It was expanded in 2016, and it covers a large and remote area of the Arctic Ocean, the northern part of Novaya Zemlya (Severny Island), and Franz Josef Land.

When Russian Arctic National Park was established on 15 June 2009, Franz Josef Land and Victoria Island were excluded.

[4] Announcing the event, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expressed his hopes that the National Park could help develop tourism in the area.

[6] By 2011 the national park had been expanded to also include Franz Josef Land in a move to better accommodate tourism in the archipelago.

[7] Russia commenced a 1.5 billion ruble, three-year clean-up project starting in 2012 to remove more than 100,000 tonnes of waste which had accumulated during the Soviet era.