Arctic Circle level, although in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of the true horizon. Only four million people live north of the Arctic Circle due to the severe climate; nonetheless, some areas have been settled for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, who today make up 10% of the region's population. Tens of thousands of years ago, waves of people migrated from eastern Siberia across the Bering Strait into North America to settle. The largest communities north of the Arctic Circle are situated in Russia, Norway and Sweden: Murmansk (population 307,257), Norilsk (175,365), Tromsø (71,295), Vorkuta (59,231) and Kiruna
Arctic policy of Russia Arctic. The Northern Sea Route is of particular importance to Russia for transportation, and the Russian Security Council is considering projects for its development. The Security Council also stated a need for increasing investment in Arctic infrastructure. Russia conducts extensive research in the Arctic region, notably the manned drifting ice stations and the Arktika 2007 expedition, which was the first to reach the seabed at the North Pole. The research is partly aimed to back up Russia's territorial claims, in particular those related to Russia's extended continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. On October 1, 1987, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev,