On March 15, 2010, at their first enlarged meeting, the board of trustees of the Russian Geographical Society resolved to give a grant worth one million roubles to the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the Russian Academy of Sciences for the implementation of its programme to study the polar bear in the Russian Arctic. Modern satellite telemetric devices will be used to study the polar bears.

Under the programme, scientists plan to gather information about polar bear migrations and the boundaries of their geographical range, obtain more details about the structure of the polar bear populations and also to analyse the changes in the animals' habitat caused by global climate changes. Satellite tracking will help identify the boundaries of their habitats and also the areas and factors posing the greatest threat to polar bears. Tagging will provide information about which areas are of vital importance for polar bear survival and require special protection.

Today, satellite transmitters are used to study polar bears. All Arctic countries, including the United States, Canada, Denmark/Greenland and Norway, use satellite telemetry to track polar bears. Russia is in the nascent stage of developing such projects on its own.