After a stuttering beginning (more on this later) the Sochi torch arrived at the North Pole for the first time on 20 October. It was carried on a nuclear-powered ice-breaker whose name in English is 50 Years of Victory, arriving in a world record time from Murmansk.
Upon arriving at the top of the world the torch was taken to the magnetic pole by Artur Chilingarov – a Russian Polar explorer.