Newsletter: Great Powers Gone Astray
Perlevenner: Nord-Koras diktator Kim Jong un og forhenværende president av USA, Donald Trump. (Arktivfoto: Det hvite hus)
Dear reader. The two Arctic great powers, Russia and the US, are affecting the geopolitical situation in the entire Arctic. While the EU tightens sanctions, Russia is forging stronger ties with Asia. We also give you spectactular insight into the closing down of the mining community Svea on Svalbard and more.
The mining town Svea in the heart of the Van Mijen fjord on Svalbard no longer exists. The houses have been demolished, and the airport has been removed, as have the roads. The landscape has regressed to how it looked in the 1940s.
Editor-in-Chief Arne O. Holm met the team responsible for returning the area to nature and got some spectacular photos for our readers to enjoy.
While Svea is razed to the ground, Russia is fully committed to Svalbard and restoring Pyramiden. (Norwegian only)
In a squeeze
Read about how one of the largest nuclear submarines of the US Navy has docked in Tromsø here.
The great powers are also the topic of the Editor-in-Chief's commentary this week:
“We do not choose our neighbors. As a nation, we are at the mercy of our geographical location, also when we are pressured by two Arctic "great powers" gone astray," writes Holm.
Vladimir Putin is not being lazy.
Russian-Chinese joint projects in the Arctic was recently discussed by the countries' Arctic diplomats, and Russia has sent the first non-ice class oil tanker into the Arctic.
The EU, however, is tightening its sanctions, and Russian citizens are no longer allowed to travel into EU territory with Russian-registered cars (Norwegian only). Norwegian authorities are now considering the same thing (Norwegian only).
Other news: The health consequences of the Norwegianization of indigenous peoples will now be investigated (Norwegian only).
The Northern Norwegian fish farming company Nova Sea will resume building a new salmon slaughterhouse (Norwegian only).
Read about this and more at High North News. Stay tuned for more Svalbard reports next week, news from the fisheries industry, and, not least, the geopolitical situation in the Arctic, as well as cultural news.
Wishing you all the best for the weekend on behalf of the editorial staff,
Trine Jonassen, News Editor