What Is That?

There's a mysterious black rectangle (thanks to Rocketboom) about the size of downtown D.C. in satellite photos of Siberia, more specifically in Chukotka, an autonomous collective - I mean, district - in Russia. Dude, seriously, even Area 51 shows up on satellite maps. Note that this district is also the home of a research facility on climate change. Hurricane Season 2005... fluke or conspiracy?

The tourism site for this place says "This frontier is a land of permanently frozen ground, unfailing arctic winds, and ferocious blizzards, its inhospitable coastal cliffs washed by freezing seas." And these are the positive aspects.