Polar Giants Take Over an Abandoned Arctic Outpost

When photographer Vadim Makhorov flew a drone over Kolyuchin Island in September 2025, he expected to capture the frozen beauty of Russia’s far north. Instead, he found something few people have ever seen.

A Ghost Island Becomes a Polar Bear Haven

Dozens of polar bears were wandering through the abandoned buildings of an old Soviet research base, lounging on rooftops, peering through windows, and claiming the island as their own.

The remote outpost, located off Russia’s Chukotka Peninsula, has been uninhabited by humans for decades. Once bustling with scientists, it now belongs to one of the Arctic’s most powerful predators.