Novaya Zemlya Test Site

Novaya Zemlya is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the north of Russia was the USSR's largest and most used Nuclear Testing Site. First designation in 1954, after Soviet Forces relocated some 50-300 Nenetses peoples from the island. Split into three zones (Zones A thru C) Chyornaya Guba being "Zone A" used from 1955 thru 1962 and again from 1972 to 1975, Matochkin Shar being "Zone B" used from 1964 to 1990 for underground testing, and lastly Sukhoy Nos being "Zone C" used from 1958 to 1961, and also the site of the infamous 50MT Tsar Bomba (world's largest nuclear device ever detonated).

In 1961 two propelled nuclear devices Vorkuta Sovetsky (nice tie in Treyarch) and Salekhard, launched into Novaya Zemlya and hitting their respective targets. This very same system was deployed to Cuba.

With the advent of the Limited Test Ban Treaty, eliminating all atmospheric testing. Reportedly the largest underground detonation ever on Novaya Zemlya was on September 12, 1973, implementing four separate devices with a combined yield of 4.2 megatons, the confined blast pressure rivaled that f natural earthquakes. The detonation provided a 6.97 reading on the Richter Scale and creating a 80,000,000 avalanche that blocked two glacial streams and created a lake1.5 miles across. Novaya Zemlya's history boasts 224 nuclear detonations, with a combined energy of 265 Megatons (of TNT).

To this day, while some of  Novaya Zemlya is once again inhabited, much still remains as a sensitive military installation, especially the Rogachevo Air Base on the Southern half of the main island, which remains active and was used a logistical support base and aircraft intercept base during the Cold War.

As of 1990, with the fall of the Soviet Union and establishment of the Russian Federation, Novaya Zemlya was the site of the last nuclear test by both the Soviet Union and Russian Federation. Since 1990 very little testing has occurred at Novaya Zemlya, the most recent being in 1998 by the Ministry for Atomic Energy, sub-critical detonation experiments utilizing Weapons Grade Plutonium.

More Information:
Novaya Zemlya Nuclear Test Site - Wikipedia