North Pole-2 (Russian: Северный полюс-2) was the Soviet manned drifting station. It was established on April 2, 1950 and drifted for about a year between the Bering Strait and the North Pole. It was closed on April 11, 1951, after the piece of ice it was based on broke into two. The commander of the station was Mikhail Somov, who was made the Hero of the Soviet Union for his role in the expedition. North Pole-2 became the first Soviet manned drifting station after North Pole-1 launched in 1937, and established a series of polar expeditions.