Novaya Zemlya - History

History

The Russians knew of Novaya Zemlya from the 11th century, when hunters from Novgorod visited the area. For western Europeans, the search for the Northern Sea Route in the 16th century led to its exploration. The first visit from a west European was by Hugh Willoughby in 1553, and he met Russian ships from the already established hunting trade. Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz reached the west coast of Novaya Zemlya in 1594, and in a subsequent expedition of 1596 rounded the northern point and wintered on the northeast coast. (Barentsz died during the expedition, and may have been buried on the northern island.) During a later voyage by Fyodor Litke in 1821–1824, the west coast was mapped. Henry Hudson was another explorer who passed through Novaya Zemlya while searching for the Northeast Passage.

The island was systematically surveyed by Pyotr Pakhtusov and Avgust Tsivolko in the early 1830s. The first permanent settlement was established in 1870 at Malye Karmakuly, which served as capital of Novaya Zemlya until 1924. Later the administrative center was transferred to Belushya Guba, in 1935 to Lagernoe, but then returned to Belushya Guba.

Small numbers of Nenets were resettled to Novaya Zemlya in the 1870s in a bid by Russia to keep out the Norwegians. This population, then numbering 298, was removed to the mainland in 1957 before nuclear testing began.

In 1943, during World War II, Novaya Zemlya briefly served as a secret seaplane base for the German Navy, to provide German surveillance of Allied ships en route to Siberia. The seaplane base was established by U-255 and U-711, which were operating along the northern coast of Russia as part of 13th U-boat Flotilla. Seaplane sorties were flown in August and September 1943.