Question: Which Russian ruler and naval commander also took part in polar expeditions to study the Arctic Circle?

The Arctic policy of Russia is the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian Federation with respect to the Russian region of the Arctic.  The Russian region of the Arctic is defined in the "Russian Arctic Policy" as all Russian possessions located north of the Arctic Circle.  (About one-fifth of Russia's landmass is north of the Arctic Circle.)  Russia is one of five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean.  In 2011, out of 4 million inhabitants of the Arctic, roughly 2 million lived in arctic Russia, making it the largest arctic country by population.  However, in recent years Russia's Arctic population has been declining. <SEP> The Russian polar expedition of 1900–1902 was commissioned by the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences to study the Arctic Ocean north of New Siberian Islands and search for the legendary Sannikov Land.  It was led by the Russian geologist and Arctic explorer Baron Eduard Toll on the ship "Zarya".  Toll and his three assistants vanished in late 1902 while exploring Bennett Island.  One of the key members of the expedition was Alexander Kolchak, then a young researcher and lieutenant of the Russian Navy, and later a ruler of Russia. <SEP> Arctic ecology is the scientific study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in the arctic, the region north of the Arctic Circle (66 33’).  This is a region characterized by stressful conditions as a result of extreme cold, low precipitation, a limited growing season (50–90 days) and virtually no sunlight throughout the winter.  The Arctic consists of taiga (or boreal forest) and tundra biomes, which also dominate very high elevations, even in the tropics.  Sensitive ecosystems exist throughout the Arctic region, which are being impacted dramatically by global warming.  The earliest inhabitants of the Arctic were the Neanderthals.  Since then, many indigenous populations have inhabited the region, which continues to this day.  Since the early 1900s, when Vilhjalmur Stefansson led the first major Canadian Arctic Expedition, the Arctic has been a valued area for ecological research.  In 1946, The Arctic Research Laboratory was established in Point Barrow, Alaska under the contract of the Office of Naval Research.  This launched an interest in exploring the Arctic examining animal cycles, permafrost and the interactions between indigenous peoples and the Arctic ecology.  During the Cold War, the Arctic became a place where the United States, Canada, and the Soviet Union performed significant research that has been essential to the study of climate change in recent years.  A major reason why research in the Arctic is essential for the study of climate change is because the effects of climate change will be felt more quickly and more drastically in higher latitudes of the world as above average temperatures are predicted for Northwest Canada and Alaska.  From an anthropological point of view, researchers study the native Inuit peoples of Alaska as they have become extremely accustomed to adapting to ecological and climate variability. <SEP>  During the Russian Civil War, he established an anti-communist government in Siberia—later the Provisional All-Russian Government—and was recognised as the "Supreme Ruler and Commander-in-Chief of All Russian Land and Sea Forces" by the other leaders of the White movement from 1918 to 1920.  His government was based in Omsk, in southwestern Siberia. Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak CB (Russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Колча́к , 16 November [O.S. 4 November] 1874 – 7 February 1920) was a polar explorer and commander in the Imperial Russian Navy, who fought in the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War.