Red Arctic tells the history of Stalinist Russia's massive campaign to explore and develop its Northern territories during the 1930s. McCannon tells the dramatic stories of the polar expeditions - conducted by foot, ship, and plane - which were the pride of Stalinist Russia, to expose the reality behind them: chaotic blunders, bureaucratic competition, and the eventual rise of the GULAG as the dominant force in the North. Dramatic stories of the first polar explorations, the record-breaking flights and rescues by both foot and ice-breaker. First examination of the Stalinist creation of the myth of the arctic in the face of the rise of the GULAG.