Mistress of the cave

As international interest in the Arctic grows, Russia is resuming development of Franz Josef Land, its polar territory situated only 900 km from the North Pole. RT Doc takes a look at the lives of the people laying the foundations for a new town here, while living next door to a group of curious polar bears.

On the icy island of Spitsbergen in the Arctic Ocean, people are outnumbered by polar bears and snowmobiles are used rather than cars. In addition to the Norwegians who maintain nominal control of Spitsbergen, the island is home to the Russian mining community of Barentsburg, a "company town" that is run by Arktikugol, a Russian state coal mining company.

Although most people think of the Sahara as a vast, open expanse, it offers many surprises to those intrepid enough to visit. 

'My name is David. I used to be from France but now I am from the world'. Meet David and other people who travel the world in a very unusual way.

14 women on a sail boat, but this is no pleasure cruise. The Sea Dragon is taking them on a scientific expedition to the Caribbean. On a mission to explore the extent of plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean, their main focus is the proliferation of micro-plastic that poisons fish and can harm humans. They also hope to educate children about how to reduce the use of plastic.

Take a train into New Year with RTDoc. Meet the people for whom seeing into New Year on an overnight Moscow-St. Petersburg train is a tradition to mark the beginning of their love, and those for whom it's a way to leave the love troubles of the departing year behind.

“Keldysh” is Russia’s famous research vessel. She’s heading towards the Arctic Circle on a mission to collect important underwater samples. One of the scientists aboard helped draft Russia’s Arctic shelf claim, submitted to the UN. He explains the science behind it.

For one month a year, the Arctic becomes home to a floating research camp. Located on an ice floe, the “Barneo” station assists with various projects. RTD travelled to Earth’s northernmost part, in order to see to what extremes some researchers – as well as tourists – are willing to go.

Travel to the sea of Okhotsk to visit the islands where a human population of just seven live cheek by jowl with 200 bears. Meet the killer whales and brave a climate so severe that icebergs linger through the summer and September sees the first snows. 

When Valery Malkov fell off a train in -40 wearing nothing but slippers and joggers, he could only survive if he ran for miles, as fast as he could, to the nearest station. A minute's delay and he could freeze to death. In this documentary we follow his story and look into how our body adapts to extreme temperatures.

The diesel-electric ice ship Akademik Fyodorov travels to Antarctica, where two of Russia's research stations will receive enough supplies to last them until next summer as winter quickly approaches.

Often described as a mystery, Moscow reveals yet another of its secrets; beneath its ancient streets lies a little known underworld of dark catacombs, hidden passages and underground rivers. It provides a bottomless pit of adrenaline for the small army of volunteers who compete to out-do each other and be recognised as the ultimate digger.

Hoping to inspire disabled children to aim high, three men with physical disabilities take on the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. At a towering 5895 m above sea level, the Tanzanian peak is the highest mountain in Africa.

Russia's icebreakers are a reliable and indispensable addition to any trans-Arctic ocean voyage. Join RT as we team up with the crew of one of these amazing nuclear-powered vessels as it traverses the top of the world.

The Maasai tribe in Kenya proved a very welcoming host for professional traveller and photographer, Olga Michi. During her time in Africa, she stayed with them to learn about and photograph, their way of life. She later invited a few members of the tribe to go with her to snow-shrouded Moscow, a world they could never have imagined.

Artist Sergey has turned his life into one big journey. He travels around the world, paints people and they give him goods in return. He calls it a game and the mission is to survive without money. We join him on his travels and see how his enterprise is getting on.