In 1933, a Russian cargo ship was tasked with making a groundbreaking trip across northeast

Russia through the Arctic Ocean in hopes of establishing a permanent trade route known

as the Northeast Passage.

Like so many ships before, it got stuck in the increasingly thick winter ice and was

trapped for months at the mercy of the ocean currents below.

Then one day in February there was a deep groaning from the ship's hull and immediately

the captain yelled for everyone to abandon the ship and get onto the ice.

This is the story of the main voyage of the map, the Arctic holds deep significance for the Russian people.

Their exploration of the era dates back to 1648 when a small group of Cossacks sailed up the Bering Strait and around northeastern Russia.

This journey disproved the belief that Asia and North America were connected by land, but instead were separated by water.

And although a route across Northern Asia known as the Passage, had been theorized for some time,

this was more proof that a route by sea was potentially possible.

Crucially, this meant that there was a potential route that was much more direct from Europe

to the Pacific Ocean across the Arctic.

For several centuries afterward, the northern shores of Russia were slowly exported, and several

different countries undertook expeditions, but these were hindered by the long harsh winters and frozen water. Ships would

often get stuck in the ice and be forced to spend the winter until thawing out many months later.

Several centuries later after the Russian Revolution in 1917 and under the new leadership

of the Soviets, Russia established a series of ambitious plans

and goals nationwide. One of these goals was a focused expansion of what was named the Northern

Sea route. Siberia had since been realized to be extremely resource rich, and this route would

help facilitate the transfer of people and goods across regions and eventually across the

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