Alexander Theodor von Middendorff's name is closely associated with the exploration of Siberia and research on the natural history of the Russian Arctic. Yet it is surprising that, in the extensive literature in Russian and German on the environment of those regions, there are no specific analyses of Middendorff's important contribution to these areas of research. He is barely mentioned in English language studies on the history of exploration and science in Siberia and there are very few accounts of his life and work. The present paper is largely based on a number of newly discovered archival documents and contemporary literary sources and is an attempt to fill this lacuna. In this account, all dates are given according to the new style calendar.

The two gun schooners Axel Thorsen and Skjøn Walborg were launched in 1810 and initially served as patrol ships with the task of protecting merchant vessels leaving Archangel from British attacks during the Napoleonic wars. Following the peace of 1815, the Norwegian authorities interpreted Russian activities in Finnmark, northern Norway, with considerable suspicion and, in 1816, Axel Thorsen was sent north to remove the Russian settlers from the area and to demolish their buildings. In 1817 and 1818, Skjøn Walborg replaced Axel Thorsen on the same mission. The two vessels also carried out a cartographic programme in the far north. In 1831 and 1832 there was an epidemic of cholera in Archangel, and the two ships acted to prevent vessels from that port docking in northern Norway. In 1864, Axel Thorsen was engaged by Adolf Nordenskiöld on his expedition to Svalbard while Skjøn Walborg was used by Graf Walburg-Ziel and Baron von Heuglin on their expedition to Svalbard in 1870. Both vessels were heavily engaged in sealing and hunting walrus at Novaya Zemlya from 1869 until both were crushed in the ice and lost in 1872.

In November 2005, the first comprehensive survey for Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) breeding sites in the Robinson Group of islands, situated 25 to 55 km east of Australia's Mawson station (67.602°S, 62.879°E) was conducted. Breeding Adélie penguins were found on 30 of the 149 islands, with the number of nests on each island ranging from fewer than 10 to several thousand. With the exception of those islands in the southeast, nesting Adélie penguins were found throughout the Robinson Group. In this paper, the spatial coordinates and presence/absence of breeding penguins for all 149 islands are reported so that researchers may interpret the results in relation to possible future survey work. All locations reported in this paper are in decimal degrees.

The effectiveness of international environmental cooperation is a theoretical and methodological challenge that has captured the interest of scholars and students of international relations in the recent years. This article is an evaluation of international environmental cooperation in northwest Russia by applying an approach developed in the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IDGEC) research programme of the International Human Dimension Programme (IHDP). The IDGEC approach emphasises the importance of complex diagnostics of institutional environmental arrangements in terms of performance. The approach relates to the effects of international environmental cooperation in terms of sustainability, efficiency, fairness, and robustness. The article focuses on Russian and Nordic experiences of international environmental cooperation, and the assessment of performance has been done by the participants themselves. According to the results of interviews and questionnaires, the cooperation is considered institutionally effective and robust in general. However, views about the environmental effects vary. Some problems exist that are related to sustainability and fairness, but the most critical issue is the lack of domestic environmental capacity in Russia.

The Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) was established under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty to advise the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) on matters relating to protection of the Antarctic environment. After almost a decade of work, the committee has consolidated itself as a highly relevant and important component of the Antarctic Treaty system. Through a detailed analysis of meeting reports, as well as first-hand information and experience, this study describes the activities of the CEP during its first nine years of operation, provides likely explanations for some trends observed and proposes future scenarios by highlighting major challenges and opportunities. In particular, the instigation of strategic planning shows potential for launching a new era of CEP activities focused on the environmental issues requiring the greatest attention. This overview will assist readers to understand the role of the CEP as the main environmental advisor to the ATCM, and the reasons for the Antarctic Treaty parties to support the Committee's work to foster a spirit of cooperation as a prerequisite for continuing protection of the Antarctic environment.

The article addresses old ‘west-east discourses’ and how they continue to develop in the high north, and, not least, in the Norwegian petroleum debate. Adopting a discourse analytical perspective the author shows how environmental safety is used as an argument in favour of Norway producing oil in the Barents Sea at the earliest possible moment. This is only feasible if a connection is made in the public mind between Russia and the environment. These views, it is argued, stem from ideas about Russia that gained currency after the demise of the Soviet Union. While they perhaps have less to do with Russia's petroleum industry and environmental performance today, they nevertheless have a strong impact on how challenges in the high north and Arctic region are perceived. And, perhaps even more importantly, they define freedom of action and available options. In this paper all references to government departments refer to those of Norway.

Using data collected in the Gwich'in Athabascan community of Vashraii K'oo/Arctic Village, an examination of how the village has continued to develop and evolve as a native space since its initial creation in 1908, is presented. Data collected using a household survey in 2006 is compared with data that was collected in a 1999 survey in order to address and measure such issues as: the village residents’ economic standing and subsistence activities; satisfaction with the planning and governance of the village; and residents’ overall attitudes toward the degree to which their village continues to function as an ‘ethnic space’. The previous conclusion (Dinero 2005) was that these villagers have responded relatively well to globalising forces, effectively bridging the native and white worlds in a manner which allows them to live in both, yet to retain a strong sense of their identity and cultural values despite residence in a settled, post-nomadic setting. While this remains the case, one cannot overlook in the present research the sense of loss of past lifeways that has resulted from the changes brought on by new technologies, despite any positive benefits deriving therefrom. Therefore, the conclusion of this paper is the suggestion that the development of this ‘hybridised’ Alaska native is still very much in process, as these people strive to adapt to the new challenges presented by their ever-changing environment.

This note describes the history of Lönnberg House, for 42 years an important building on Bird Island, South Georgia.

The explorer F.G. Schwatka, a participant in the Franklin search is buried in Salem, Oregon. This note sets on record information concerning the headstone of his grave.

A fragment of a ski dating from the late 19th or early 20th century was found at Mys Triest [Cape Trieste] on Ostrov Champa [Champ Island] in the Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa [Franz Josef Land] archipelago in August 2006. The age and location of the ski suggest a connection with the American era of exploration of Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa (1898–1905).

The two components recovered from a sunken wreck on the bed of the Chukchi Sea in September 2006 have been identified by experts as having come from the Soviet steamer Chelyuskin. They were displayed at an exhibition that opened on 13 February 2007, and was attended by the two surviving members of the complement of Chelyuskin.

Ever since the end of the Second World War men who served on ships, both naval and merchant, which were involved in the transport of war materials to north Russia between 1941 and 1945 have sought recognition for their service with an appropriate campaign medal. They have failed to achieve this through a complicated muddle of government policy, ignorance and cold-heartedness.

Victor Aloysius Jean-Baptiste Marchesi was born in London on 25 January 1914 and was educated at St. Joseph's in Norwood before joining the Merchant Navy. He later served fifteen months as fourth mate on RRS Discovery in 1936–7. He returned to a country preparing for the possibility of war, and joined the Royal Navy as a Sub-Lieutenant specialising in hydrographic survey. While serving as First Lieutenant on HMS Franklin surveying waters off southeast England in 1943, he received a signal requesting him to report to Lieutenant Commander Jimmy Marr at the Admiralty.