Russian Arctic islands Russian Arctic islands The Russian Arctic islands are a number of islands groups and sole islands scattered around the Arctic Ocean. The islands are all situated within the Arctic Circle and are scattered through the marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, namely, the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea. The area extends some from Karelia in the west to the Chukchi Peninsula in the east. The largest of the Arctic islands is Severny Island, with an area of about . It is Russia's second largest island next to Sakhalin Island, and the
Beaufort-Spontin Beaufort-Spontin Beaufort-Spontin is a noble family which held prominent posts under the Holy Roman Emperors in the Austrian Netherlands, their family seat having originally been in Namur. A notable member of the family was Frederic August Alexander of Beaufort-Spontin, who became the first Duke of Beaufort-Spontin in 1782. Cadets bear the title of Count or Countess. The members of this family now reside in Austria, but their origins are in territories in what is today Belgium. The family is descended from the Counts of Beaufort, who held land near Huy in the early 11th century. The original family split into