Soviet-era outpost helps Russia keep a foothold in the Norwegian Arctic
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Pyramiden (Norway) (AFP) – With its bust of Lenin, cultural center and KGB offices, the abandoned Soviet outpost of Pyramiden may seem like a time-warped arctic oddity, but it’s beloved by Moscow as it vies for influence in the region. which is warming up.
Russia has made Arctic development a strategic priority, pinning its hopes for supremacy in the region on a fleet of giant nuclear-powered icebreakers.
The tiny former mining settlement of Pyramiden, meanwhile, is helping Moscow maintain a footprint in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, above the Arctic Circle.
Norway – a NATO member – was granted sovereignty over Svalbard under the 1920 Treaty of Paris, but all signatories, including the Soviet Union, were given equal rights to explore and exploit its mineral resources .
Russia began coal mining in Barentsburg, another settlement in the archipelago, in 1931, then in Pyramiden, where the Russian community grew to 1,200 between 1960 and 1980.
Being sent to Pyramiden was seen as valuable work for a miner, a tour guide told AFP.
On the west side of the Iron Curtain, it offered a window into Soviet power, culture and self-sufficiency, from pig farming to its 300-seat cinema, swimming pool, gymnasium and hospital.
But as the Soviet Union collapsed, as mining continued in Barentsburg, it came to a halt in Pyramiden in 1998 as its performance declined and the miners left.
‘Interesting future?’
At first glance, Pyramiden now looks like a ghost town.
No one lives there except for a handful of Russians who run a hotel and the polar bears with whom visitors risk coming face to face.
But even though the mining community is long gone, nothing has been destroyed, an AFP photographer found, and its remains offer a glimpse of the halcyon days of the Soviet era.
Buildings built to last are simply weather-beaten after decades of harsh winters.
The rails of the funicular on which the coal trailers were pulled are still visible on the pyramid-shaped mountain, which gave its name to the village.
Inside the buildings, it is as if time had stopped, the occupants having left suddenly but expected at any time.
Flasks of ore are lined up in the windows of the administrative offices, where calendars still hang on the walls, while the KGB offices have armored doors and miners’ files spread out on the tables.
The classrooms are adorned with children’s drawings and the teacher’s mug is always there.
But Yury Ugryumov, of the St Petersburg-based Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, said Pyramiden was not just a place of historical memory.
“This village is not abandoned, it has been temporarily put on hold,” he told AFP.
Russia is currently developing tourism and research in Pyramiden, attracting glaciologists, hydrologists and marine experts there for scientific work.
“There are hopes for an interesting future here,” said Ugryumov, who leads the Russian Arctic expedition to the archipelago.
© 2022 AFP