Although northern Russia is one of the most inhospitable places on earth, over 200,000 people live in the city of Norilsk, which lies inside the Arctic Circle. This program explores this extraordinary city and its surrounding tundra. The area is rich in minerals and the program focuses on how its delicate ecology is affected by open cast mining, nickel smelting, and oil pipelines. The region can only be reached by air or through a nearby port. The program visits in midwinter and observes as an icebreaker clears a channel. The program also travels into the arctic wilderness to meet the nomadic native peoples and experience their way of life and to understand the impact that the industrialization of the area has had on them. (20 minutes)