An ecological expedition that comprises members of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS), volunteers and reporters of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency has set off to the Gogland and Bolshoi Tyuters islands in the Gulf of Finland, RIA Novosti reported.

The expedition consists of two groups of more than 60 persons each, among them defense officials, civilian instructors and medics.

"Our main task is to clean the islands from waste that has piled up there for decades. The previous expeditions had other things to do: scientific research and the removal of unique military hardware. There is still much work ahead, enough to keep everyone busy," Artyom Khutorskoi, head of the Gogland expedition, told RIA Novosti.

The expedition will be carried out in two stages, during which the RGS volunteers will give the islands their first ever ecological cleanup. Each stage will take two weeks.

"There is a separate task for the RGS search team. It is necessary to fully explore Bolshoi Tyuters Island in search of any other types of military hardware," Artyom Khutorskoi said.