Reindeer in Russia Reindeer in Russia Reindeer in Russia include tundra and forest reindeer and are subspecies of "Rangifer tarandus". Tundra reindeer include the Novaya Zemlya ("R.t.pearsoni") and Lapland ("R.t. tarandus") subspecies and the Siberian tundra reindeer ("R.t. sibiricus"). The subspecies of reindeer, the Novaya Zemlya ("R.t.pearsoni"). on the islands of the Novaya Zemlya, were herded by the Nenets. Novaya Zemlya is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the North of Russia and the extreme Northeast of Europe, the easternmost point of Europe lying at Cape Flissingsky on the Northern island. The indigenous population (from 1872 to the 1950s when it was
Novaya Zemlya are still used for airfields today. The Soviet Air Force maintained a presence at Rogachevo on the southern part of the southern island, on the westernmost peninsula (). It was used primarily for interceptor aircraft operations, but also provided logistical support for the nearby nuclear test area. Novaya Zemlya was the site of one of the two major nuclear test sites managed by the USSR, used for air drops and underground testing of the largest of Soviet nuclear bombs, in particular the October 30, 1961 air burst explosion of Tsar Bomba, the largest, most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. The