Deep inside the Russian settlement of Barentsburg, in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard one of the most remote and ...

Relations sour between Svalbard town’s Russian and Ukrainian communities while local tourism company is accused of being ‘arm of the Russian state’ “Barentsburg welcomes you” read the white letters in ...

On a clear day, the approach to Longyearbyen Airport on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard leaves a stunning first impression. The vast expanse of glistening glaciers stretch out to the horizon, ...

In Barentsburg, in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, relics of a bygone era - a bust of Lenin, a sculpture with Cyrillic script declaring “Our goal - Communism” - bear witness to Russia’s longstanding ...

Long ReadDespite being on Norwegian territory, Barentsburg's residents are Russians and Ukrainians who have come to work here. Since the invasion of Ukraine, it has found itself at the center of a ...

Across the Arctic, governments are recalibrating priorities. Reuters has reported that Russia is investing heavily in the Northern Sea Route, aiming to turn it into a viable shipping corridor between ...

Who would visit a Russian Orthodox church in the Arctic, in a land of polar bears and endless snow? The Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic is considered part of Norway, however, under international ...

Barentsburg is a strange place. The once grand mining town sits on an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, midway between Scandinavia and the North Pole. It’s part of Norway but occupied by Russia and ...

A GIANT bust of Lenin lords it over Barentsburg, an 800-strong settlement in Svalbard. The bust and the Soviet-era murals and street signs leave no doubt that this is a Russian place. Yet Barentsburg, ...

A BUST OF Lenin glowers over the square in Barentsburg. Public signs are in Cyrillic script; murals and banners celebrate Russian scientists and artists. Russia’s tricolour flaps from buildings beside ...

That was not always the case. Spitsbergen was the northern front of the Cold War, and relations between the Russians and Norwegians on the island were chilly. Official "exchanges" took place every few ...