Our investigation reveals how heavy machinery in the Russian Arctic harms ecosystems, the climate, and Indigenous communities. In the Russian Arctic, the heavy tracked all-terrain vehicle—hauling cargo across snowy wastelands and summer swamps—has become a symbol of human conquest over the tundra. In eight Arctic regions of Russia, the investigative project Arctida has documented dozens of large-scale cases where tundra vegetation has been destroyed by the movement of heavy transport.

We tell you how heavy equipment in the Russian Arctic affects the ecosystem, climate and indigenous people in our research. The heavy tracked all-terrain vehicle, delivering cargo across snowy terrain and summer swamps, has become a symbol of the conquest of the tundra. In eight Arctic regions of the country, Arctida discovered dozens of cases of large-scale destruction of vegetation in the tundra due to the movement of heavy vehicles.