 300 years old, the 'jetons' - used in lieu of coins or for counting - were found along with artifacts hoarded by the Northern Selkups.