The Mona Islands or Mohn Islands (russian: Острова Мона) is a group of a few scattered small islands covered with tundra vegetation. They are located in the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...

, about 30 km north of the western coast of the

Taymyr Peninsula The Taymyr Peninsula (russian: Таймырский полуостров, Taymyrsky poluostrov) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. Administrat ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Etymology

The Mona Islands were named by Fridtjof Nansen after Henrik Mohn, a Norwegian meteorologist. Mohn worked out and published the meteorological observations of various polar expeditions, including those of Nansen in the "Fram" (1893-6). "Mona" is a genitive case in Russian, meaning "(islands) of Mon" and this name has stuck, especially since the Germans used ("Mona Inseln"), based on the Russian version of the name, during their campaigns in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Since then "Mona Islands" has become popular and its use has been widespread in this manner for many decades and in many modern maps and atlases.

Islands

Kravkov Island Kravkov Island (Остров Кравкова) is one of the biggest islands, but it is still only about 3 km square. Named in 1933 after Soviet hydrographer Sergey Nikolaievich Kravkov (1894-1942). Gerkules Island Small Gerkules Island (Остров Геркулес), located in the middle of the group, is named after lost explorer

Vladimir Rusanov Vladimir Alexandrovich Rusanov (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Руса́нов; – ca. 1913) was a Russian geologist and Arctic explorer. Early life Rusanov was born in a merchant's family in Oryol, Russia. His early ...

's ship. Ringnes Island Ringnes Island (Остров Рингнес) located at the western end of the group, was named after the Norwegian Ringnes brewery that financed

Otto Sverdrup Otto Neumann Knoph Sverdrup (31 October 1854, in Bindal, Helgeland – 26 November 1930) was a Norwegian sailor and Arctic explorer. Early and personal life He was born in Bindal as a son of farmer Ulrik Frederik Suhm Sverdrup (1833–1914) ...

's Arctic expeditions. Other islands Other islands are called Granitnyy (Остров Гранитный) and Krainiy (Остров Крайний).

Geography

This island group belongs to the

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Si ...

administrative division of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The sea surrounding the Mona Islands is covered with pack ice in the winter, which is long and bitter. There are numerous ice floes even in the summer.

History

n scholars deem that

and his ill-fated party disappeared somewhere around the area of the Mona Islands. Relics were found in 1934 in Gerkules Island, including a wooden pole with the inscription "Gerkules 1913", broken old sledges and a fragment of a cartridge box.
/ref> Other remainders were found in Popova Chukchina, an island of another group not far away ( Kolosovykh Islands) during and expedition organized in 1937 by the Arctic Institute of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

there was much activity near these lonely islands. Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser '' Admiral Scheer'', under Commander Wilhelm Meendsen-Bohlken, destroyers '' Friedrich Eckoldt'', ''Erich Steinbrinck'' and '' Richard Beitzen'', entered the Kara Sea along with submarines (Captain Grau) and (Lt. Captain Timm) in August 1942, in order to destroy

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

warships. The Germans knew that many ships of the USSR fleet had sought refuge in the Kara Sea because of the protection that its icy pack provided during ten months in a year. The large-scale naval operation in order to enter the Kara Sea and destroy as many Russian vessels as possible was named

Operation Wunderland Operation Wunderland ("Wonderland") comprised a large-scale operation undertaken in summer 1942 by the German ''Kriegsmarine'' in the waters of the Northern Sea Route close to the Arctic Ocean. The Germans knew that many ships of the Soviet Nav ...

. Since May 1993 the Mona Islands are part of the

Great Arctic State Nature Reserve The Great Arctic State Nature Reserve (russian: Большой Арктический государственный природный заповедник) is a nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife san ...

, the largest nature reserve of Russia.

References

World War 2 submarine warfare near the Mona groupNature ReserveName of the island group
{{Kara Sea Islands Islands of Krasnoyarsk Krai Islands of the Kara Sea

Etymology

Islands

Geography

History

See also

References