Ostrov Bolshevik (air base)

Ostrov Bolshevik (Russian: о́стров Большеви́к, pronounced [ˈostrəf bəlʲʂɨˈvʲik]) is an airfield on Bolshevik Island in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia.^[2] It is the fourth most northernmost airfield in Russia.^{[citation needed]} It was probably constructed around 1960,^[2] and is among several very large trans-polar airfields for Russia's strategic bomber force that were either abandoned during construction or served limited use.^[2]

Ostrov Bolshevik о́стров Большеви́к
IATA: none ICAO: ZC8K[1]
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	Russian Air Force
Location	Ostrov Bolshevik
Elevation AMSL	965[2] ft / 294 m
Coordinates	78°35′6″N 100°59′42″E / 78.58500°N 100.99500°E / 78.58500; 100.99500
Map
Ostrov Bolshevik Location within Russia
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 12/30[2] 10,499[2] 3,200[2]

Ostrov Bolshevik was created as one of several winter staging bases for the Soviet Union's Tupolev Tu-95 bomber fleet. At this type of facility, each fall Army engineering teams would grade the airfield and repair runway markings. During the winter the airfield would receive aircraft on its packed snow surface during periods of increased military posture, then the facility would be abandoned in the spring. The facility appears to have been closed in the 1960s or 1970s as Russia's deterrence force shifted from bombers to ICBMs.^[2]