Aika walking along a snow-covered Norilsk street with a familiar human companion
The Arctic Issue · November 2026 · No. 01

A bear called
Aika.

She belonged to the Arctic. She belonged to a family. The remarkable story of polar bear Aika and the filmmaker Yuri Ledin.

Read the story
Cover Story / Five Months in the ArcticExplore the issue ↓November 2026
From the editor

Two worlds.
One bear.

In 1974, a polar bear cub named Aika became part of Yuri Ledin's family in Norilsk. Together, they travelled into the high Arctic to make an extraordinary documentary.

What they brought home was a film. What they could not bring home was the wilderness itself.

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Aika beside a girl reading at a desk in Norilsk
Aika at home in Norilsk · An archival photograph
The Cover Story · Photographs · Film

Aika.
The bear between worlds.

A child, a cameraman and a polar bear on a lonely island. Five months, one unforgettable film, and a story about the difficult boundaries of love.

Read and explore ↗
Brian Eno — The Drop
From the archive · Music · October 2026

It began with the cover.

A personal memory of Brian Eno, John Cale and the art of discovering music by sight.

Read and listen ↗
Through Aika's world
Aika with a child at a reading desk
01 / Aika's remarkable childhood.
Aika with Veronika sitting among Arctic rocks
02 / Veronika and Aika in the Arctic.
Polar bear and cubs on Arctic snow
03 / The world of the wild bears.

Explore the photographs ← →

The Archive

More stories.

Music / Personal history

It began with the cover.

Brian Eno, John Cale and the records we first chose with our eyes.