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- Franz Josef Land, an uninhabited archipelago located in the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea and Kara Sea, may have been discovered by the 1865 expedition of the Norwegian sealing vessel Spidsbergen captained by Nils Fredrik Rønnbeck. However, the discovery was never announced and the existence of the territory only came to public notice following the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition of 1872, which named the archipelago in honor of Franz Joseph I of Austria. Benjamin Leigh Smith led the next expedition in 1880, which continued the work of the first expeditions in investigating the southern and central parts of the archipelago. Concurrent expeditions followed in 1896, Nansen's Fram expedition and the Jackson–Harmsworth Expedition, which met by accident. These two journeys explored the northern area and the flanks of Franz Josef Land. The next series of expeditions used the archipelago as a base for attempts to reach the North Pole. The first, carried out by Walter Wellman in 1898, was followed the next year by the voyage of the Stella Polare then from 1901 to 1905 the Ziegler Polar Expedition took place. Although often poorly organized and unsuccessful at reaching their ultimate goal, these expeditions further explored the islands. Russian expeditions, starting with the icebreaker Yrmark in 1901, began visiting the area and conducted increasing amounts of scientific research alongside their exploration activities. Russia claimed sovereignty over the archipelago in 1914, and the Soviet Union formally annexed the islands on 15 April 1926, making it part of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Norway and Italy protested, and Norwegian sealers continued to operate in the surrounding waters for several years. A 1929 Norwegian attempt to establish a base failed. The 1930 Bratvaag Expedition was the last Western European presence on the islands until 1990, except for an undetected German weather station on Alexandra Land during World War II. From 1932 the Soviet Union operated weather stations at Tikhaya Bay, Hooker Island and on Rudolf Island. The 1930s also saw the development of complete topographical maps with the islands used as launching points for drifting ice stations. During the Cold War the islands became strategically important and aerodromes were constructed at Nagurskoye and Heiss Island. The Ernst Krenkel Observatory was established in 1957. From 1991 foreign scientists were again welcome to the islands, which were declared a nature reserve in 1994. Tourism commenced and the archipelago became part of the Russian Arctic National Park in 2011. (en)
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- Franz Josef Land, an uninhabited archipelago located in the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea and Kara Sea, may have been discovered by the 1865 expedition of the Norwegian sealing vessel Spidsbergen captained by Nils Fredrik Rønnbeck. However, the discovery was never announced and the existence of the territory only came to public notice following the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition of 1872, which named the archipelago in honor of Franz Joseph I of Austria. Benjamin Leigh Smith led the next expedition in 1880, which continued the work of the first expeditions in investigating the southern and central parts of the archipelago. Concurrent expeditions followed in 1896, Nansen's Fram expedition and the Jackson–Harmsworth Expedition, which met by accident. These two journeys explored the northe (en)
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