On the day the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia had more native peoples, more cities, and more nuclear weapons and military bases north of the Arctic circle than the rest of the world combined. Now, with the help of an emerging human rights and environmental movement in Russia, the story is coming to light. As hundreds of thousands of Russians evacuate the north, leaving behind a legacy of environmental destruction and nuclear waste, the story of the Soviet dream of conquering the Arctic-and its cost-can be told.