I have lived in Russia. Siberia, while definitely frozen, is not a wasteland. Some of it is unlivable, but it’s really more like Alaska. It’s an incredibly *beautiful place, and some humans and lots of non-human animals call it their home:
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/siberia-in-summer.html
Because of the myth that it’s a wasteland, people and corporations have felt no problem dumping all sorts of shit into it - hey, it’s a wasteland and no one lives there, so it won’t have any effect and doesn’t matter, right? Like instead of disposing of chemicals, old oil, etc, properly, they just dump stuff into the rivers and lake Baikal. The oil from peoples old cars has done incredible damage to the all the animal populations, human and non-human.
This anti-Semitic failure of a human doesn’t deserve it, that’s for sure.
*This is said to diminish the experiences of those sent to the work camps. It is still a very harsh and incredibly difficult climate, but once again, it is not a wasteland.