Franz Josef Land air bases in the Arctic. A major new base, named the "Arctic Trefoil" for its three lobed structure, was constructed at Nagurskoye. It can maintain 150 soldiers for 18 months and has an area of 14,000 square meters. In 2017, Russian president Vladimir Putin visited the archipelago to protect Russia's interests in the Arctic. The archipelago constitutes the northernmost part of Russia's Arkhangelsk Oblast, located between 79°46′ and 81°52′ north and 44°52′ and 62°25′ east. It is situated north of Novaya Zemlya and east of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Located within the Arctic Ocean, Franz Josef Land constitutes the
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