Swimming 1km, in the middle of the winter, in Siberia, at water temperature of zero Celsius and air temperature below -30C.

An extraordinary adventure, blessed by the Queen of England and the Tsarina of Russia.

Satellites show giant hole ringed by 20 'baby craters'.

As Western children salute Santa's Rudolph, here in the Sakha Republic the antlered animals are in peril from ravenous predators.

A daily bucket of icy water poured over the head 'helps block winter illnesses, and makes children optimistic'.

Trackers mark footprints with GPS technology as 2,000 people scour the forests in first count of rare big cat in 10 years.

We join photographer Kisoon Choi on a journey of discovery across Yakutia and the Far East and celebrate the unique landscapes, cities and peoples.

The celebrity emerged with a new fur coat, saying: 'My friends said I was mad when they learned I was going to Siberia'.