Echo of war in Ukraine reaches a remote Arctic village

Kyiv is a long way off, but tensions from the war in Ukraine are breaking the air in a remote Norwegian Arctic city where Russian and Ukrainian miners have been working side by side for decades.

In Barentsburg, in the Svalbard archipelago, remnants of the extinct Soviet Union, such as a bust of Lenin or a statue in Cyrillic with the slogan “Our Goal: communism”, testify to Russia’s long presence here.

The city’s population reached around 1,500 people in the 1980s, but declined after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now there are about 370 people. Two-thirds are Ukrainian, most from the Russian-speaking region of Donbass, and the rest are Russian.

“Of course there is the same tension and the same discussions on social networks like Facebook and Telegram, but there are no visible signs of conflict on the surface,” said Russian consul Sergei Guschin.

Its consulate is guarded by metal bars and security cameras and is richly decorated with marble, a conservatory, and bespoke tapestries.

Its splendor contrasts with the soulless atmosphere of the city.

But Guschin acknowledges that about 45 people have left Barentsburg “since the beginning of the Russian military operation” against Ukraine on February 24, which may be a sign of tensions lurking beneath the surface.

These exits are meaningful because getting out of there is not easy.

Western sanctions against Russian banks not only prevent miners from sending money home, but also make it harder to buy plane tickets.

The only airport in the region is in Longyearbyen, the archipelago’s main city, about 35 kilometers away, difficult to reach without a Visa or Mastercard and banned by the Russians under sanctions.

“Polarized” Opinions

At the entrance to Barentsburg, a coal power plant emits black smoke adding to the dreary atmosphere of the place. A 1920 treaty gave Norway sovereignty over Svarbald, but guaranteed equal access to the archipelago’s natural resources to citizens of the signatory nations.

According to the agreement, the Russian state company Arktikugol Trust has been operating the Barentsburg coal mine on the coast of Isfjorden since 1932.

Few people wander among the pastel-toned buildings to avoid the intense cold that still continues in May.

Residents are discreet, mostly working for a state-owned company that runs the entire city, from the mine to the shops and restaurants.

Russia imposes harsh sanctions and even jail time on anyone who “discredits” its armed forces or publishes “false information” about it.

“Yes, opinions are definitely polarized,” admits Russian tour guide and historian Natalia Maksimishina. But he adds, “What our long and difficult history in the Soviet Union has taught us is that people here know where to stand when they start talking about politics.”

Locals speak most freely in Longyearbyen, where Barentsburg can only be reached by helicopter or snowmobile in winter, and by boat in summer, due to Barentsburg’s lack of roads.

Julia Lytvynova, a 32-year-old Ukrainian tailor who used to live in Barentsburg, says the Arktikugol Foundation has surprised dissenters.

“People shut up, work and live their lives as if nothing happened,” he protests.

He has not been to the city since the beginning of the war. However, he asked a friend to hang an anti-war poster for him on the door of the Russian consulate.

The banner, written on a blue and yellow background, read “Russian warship, fuck off” and copied the famous phrase of a Ukrainian soldier at the beginning of the war, in the Black Sea, when his enemy demanded surrender. .

The woman says it only takes five minutes.

Norwegian Arild Olsen, mayor of Longyearbyen, said that in his 22 years in Svalbard he had “never seen conflicts” between 2,500 residents of 50 nationalities, including a hundred Russians and Ukrainians. “There are tensions in the environment,” he admits.

In response to the raid, most tour operators in Longyearbyen stopped sending their visitors to Barentsburg, depriving the state-owned company of a significant revenue stream.

Julia Lytvynova is happy with the boycott “because this money supports the Russian occupation.”