Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

November 6, 2025

Russia’s Great Jewish Arctic Explorer

Rudolf Samoylovich.

Exiled by the tsarist government to Siberia in 1906 for subversive activities, Rudolf Samoylovich ended up falling in love with the landscape of the Arctic Circle. The young Jew eventually became one of Russia’s foremost experts on the region and a leading polar explorer. He went on his first Arctic expedition in 1912, and in 1928 participated in a daring rescue operation. Henry Abramson tells his story. (Video, 5 minutes.)

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