The autonomous okrug covers an area of over 737,700 square kilometers (284,800 sq mi), and is the seventh-largest federal subject in Russia, although it has a population of only 50,526.

Ecologically, Chukotka can be divided into three distinct areas: the northern Arctic desert, the central tundra, and the taiga in the south.

Large parts of Chukotka are covered with moss, lichen, and arctic plants, similar to western Alaska.

Surrounding the Gulf of Anadyr and in the river valleys grow small larch, pine, birch, poplar, and willow trees.

[citation needed] Traditionally, Chukotka was the home of the native Chukchi people, Siberian Yupiks, Koryaks, Chuvans, Evens/Lamuts, Yukaghirs, and Inuit.

[15] After the Russians conquered the Kazan and Astrakhan Khanates in the 16th century, the trade routes to the Urals, Siberia, and Central Asia opened for travel and traders and Cossacks moved eastwards.

When the wealth of Kamchatka's natural resources was discovered, the Russian government started to give the far north-eastern region more serious attention.

In 1725, Tsar Peter the Great ordered Vitus Bering to explore Kamchatka and Afanasy Shestakov to lead a military expedition to subjugate the Chukchi.

In 1731, Dmitry Pavlutsky tried again, aided by Cossacks, Yukaghirs, and Koryaks (indigenous Siberian tribes that were subjugated earlier).

Starting in 1785, an expedition led by Joseph Billings and Gavril Sarychev mapped the Chukchi Peninsula, the west coast of Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands.

Chukotka remained mostly outside the control of the Russian Empire and consequently other foreign powers (American, British, Norwegian) began to hunt and trade in the area from about 1820 onwards.

After the sale of Alaska to the United States, American whalers and traders especially extended their activities into Chukotka and foreign influence reached its peak.

Yet Russian control diminished again and around 1900, a large stream of foreigners entered Chukotka, lured to the region by the Yukon gold rush in 1898.

But in 1921, Canadian Vilhjalmur Stefansson made a serious attempt to claim it for Canada by populating it and building a small settlement.

Another contingent arrived in 1923 but a year later, the Soviets permanently conquered the island, removing the remaining inhabitants, and thereby ending all foreign influence.

Chukotka was subject to collectivization and resettlement of the indigenous people, but this process started later and was less extreme than in other parts of the Soviet Union.

Since the formation of Magadan Oblast from the northern parts of Khabarovsk Krai in 1953, Chukotka was administratively subordinated to the region.

He invested billions of rubles, including his own money, into the Chukotka economy by developing its infrastructure, schools, and housing.

In early July 2008, it was announced that President Dmitry Medvedev had accepted Abramovich's latest request to resign as governor of Chukotka, although his various charitable activities in the region would continue.

Chukotka has large reserves of oil, natural gas, coal, gold, and tungsten, which are slowly being mined, but much of the rural population survives on subsistence reindeer herding, whale hunting, and fishing.

The urban population is employed in mining, administration, construction, cultural work, education, medicine, and other occupations.

When cold enough, winter roads are constructed on the frozen rivers to connect regional settlements in a uniform network.

In 2009, replacement of the emergency bridge through Loren River on the busy local road from Lavrentiya to Lorino (40 km (25 mi)) became the main event in transport in Chukotka.

Abramovich had spent over US$1 billion in the region (partly as normal tax payments) on developing infrastructure and providing direct aid to the inhabitants[23] during his time as governor from 2000 until 2008.

[24] On 13 July 2008, the deputies of the Duma of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, during a secret ballot, unanimously approved Roman Kopin as governor, whose candidacy was submitted for consideration to the Duma of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug on 11 July 2008 by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in connection with the early resignation of Abramovich.