Novaya Zemlya

Novaya Zemlya, group of 2 large islands and several smaller ones in the Russian Federation, in the Arctic Ocean between the Barents Sea on the west and the Kara Sea on the east. Total area is 36,000 sq mi (93,600 sq km). The 2 large islands are separated by a narrow strait, the Matochkin Shar. Used as a Soviet nuclear testing site, the islands have a small native population that fishes and hunts in the southern tundra areas.