294 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1944 
the Government of the U. S. S. R. nevertheless has adopted an active 
policy of effective occupation, settlement, and administration for the 
islands to the north of its mainland. Thus, a number of important 
institutions were organized, especially the All-Union Arctic Institute 
for the scientific study of the Arctic, and the Central Administration 
of the Northern Sea Route (Glavsevamorput) which exercises eco- 
nomic, administrative, and judicial supervision in the Arctic islands. 
A scientific method of exploration, annexation, and colonization is 
being pursued. In addition, some 200 Arctic scientific radio and 
meteorological stations were erected, of which about 75 are located 
on the islands. Finally, with the assistance of an elaborate state- 
owned system of icebreaker and aerial reconnaissance service, the 
difficult Northern Sea Route, which parallels the northern shores of 
the Soviet mainland, is regularly traversed by a fleet of public cargo 
vessels, the annual shipping amounting to approximately 500,000 tons 
prior to the outbreak of hostilities between Germany and the 
WS. SOR. 
In view of this active display of jurisdictional action on the part 
of the Soviet Government, no pretensions have been raised by other 
states to territory lying within the limits of the Soviet sectoral decree, 
except those entertained by Canada and Norway with respect to 
Wrangel Island and Franz Josef Land respectively. But the 
U. S. S. R. has in any case established continuous settlements on 
Wrangel Island since 1926 and has been sending annual parties to 
Franz Josef Land to supply and maintain a network of permanent 
stations established there. 
No known territory lies to the north of Alaska, and for some years 
the United States has raised no serious pretensions to any Arctic 
possessions. But considerable interest was at one time centered in 
Wrangel Island and a number of smaller islands lying to the north 
of the eastern tip of Siberia, including especially Herald, Jeannette, 
Henrietta, and Bennett Islands. To the north of Canada, the 
American Government displayed some interest in Ellesmere Island 
and at least on one occasion refrained from applying to the Canadian 
Government for licenses to fly over the Sverdrup Islands (Axel 
Heiberg, Amund Ringnes, Ellef Ringnes, and a number of surround- 
ing smaller islands), which is required under Canadian law and 
which would have acknowledged our recognition of Canadian juris- 
diction over these islands. As far as Greenland is concerned, the 
American Government always has been actively interested. Upon 
the insistence of Secretary of State William H. Seward, a valuable 
report was prepared on the island as early as the 1860’s with a view 
to possible annexation; in 1910 there was some discussion of the ces- 
sion of the island by Denmark to the United States in exchange for 
