On August 7, 1913, the Russian national flag was raised on General Vilkitsky Island, known as the Land of Emperor Nicholas II.

On September 16, 2020, solemn events took place in St. Petersburg dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the completion of the Hydrographic Expedition of the Northern Arctic Ocean. This expedition, known as GESLO, was conducted on icebreaker steamships "Taimyr" and "Vaigach" in 1910 and 1915. Since 1913, it was led by Boris Andreyevich Vilkitsky. Under his leadership, in 1913, the expedition made the last great geographical discovery in history, uncovering an Arctic archipelago of about 37,000 square kilometers, which was named the Land of Emperor Nicholas II, now known as Severnaya Zemlya. The icebreakers "Taimyr" and "Vaigach" arrived in Arkhangelsk on September 16, 1915, having crossed the Northern Sea Route under the Russian flag for the first time, traveling from East to West.

The events were organized by an initiative group that brought together relatives of B.A. Vilkitsky, public organizations, and representatives of the creative and scientific intelligentsia interested in preserving the memory of the heroic exploration of the Russian Arctic.