A work of refreshing originality & vivid appeal, Red Arctic tells the story of Stalinist Russia`s massive campaign to explore & develop its Northern territories during the 1930s. Author John Mc Cannon recounts the dramatic stories of the polar expeditions-conducted by foot, ship, & plane-that were the pride of Stalinist Russia, in order to expose the reality behind them: chaotic blunders, bureaucratic competition, & the eventual rise of the Gulag as the dominant force in the North. Red Arctic also traces the development of the polar-based popular culture of the decade, making use of memoirs, films, radio broadcasts, children`s books, & cultural ephemera ranging from placards to postage stamps to show how Russia`s ” Arctic Myth” became an integral part of the overall socialist-realist aesthetic that animated Stalinist culture throughout the 1930s.