Severnaya Zemlya but currently there are no human inhabitants in Severnaya Zemlya except for the Prima Polar Station near Cape Baranov. The largest glacier in the Russian Federation, the Academy of Sciences Glacier, is located in Severnaya Zemlya. The archipelago is notable as well in connection with the ongoing multiyear Arctic sea ice decline. Until recently, ice joined the islands to Eurasia, even at its smallest extent during the late summer melt season, blocking the Northeast Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific. By the late summer of 2012, however, the permanent ice had reached a record low extent and open water
Belushya Guba area of restricted access (formally, as part of border security zone), and a special permit is needed to visit the archipelago. About northeast of Belushya Guba is the settlement of Rogachevo, the second largest in the archipelago, along with the Rogachevo airbase. Upon visiting Novaya Zemlya in 1894, Arkhangelsk Governor decided to create a new encampment. In 1896, an expedition conducted a survey of the west coast of Novaya Zemlya. The following year Belushya Guba was founded. During World War II, Belushya Guba was a focus of both German and Soviet attention. German U-boats used Belushya Bay as a resting