The remarkable annual Beringia dog sled race will go through some of the planet's remotest and most challenging territory in Kamchatka.
Highly prized victory comes without a shot in anger after 13 year battle in the corridors of the United Nations.
Huge area of the Sea of Okhotsk will be recognised as part of Russia's continental shelf.
Eight seamen from the sunken Amuerskaya freighter remain missing from the gold carrying freighter which sank in a storm in late October.
The Okhotsk Sea quake registered 8.3 on the Richter Scale at a depth of 600km, and prompted a tsunami warning.
The first evidence that sailors may have survived revealed with pictures of life jackets from the vessel found on a nearby island.
Relatives of the sailors lost almost six weeks ago on a gold-ore carrying freighter are begging the authorities to keep hunting for the crew.
A peaceful sunrise outing of two young brown bears caught in an enchanting video.
Major rescue operation on the island of Sakhalin went on for two days.
Three killer whales and baby 'knew we were trying to save them, and were not aggressive'.