Norway does not let almost any Russian citizens into its territory. But the Svalbard archipelago has become a safe haven for people who don't like today's Russia. How do they live there? DV report.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several hundred thousand people have left Russia. Many of them went to Central Asia and the South Caucasus, and some - to Europe and the USA. But there are also those who have settled in the Far North, on the Svalbard archipelago. The climate there is harsh, the soil is permafrost, but the region has one big advantage - Russian citizens do not need a visa. Deutsche Welle met Russians who live in the town of Longyearbyen, also called Longyear. Here are their stories.
New home
Ivan was born in Kazan, and since the spring of 2022 he lives in Longyearbyen, the capital of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, where he now works in the field of logistics. Although the climatic conditions in the Arctic are extreme (Svalbard is located at the 78th parallel), Ivan likes the place.
"I came here with my girlfriend a month after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. When she started I felt very bad. I have never been in such an emotional state before. On the first day of the war (February 24, 2022 – bel. ed.) I read the news and my mother and I said to each other that this is the collapse of everything. Before that it was possible to live in Russia, but after that February everything collapsed”, says Ivan.
Then he quickly found a job in Longyearbyen, gathered all the documents and went with his girlfriend to Murmansk, and from there – crossed into Norway. “When we crossed the border, it was as if a stone fell from my heart, I felt very relieved. Here on Svalbard, I have many Ukrainian friends. When it came to the war, at first I didn't know how to communicate with them, it was hard for me, but they understand everything... I think many Russians felt the same way when this all started.“
"I wanted to leave Russia for a long time"
Moving to Svalbard in the spring of 2022 was relatively easy for Ivan because he had previously lived and worked on the archipelago – in the second largest settlement after Longyear - Barentsburg. Although the islands belong to Norway, Barentsburg is a Russian mining settlement. According to the Svalbard Treaty of 1920, Russia has the right to conduct economic activities on the islands. For nearly 100 years, the state trust “Arktikugol“ mining there.
"To be honest, I wanted to leave Russia for a long time. "I didn't set it as a goal, but things happened somehow by accident," says Ivan for DV. Thanks to the Svalbard treaty, Ivan did not need a visa or work permit to move to the archipelago. Any foreigner can live and work on Svalbard and in particular in the Norwegian settlement of Longyearbyen. You only need to have a contract for work and housing.
Barentsburg – a little Russia in Norway
There are less than a hundred Russians in Longyearbyen, a town of 2,000. Some of them emigrated from Barentsburg before February 2022, others after the start of the war in Ukraine. Most of them are critical of the Kremlin's policy. There is also a monument to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Longyearbyen. There are always fresh flowers there.
"This is an expression of sympathy, because we are far away, we are at the end of the world, and it is important for us to be with all those who are grieving, to express their sadness in some way,", says the Russian Maria. She is from North Ossetia and in Russia she worked as a flight attendant at "Aeroflot" and was an employee of "Yandex". "I left Russia on February 25, 2022 – that is, only one day after the start of the war. I was standing at the airport and I was just happy to be leaving. That was my first thought, my first emotion. And then inevitably you look around and say to yourself: "Where am I really? How will I live in the future?".
At first, Maria settled in Barentsburg, but after only a few months in the Russian mining village, problems began: Russian coal fell under the scope of Western sanctions, and the company "Arktikugol" was expelled from the Svalbard Tour Operators Association and foreign tourists in Longyearbyen stopped visiting Barentsburg.
Then Maria realized that this was the same Russia she had left, only in a reduced form. "If you don't agree and you don't like all these state institutions, because in Barentsburg you work for a state-owned Russian company - after all, you find the same bureaucracy as in Russia. Over time, you understand that they follow the same Russian policy in Barentsburg. So I didn't feel good about staying there, earning money and not knowing where it would go. Barentsburg and Longyearbyen are 50 kilometers apart, but life in the two places is completely different. It's very strange. You are in Norway again, but somehow also in Russia. "It's very, very different," says the woman.
"I can't go back"
Maria has no concrete plans for the coming years, but she is increasingly convinced that she should stay in Norway. “I have read many stories about emigrants who drop everything and return to Russia. But I can't go back. I left a country where they had not yet started to write that symbol “Z“ on every corner. I don't want to see it. When I talk to people back home, I realize I won't be back anytime soon. I have no intention of doing that."
Norway's Longyearbyen has become a safe haven for those unwilling or unable to return to their homeland. And that's why they stay on the distant and frosty Svalbard.