Removing household and military litter from the Arctic will be an important part of Russia's Year of the Environment in 2017, Sergei Ivanov, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Head of the Year of the Environment executive committee, said during a visit to Bolshoi Tyuters Island in the Gulf of Finland, RIA Novosti reported.

"The Arctic cleanup is a separate point in the program of the Year of the Environment, so the necessary funds will be allocated. This region influences the global climate. We should also solve the problem of Lake Baikal's water purification. The program's budget is billions of rubles," Ivanov said.

During a meeting held on the outer islands in the Gulf of Finland with volunteers from an environmental watch, Ivanov also promised that a cleanup would also be conducted on these islands, but not through budget resources but funding from Russian Geographical Society's grants and sponsorship.