The RussiaDiscovery Founder’s Journey to the Top of the Planet

A Nuclear-Powered Home for Two Weeks

Travelers journey from Murmansk to the North Pole aboard the nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy (“50 Years of Victory”). The vessel holds a milestone achievement: in 2013, when it reached the Pole for the first time, it became the 100th surface ship ever to arrive at the northernmost point on the planet.

Later that same year, just a few months afterward, the icebreaker took part in the Olympic torch relay and set several records:

• The Olympic flame reached the North Pole for the first time aboard the ship.
• The icebreaker reached the Pole for the first time during the polar night.
• 50 Let Pobedy completed the journey from Murmansk to the North Pole in a record time for icebreakers — 91 hours and 12 minutes.

The icebreaker’s main mission is to escort convoys of ships through the Arctic Ocean. 50 Let Pobedy is a massive vessel — 30 meters wide, 160 meters long, and powered by 75,000 horsepower. It can break through ice up to three meters thick while maintaining a solid speed of about 15–20 knots.

“Watching the icebreaker gently, almost playfully, bite into the thick ice is an indescribable feeling,” Vadim says. At those moments, a slight vibration may run through the ship, and when the ice finally breaks, the bow dips forward slightly but noticeably — these are probably the only signs of “motion” guests might feel on board.

Why People Travel

Imagine your travel expectations as a pyramid. The lowest, foundational level — much like in Maslow’s hierarchy — is basic needs: beautiful landscapes, great food, and some form of exotic experience. The next level is about people, communication, and the tangible or intangible value we gain through interaction and networking.

The top of a traveler’s pyramid is hidden from an outside observer. It’s the personal transformations we experience during this travel pilgrimage.

Endless Ice Wilderness and Stories That Warm the Soul

The journey to the North Pole takes about three days. Throughout this time, travelers are surrounded by white silence as far as the eye can see, while the weather keeps offering surprises.

“We witnessed a very rare atmospheric phenomenon — a white rainbow, also known as an Arctic rainbow. It appears when the water particles that light passes through are extremely small. Visually, it’s somewhat similar to a halo, although these phenomena have completely different origins,” Vadim says.

Even though these latitudes don’t offer a wide variety of landscapes, you won’t be bored — the days are full of activities. Guests can visit the captain’s bridge and the engine room, land on the ice, and take helicopter flights.

Leisure time is filled with talks by outstanding speakers, who share stories about the exploration of the North Pole and broaden horizons with insights into the region’s wildlife, plant life, geology, and glaciology.

For example, Vadim Mamontov was joined on board by astronaut Sergey Ryazansky, who has completed two expeditions to the ISS, spent 305 days in space, including 27 hours on spacewalks. Today, Ryazansky is a motivational speaker who talks about the physiology of success and space stress management.

There is indeed a lot of stress in space. During training, future astronauts undergo a test in which they are not allowed to sleep for 72 hours. This is how specialists assess how well a person functions under extreme fatigue. The cerebral cortex tires quickly, and a person may start experiencing hallucinations or become aggressive.

Ryazansky explained that the brain can be helped to stay connected to reality by focusing on a simple action. For example, he passed the test by throwing a tennis ball against a wall during breaks between tasks.

Travelers also found Fyodor Romanenko’s lectures especially memorable. He spoke about journeys and adventures, drawing parallels and showing connections between different places, countries, historical eras, and people. From him, guests learned how the USSR, Italy, and the United Kingdom collaborated on filming The Red Tent.

It also turned out that Yuri Vizbor wrote one of the film’s most heartfelt and touching songs, “Para-ponzi,” based on the tune of a playful Italian song. There is also another Russian-language version of the lyrics written by Vizbor — a more humorous and slightly frivolous parody.

Romanenko also spoke about the history of reaching the North Pole. History preserved an injustice — Robert Peary is considered the discoverer, although his personal diaries later suggested he had not actually reached the exact pole. Albert Cook, who reached the pole and did so a year earlier than his rival, remained in public memory as a fraud. As we might say today, this was largely due to strong marketing and media campaigns.

Nature and Wildlife of the North Pole

Who do you expect to meet at the North Pole? Of course, polar bears. Travelers spotted them several times. When encountering the ship, curious bears would cautiously and slowly approach. The crew managed to capture beautiful drone footage.

“On one recording, there was a funny moment when a mother bear walking across the ice suddenly stopped, and her cub, trotting behind her, couldn’t brake in time and bumped right into her,” Vadim said with a laugh.

The seemingly sparse northern nature is actually fascinating for ornithologists. In Franz Josef Land, tourists witnessed a real seabird colony. There were large numbers of razorbills and guillemots, as well as every polar traveler’s dream — the rare ivory gull.

The 50 Let Pobedy also visited Champ Island. Because of its remoteness and inaccessibility, its unique feature — comparable to the moving rocks of Death Valley and the fairy circles of Namibia — remains poorly studied and continues to spark scientific debate.

The island is covered with perfectly spherical stone balls — from coin-sized pebbles to massive boulders as large as houses. It looks as if, at the dawn of time, a cosmic tournament of billiards, bowling, and tennis took place here. In reality, scientists believe the stones’ shape is likely linked to volcanic-marine origins and geological processes that occurred when the island rose from the seabed.

“Traveling during the polar day is a special kind of pleasure and a puzzle for the brain. It’s an extraordinary feeling. You step out onto the deck at midnight, and the sun is still hanging right ahead of you,” Vadim shared.

The North Pole — Every Traveler’s Dream?

The North Pole is the marketers’ holy grail. There are countless powerful images associated with this place. Just think about it: the North Pole is the point where the whole world lies at your feet. All meridians meet there. At the North Pole, you can make the fastest circumnavigation of the globe. Wherever you look, it’s south. So — does it make you want to go?

People travel to the North Pole with very different expectations. For Vadim, the Pole itself was not the main goal — we’ll return to what mattered most a little later. He didn’t expect reaching it to feel particularly magical.

But for some travelers, the value of that exact moment was absolute. Vadim’s cabin neighbor, Khachin — a Balkar — brought a traditional national costume with him and performed a national dance next to the “North Pole, 90°” marker, asking one of the women to assist him. It was beautiful and meaningful, and definitely added value to the ritual of reaching the North Pole.

Against All Odds — Interwoven Fates in Franz Josef Land

The Franz Josef Land archipelago is one of the most remote and harshest regions of Russia. Yet these unforgiving lands have provided shelter and sustenance to many explorers on their way to the North Pole.

On the northernmost island of Franz Josef Land, Georgy Sedov died of scurvy in 1914. The surviving members of his expedition lost their way and never reached the North Pole. On their return journey, they discovered and rescued the only two survivors of Georgy Brusilov’s expedition — navigator Valerian Albanov and sailor Alexander Konrad — at Cape Flora. On another island of Franz Josef Land, Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen managed to survive for seven months.

Today, this territory is protected by the Russian Arctic National Park, whose staff restore historic expedition buildings left by early explorers. One example is Eira Lodge on Bell Island — a wooden house brought and assembled in 1881 by members of Benjamin Leigh Smith’s expedition, who traveled aboard the schooner Eira.

Inside the house, the explorers left food supplies in case their expedition failed and they were forced to overwinter on the island. A month later, the schooner was crushed by ice. However, the crew, who escaped in lifeboats, were unable to reach the shelter — their path was blocked by massive ice ridges. The survivors built a hut at Cape Flora instead. That hut has also survived and is now carefully preserved by the national park staff.

From the North Pole, with Love

“Every evening, guests would find a surprise from the organizers on their pillows — a “Bear in the North” chocolate candy. I saved all of them and brought them home for my kids — they were absolutely delighted! For them, it was a truly special gift,” Vadim shared.

And no wonder. Just as wine that crosses the equator is said to turn into refined Madeira, candies that have been to the North Pole seem to gain the flavor and aroma of adventure.