Who owns the Spitsbergen archipelago? Spitsbergen is a territory of strategic importance Spitsbergen Norway

The island of Spitsbergen remains for most Russians a kind of “terra incognita” - an unexplored land. Some people even find it difficult to answer the question about the nationality of this territory. Most people only know that Spitsbergen is located somewhere far in the north, beyond the Arctic Circle, and the Russian Federation has some kind of right to it.

Is it worth comparing this island with the Kuril Islands? We will clarify this issue below. Despite its location “almost at the North Pole,” travel to Spitsbergen is quite popular. We will tell you in this article about when to go to the polar piece of land, where to stay and what to see.

Where is the island of Spitsbergen

Let's start with a small correction. The fact is that the definition of “island” in relation to Spitsbergen will be incorrect. This is an archipelago. It lies only an hour and a half flight from the North Pole. Therefore, the typical landscape is an endless snowy desert, permafrost, polar bears.

The archipelago, with a total area of ​​sixty-one thousand square kilometers, consists of three big islands, seven small ones and a large number of very small ones. Only the largest, Western Spitsbergen (37,673 km 2), is truly inhabited. There is the only airport and the capital of the region, the city of Longyearbyen.

In addition to it, in Western Spitsbergen there are the following villages: Barentsburg, Ny-Ålesund, Grumant and Pyramid. The last two are now deserted. On other islands (North-Eastern Land, Edge, Barents, White, Kongsøya, Wilhelma, Svenskøya) no more than a dozen people live, and even then only in the summer. The population of the entire archipelago does not exceed three thousand people.

Climate

The island of Spitsbergen lies in the Arctic Ocean between 76 and 80 degrees north latitude and 10°-32° east longitude. However, this location does not mean that the archipelago is a complete Arctic desert. Thanks to the Spitsberg Current (a branch of the Gulf Stream), the sea near the coast never freezes. The climate on the archipelago is not as harsh as in other places at the same latitudes. For example, the average air temperature here in January is only 11-15 degrees below zero. In July, the thermometer rises only to +6 °C.

There are two tourist seasons here: from March to May, lovers of winter fun and those who want to experience the harsh polar winter come. They ride snowmobiles and admire the northern lights. From June to August, a completely different crowd visits the archipelago. Tourists enjoy kayaking among icebergs and watching polar bears. There are also those who consider this archipelago as a transit point on the way to conquering the North Pole.

Nature

Since Barents described seeing a huge number of whales in the local waters, many fishing vessels rushed to the shores. Soon Denmark and Great Britain began to make their claims to the islands. In the 60s of the eighteenth century, two scientific expeditions organized by M. Lomonosov visited here.

Despite the fact that the Russians did not build a single village here, some Pomors came here in the summer to fish. When there were critically few animals left on the archipelago, the islands were abandoned for a hundred years. A new surge of interest in Spitsbergen arose at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, when humanity set out to reach the North Pole. The ice-free waters and relatively mild climate of the island were used by Arctic expeditions. Spitsbergen became the main departure base.

Spitsbergen Island: who owns it?

When powerful coal deposits were discovered on the archipelago, interest in the islands lost beyond the Arctic Circle intensified again. But in 1920, the issue of state ownership of the lands was finally resolved peacefully. The so-called Spitsbergen Treaty was signed in Paris, according to which the archipelago came under the sovereignty of Norway. However, according to this agreement, all parties to the treaty (Great Britain, USA, France, Japan, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and later the USSR) retained the right to develop mineral resources.

Do you need a visa to visit the archipelago?

Theoretically, no. After all, it doesn’t matter whose island Svalbard is, citizens of all of the above signatory countries can freely visit the archipelago. However, in practice, getting to Spitsbergen directly from Russia is not so easy. Only in season they go there occasionally charter flights, and seats on planes are reserved for polar explorers or government employees. Therefore, tourists are forced to fly through Oslo (by SAS and Norwegian Airlines). And this requires a multiple-entry Schengen visa to enter Norway. You can also visit the archipelago during a luxury cruise on the ocean liner Captain Khlebnikov.

Tourism

The Norwegian authorities very quickly reoriented the economy of the archipelago in the face of a decrease in the number of whales and polar bears and falling coal prices. Now the main focus is on ecotourism. The direction is new. So far, only two thousand tourists visit the cold islands annually. Prices are also not conducive to the development of this industry. Everything is expensive here: from a hotel room (the simplest economy option will cost one hundred dollars per night) to food. However, this does not stop rich tourists. Climbing to the glaciers, sea rafting, dog sledding, collecting fossils (there are a lot of them in the archipelago) - all this is included in the mandatory program.

The islands are a duty-free trade zone. Thanks to her, the population of the archipelago lives more prosperously than the Norwegians on the continent. The island of Spitsbergen is protected from migrant workers. Work at many mines has ceased and they have been converted into museums. Only Russian miners do not stop producing coal. Although this production is unprofitable and is subsidized by the state.

Money scandal

In 1993, the Moscow Court minted a commemorative coin “Spitsbergen Island”. It showed a polar bear and a map of the archipelago. Since the money had the inscription “Russian Federation” on it, Norway perceived this as an encroachment on its territory. The diplomatic scandal was settled only when the money was withdrawn from circulation. Those left on hand are in high demand.

The Spitsbergen archipelago is located in the western part, north of the Scandinavian Peninsula and the Arctic Circle, and is the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. The islands lie west of the state border between Russia and Norway, which was finally approved only in 2010.
The archipelago consists of three large, seven small and several other groups of islands. The largest and most populated island is Western Spitsbergen.
The shores of the islands are indented by deep fjords in the west and north, and the length of the largest of them, Vijdefjord, reaches 108 km. The mountainous terrain predominates with heights of over one and a half kilometers, where high plateaus are interspersed with wide valleys.
In the north-west of the island there are a couple of extinct volcanoes and thermal springs. Half of the total area of ​​the islands is occupied by ice sheets, outlet and mountain glaciers. On all islands where there is soil and earth cover, permafrost is common.
This is a belt of Arctic marine climate, but it is less severe than at the same latitude in other places of the Arctic Ocean: the softening influence of the warm Spitsbergen Current is felt. Precipitation in the archipelago falls almost exclusively in the form of snow. Coastal waters in the west are free of ice, but in the east they are hidden by an ice shell almost all year round.
Mosses and lichens, more than 150 species of flowering plants grow on the islands, the most common being forget-me-not, polar poppy, gentian, dwarf birch and willow. Animal world typical for the Arctic natural area: polar bear, reindeer, arctic fox, walrus, seal, harp seal, beluga whale. The only exception is the musk ox, which was resettled from Greenland in 1929. Lots of nesting birds: thick-billed guillemot, Atlantic puffin, glaucous gull, fulmar, kittiwake and tundra partridge.
To protect nature on the islands, six national parks and several nature reserves.
There is accurate information that in ancient times, starting from the 11th century. Russian Pomors visited Spitsbergen, giving this land the name Grumant.
The Norwegians themselves call the archipelago Svalbard, or “icy land”. So back in the 12th century. Scandinavian sailors called something they discovered northern land, although there is no evidence that it was Spitsbergen and not the island of Jan Mayen. All that remains is to trust the authority of the famous Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930), who insisted that Svalbard is Spitsbergen.
This name was given to the islands in 1596 by the Dutch navigator Willem Barents (1550-1597), who reached one of the islands in the archipelago while on an expedition to find a northern route to Asia. Barents put the island on the map, and gave the whole land the name Spitsbergen, which is translated from Dutch means “sharp mountains”: the traveler was so impressed by the characteristic Spitsbergen peaks he saw.
It has been proven that in the middle of the 16th century. there were settlements of Pomors on Spitsbergen; today it is known about the existence of more than eighty places where they stayed on the islands.
In the XVII-XVIII centuries. a whaling base was established in Western Spitsbergen, which was subsequently abandoned.
Norway's sovereignty over the archipelago was recognized in 1920 by the so-called Spitsbergen Treaty. At this time in Russia it had not yet ended Civil War, and she did not participate in it. The USSR became a party to the treaty in 1924, and in 1935 it began developing coal deposits.
Under the terms of the treaty, the archipelago was declared a demilitarized zone.
The location of Spitsbergen has determined the growing interest in these islands from countries intending to develop oil and natural gas deposits in the future, although such work is prohibited on Spitsbergen itself for environmental protection purposes.
Living on Spitsbergen is not only difficult, but very difficult: the majority of the population are strong men, and everything necessary is delivered from the mainland.
The Svalbard archipelago is a Norwegian territory and is governed by a Norwegian governor.
There are two islands official languages- Norwegian and Russian; Russian citizens do not need a visa to visit the archipelago. You can get to Svalbard by sea only from June to November through the Norwegian port of Tromsø and the Russian port.
There are no indigenous people on Spitsbergen. The archipelago is home to citizens of Norway (mostly from the north of the country) and Russia, who are engaged in coal mining and serving tourists. Hence the peculiarity of the age and gender composition of the population: 60% are men aged 25-44 years, a few are over 66 years old.
Large deposits of high-calorie coal have been discovered on the islands - about 10 billion tons. Today, the only large mine on the archipelago is the Norwegian Sveagruva, which remains the main profitable enterprise of Spitsbergen.
Apart from Norway, only Russia mines coal in the archipelago, thus maintaining its economic presence in Svalbard. On the Russian side, coal is mined by the Arktikugol company; this production is not economically profitable and is provided by government subsidies.
The narrow Belsund Strait, connecting the main port of Longyearbyen with, is clogged with ice almost all year round, making it very difficult to transport coal to the mainland, and most often completely impossible.
Due to permafrost and lack of fertile soil, it is impossible to engage in agriculture; food is imported here from the mainland.
The islands are constantly visited by tourists and nature researchers.
"Capital" and largest locality Spitsbergen - Longyearbyen village. It was founded in 1906 by the American engineer John Longyear, who began mining coal here.
Subsequently, the village came under the control of the Norwegians.
In 1943, the village and mines were destroyed by shells from the German battleships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst, and after the war it was rebuilt. Coal mining did not bring profit, but ensured the existence of the village itself - Norway's northern outpost in the Arctic Ocean, where oil and gas exploration begins and the division of territories and waters between the countries of the Arctic basin is coming.
Mine No. 7 provides fuel for the power plant, and Longyearbyen itself makes money from tourism and servicing scientific research organizations. A big cultural event in the city is the Polar Night Blues music festival: every year it opens at the end of October, when the four-month polar night begins.
In addition to Longyearbyen, there are Russian settlements on Spitsbergen - residential Barentsburg and the mothballed Pyramid and Grumant, all on the island of Western Spitsbergen.
The village of Barentsburg was founded in 1920, it became the first permanent settlement of the USSR on Spitsbergen. The village has two dozen residential buildings and a consulate. Russian Federation, works sea ​​port with two berths - coal and cargo-passenger.
Due to a decrease in coal production caused by problems with the maintenance of mines, the village of Grumant in 1961, followed by Pyramid in 1998, was mothballed.

general information

Location: western Arctic Ocean.
Affiliation: overseas possession of the Kingdom of Norway.
Compound : large islands Western Spitsbergen, North-Eastern Land, Edge, the small islands of Barents, White, Prince Charles Land, Kongsøya (Royal Island), Bear, Svenskøya (Swedish Island), Wilhelm and groups of islets.
Administrative center: Longyearbyen - 2075 people. (2007).
Villages: Barentsburg (Russia) - 435 people. (2011), Ny-Ålesund (Norway) - 30 people. (2007), Pyramid (Russia) - 11 people. (2010).
Languages: Norwegian and Russian (official).
Ethnic composition: Norwegians - 72%, Russians - 16%, Ukrainians - 10%, others (Poles, Germans, Swedes) - 2% (2012).
Religions: Evangelical Lutheranism, Orthodoxy.
Currency unit: Norwegian krone.
Airport : international Airport Svalbard (Longyearbyen).

Numbers

Area: 61,022 km2 (Western Spitsbergen - 3919 km2).
Population: 2642 people. (2012).
Population density: 0.04 people/km 2 .
The most high point : Mount Newton (Western Spitsbergen, 1717 m).
Glaciers and glacial plateaus: 36,600 km 2 .
Total ice volume: 7.5 thousand km 3 .
Distance: 567 km north of Norway.

Climate and weather

Arctic, sea.
Average January temperature: -17°C.
Average temperature in July: +5°C.
Average sea temperature: January - 0.5°C, July - +5°C.
Average annual precipitation: at the level 200-400 mm, on glaciers 800-1200 mm.
Relates, air humidity: 70-80%.

Economy

Minerals: coal.
Industry: coal mining.
Service sector: tourism, transport, trade.

Attractions

Natural

Norwegian National parks North-West Svalbard, Indre Vijdefjord, Nordenskiöld Land, Nordre Isfjord, Sassen-Bünsow Land, Sør-Spitsbergen and Forlandet, Nordenskiöld and Brosvelbryn glaciers, Adventfjord, Longyearbyen river and valley, Nordenskiöld Land peninsula (bird colonies, Western Spitsbergen), thermal springs Trol and Jotun, waterfalls of the Esker Valley, Isoyan Ornithological Reserve.

Historical

Ruins of a whaling station and a cemetery of the 17th century, abandoned mining villages of Advent City and Jorhamn (Western Spitsbergen, early 20th century), the northernmost in the world Railway(Barentsburg).

Cultural

Svalbard Museum, Svalbard International University (1993), monument to the lost expedition of S. Andre (White, 1997), Spitsbergen Aviation Museum (2008), Museum of Pomeranian culture, flora and fauna of the Arctic (Barentsburg).

Cult

Svalbard Lutheran Church (1958), Russian Chapel Orthodox Church(Barentsburg).

Curious facts

■ The uninhabited island of Barents and the city of Barentsburg are named after Willem Barents on the Spitsbergen archipelago he discovered.
■ Historians claim that the Pomeranian name for the Spitsbergen archipelago - Grumant - is a distorted rendering of the name Greenland. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that Spitsbergen connected to Greenland in the north, which in those days was also called Gruland or Grutland.
■ Most high mountain archipelago - Newton, on the island of Western Spitsbergen - named after the great English scientist Isaac Newton, but no one knows why, and the documents are lost.
■ In 2006-2008. In the village of Longyearbyen, a Global Seed Vault was built in case of a global catastrophe. Construction was carried out under the leadership of the UN, but with funds from Norway. The storage facility is a tunnel at a depth of 120 m, in which the seeds of all agricultural plants in the world are collected. All countries have their own seed block here. A storage facility has been created for the occasion; asteroid impact, nuclear war or global warming. Designed for 4.5 million seed samples. The low temperature is maintained by artificial cryogenic installations and natural permafrost, because of which (and also because of the low tectonic activity) the choice fell on Spitsbergen.
■ In the village of Longyearbyen, a Norwegian language newspaper, Svalbardposten, is published every two weeks - the world's northernmost regular printed publication. Founded in 1948, the newspaper was initially a wall newspaper and posted in the miners' dormitories of the village. Mostly anecdotes and cartoons were published to brighten up the hard work of coal miners. Today it is a completely serious news publication. Less known is the fact that from 1948 to the 1990s. The newspaper "Polar Stoker" was published on the islands - the official publication of the coal miners' trade union and the Arktikugol trust. But since the publication of the newspaper in the territory under the jurisdiction of Norway was contrary to international laws, it was believed that it was published in Moscow.
■ Svalbard International University is the northernmost educational institution in the world and offers lectures on Arctic biology, Arctic geology and geophysics. The first seminar of the first year is devoted to learning how to shoot with a carbine: there are a lot of polar bears in Svalbard.
■ The village of Pyramid owes its name to the peculiar shape of the mountain, at the foot of which it is founded on the shores of Petunia and Mimer bays.
■ The northern part of the island of Western Spitsbergen is named Andre's Land - in honor of the Swedish engineer Salomon Andre.
In 1897, he and two companions tried to reach the North Pole at hot-air balloon and disappeared. Traces of the lost expedition were found only in 1930.
■ One of the last soldiers of the German Third Reich to surrender after the end of World War II was a team that maintained a weather station on Bear Island. In May 1945, radio contact with them was lost, and only in September 1945, when a Norwegian whaling ship approached the island, were they able to surrender.
■ In the Thousand Islands (Tusenøyane) archipelago south of Edge Island there are actually only forty of them.
■ The only bird that lives on Spitsbergen all year round is the arctic (white) partridge; all others migrate south for the winter.
■ Svalbard has a significant number of rocks with fossilized remains of plants and animals. In 2007, Norwegian paleontologists discovered the remains of a prehistoric animal on the archipelago - a 13 m long pliosaur.
■ In the 1890s. Germany made an attempt to establish itself on Bear Island. In 1899, the Russian ambassador in Berlin protested to the German government. A Russian cruiser was sent to the island. Then Germany abandoned further attempts to take possession of Bear.
■ The lack of wood on Spitsbergen forced the Pomors to bring with them old ships that were being dismantled. It is no coincidence that in almost all residential buildings the floors were lined with shipboards.

How are they 03/05/18 100 985 33

I moved to Svalbard in January 2015. Before that, I worked as a web designer in Russia for 10 years, but I dreamed of changing my field of activity, and at the same time my place of residence.

Nazilya Zemdikhanova

lives in the Arctic

The decision to move came spontaneously after a tourist trip to the Arctic. I took off without long-term plans. For the first year I worked in the Russian village of Barentsburg - it was easy to find a job there in the tourism sector without any experience. The working and living conditions in Barentsburg did not suit me, so the next year I moved to the neighboring Norwegian city of Longyearbyen, where I got a job at a hotel reception.

Before arriving, the Arctic seemed like a harsh place to me. It seemed like there was complete deprivation and discomfort. But now I think that living here is more pleasant than on the mainland.

History, coal and tourism

Spitsbergen is an archipelago between the North Pole and Europe. In Norway it is called Svalbard.

Until 1920, Spitsbergen was considered a no-man's land. In 1920, Norway received sovereignty over the archipelago, and the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and other countries received equal rights to conduct economic activities here and use Natural resources islands and territorial waters.

People went to Spitsbergen because of the coal deposits. At the beginning of the 20th century, companies of Norwegian, Russian, Swedish and American origin founded the cities of Longyearbyen, Barentsburg, Pyramiden, Grumant, Sveagruva and Ny-Ålesund. Throughout the 20th century, coal mining was the main driver of the economy here, but at the end of 2016, fuel prices fell and the focus shifted to tourism development.

Tourists go to Spitsbergen to see polar bear, northern lights and the Russian ghost town of Pyramid. There are also snowmobile safaris, dog sledding, wildlife, boat cruises, walking and ski tours.

Weather

The year is divided into three seasons: polar night, winter and summer. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the temperature in western Spitsbergen is about 20 °C higher than in other points at the same latitude. In winter it is much warmer here than, for example, in the Urals.

The polar night lasts 4 months - from the end of October to the end of February. My work contract allows me to leave for a long time during the low season, so I take a vacation for 2-3 months during the polar night and go traveling to other countries or home to Russia.

+5 °C

average temperature in Svalbard in summer

At the end of February the sun appears and the winter season begins. It lasts until mid-May. At this time it is frosty but sunny. The temperature drops to −25 °C, and even lower if the wind blows. During this time, I usually wear 1-2 layers of thermal underwear, snowmobile boots, a shapeless down jacket and windproof pants.

What we call summer here lasts from June to August. The sun appears in the sky no more often than in winter, despite the name “polar day”: sometimes fog, sometimes clouds. The wind is cold, so I still wear a hat and windproof jacket every day. In summer, the average temperature in Spitsbergen is +5 °C.

Longyearbyen city

Longyearbyen, where I now live, is the most populated city archipelago. 2200 people live here. Planes from SAS and Norwegian airlines fly here every day from Oslo and Tromso, Norway. During the high season, from March to September, up to 5-6 planes arrive per day, including charters from other European countries. A ticket costs 600-3500 CZK (4300-25 300 RUR). There is also a charter from Russia, but it flies once every two months. I always fly through Oslo.

Although the city is Norwegian, the number of foreigners increases every year. It is not customary to use the words “expat” or “emigrant” here, since everyone has the same rights. Statistics say that every year the composition of the population changes by 25%. On average, they live in Longyearbyen for 4-7 years, and then go back to the mainland. Some people come to earn money, others are interested in working experience on the archipelago.

2200

man lives in Longyearbyen

The infrastructure allows families with children of any age to live comfortably. There are two grocery stores in Longyearbyen, shopping mall, hospital, kindergarten, school, cultural center, sports complex, cinema, restaurants, bars, hotels. There is even a university center. Everywhere can be reached on foot.

Polar bears and weapons

Svalbard is unique in that people live next to polar bears. On the one hand, this is a risk for both people and bears. On the other hand, this allows the authorities to limit the independent activity of tourists on the island and earn money on organized tours.

I only saw bears here with binoculars, but when I go for a walk outside the city, I always take a gun with me or friends with guns.

Last season, bears roamed right around Longyearbyen. News about this was published on the governor’s website. The drone of a helicopter was constantly heard - this is how bears are driven away from the city. If the animal is not frightened by the pursuit of the helicopter or is aggressive, it is temporarily tranquilized and taken far north so that it does not find its way back.

I believe that there is no point in being afraid of bears and staying in the city. With friends we go on snowmobile tours, go to the mountains, and ski. Bears are not limited in their movement, so it is impossible to predict their location. According to safety regulations, I am required to carry a large-caliber weapon and (or) a signal pistol. This is the only reliable way to escape when meeting a bear.

Buying or renting weapons in Svalbard is easy. You need a certificate of no criminal record, translated into English or Norwegian and certified by the governor of Longyearbyen. Confirmation will be sent directly to the store. If you have never held a weapon in your hands, the sales consultant will tell you how to load and unload the gun, and how to shoot. Renting a Mauser 30-06 costs 190 CZK (1400 RUR) per day.

1400 R

Mauser rental costs 30−06 per day

I don't have a personal weapon. When I work as a guide and lead a tour, I take a weapon at work. You do not need a certificate for this. The rest of the time I go to the mountains or ride snowmobiles with friends who have weapons. If I go alone, I take the weapon from my partner.

RUB 144,600

The fine for killing a polar bear can be as high as

Polar bears are listed in the Red Book, and every case of attack or killing is thoroughly investigated. Self-defense is not a sufficient reason to kill an animal. If the investigation shows that a person did not take sufficient measures to avoid an encounter with a bear, and as a result killed it, a fine will be issued. The fine is up to 20,000 CZK (144,600 RUR).

Visa and registration

Residents of countries that have signed the Spitsbergen Treaty - and there are more than 50 of them - have the right to stay and work in the archipelago without a visa. Russia is one of them. But this is only on paper. In reality, you will most likely have to fly to Longyearbyen via Oslo or Tromso, which means you will also need a Schengen visa with a reserve of days to leave. Direct charter from Moscow flies once every 2 months. But even in this case, a Schengen visa is required: you need to prove that critical situation you will have the opportunity to fly on any flight, not just a direct charter in two months.

The first time I received a one-year Schengen visa was when I worked in Barentsburg. The employer company handled the registration, I just got insurance for a year and sent my passport to Moscow. I went to get the next visa myself at the office of the governor of Spitsbergen. It was necessary to submit registration, work contract, bank statement and standard documents for a Schengen visa. I took a photo, submitted documents and fingerprints in 10 minutes. Two weeks later, a one-year visa was issued. Visa fees- 35 €. The payment was debited directly from the bank account.

Registration with the tax office is required if you want to get a job, open a bank account, or register a car or snowmobile. Foreign residents are assigned a D-number - this is similar to the Norwegian identification number, but with restrictions. The D-number is associated with a bank, insurance, medical card and other social services.

It is important that registration in Svalbard does not give the right to reside in mainland Norway, regardless of the number of years lived in the archipelago. The rules apply to both Norwegian spouses and common children.

Money and banks

The local currency is Norwegian krone. In February 2018, 1 Norwegian krone = 7.23 R. In the summer on Spitsbergen, euros and dollars appear in unofficial circulation - along with passengers cruise ships. There are no currency exchange offices, but they accept it everywhere bank cards. I once saw tourists sitting with a bag of dollars and could not pay for a hotel room.

When I got a job, I received a card from the only local bank - Sparebank. The staff is friendly and ready to help resolve any issue. Is it true, credit card They refused to give it to me because I am not a Norwegian citizen. The bank has two mobile applications: online banking and one-time password generator. I use both of them all the time to pay bills, make transfers and buy goods online. Annual maintenance costs 250 CZK (1800 RUR).

1800 R

per year it costs to service the card at the local Sparebank

The commission for transferring money to a Russian bank is 50 CZK (360 R), for withdrawing cash from a third-party ATM - 30 CZK (220 R) + 0.5% of the withdrawal amount.

Work and salary

There is no centralized search for jobs in Svalbard. They look for vacancies either on company websites, or come at the invitation of acquaintances and friends from the island. Specialties requiring Norwegian education are not available to foreigners.

Longyearbyen has high competition in the tourism and restaurant and hotel business. This is due to less stringent educational requirements: enough in English and similar experience to come here to work. Guides value knowledge of additional languages, such as French or German.

900 R

per hour - minimum wage in Longyearbyen

Work is regulated by contract. The type of contract must be specified - it can be permanent or seasonal. The contract always indicates the hourly salary, the percentage of employment from a full working week, bonuses for overtime, weekends and holidays.

Minimum payment - 125 CZK (900 R) per hour. Full work week - 37.5 hours per week. Without taxes, the minimum wage for a full working month is CZK 18,750 (RUR 135,600).

Permanent contract - unlimited. He is subject to the law regarding the payment of compensation in the event of forced dismissal or illness. Five weeks a year - paid vacation. Overtime hours, holidays and weekends are paid additionally, it can be either 20 or 100% of the hourly wage.

The seasonal contract sets the terms and percentage of occupancy. A person with an 80% contract is not allowed to work beyond the established hours. For both types of contracts, the thirteenth salary is provided.

But there are other contract options. My contracts both at the hotel and as a guide are seasonal, but not limited in percentage. If I work more than 37.5 hours a week, overtime is not paid at a rate, but is recorded as a separate month. I will receive payment when I am on vacation. This is a trick that some employers use. But even in this case, I receive bonuses for evening and night hours, Sundays and holidays in accordance with the laws.

RUB 136,600

minimum salary for a full working month before taxes

Approximate salaries are:

• cook, bartender, hotel employee - 150-180 CZK per hour (1080-1300 R);
• guide, tour guide - 180-300 CZK per hour (1300-2170 R);
• officials and civil servants - 300-430 crowns per hour (2170-3100 R);
• teachers, doctors - 270-310 crowns per hour (1950-2240 R);
• civil engineer, system administrator, police officer - 300-340 CZK per hour (2170-2450 R).

Taxes

To get a job, you need to register with the tax office and receive a Norwegian identification number. When living for more than 12 months in Svalbard, a resident is required to pay a flat tax rate of 16.2%. Of this, 8% is income tax and 8.2% is insurance.

The insurance is valid from the first working day and continues for another 30 days after the last. It gives the right to sickness benefit, sick child benefit and in case of pregnancy and childbirth. Non-working spouses have the right to receive medical services through the insurance system while they live in Svalbard.

25%

VAT rate in Norway, but for residents of Svalbard it is canceled

In Norway, VAT is 25%; in Svalbard there is no VAT. I order electronics, clothes and sports equipment from Norwegian online stores. When paying, tax is usually deducted immediately. Sometimes you need to issue a tax refund after receiving a parcel, but I have never used this method.

Housing

Housing in Longyearbyen is the first thing you need to take care of if you decide to move. Tourism is developing here, the number of jobs is growing, the pace of construction of new housing does not keep pace with tourism. This led to a housing crisis. Finding at least some apartment in Longyearbyen is already a success.

47,000 R

My partner and I pay rent per month

Apartments here range from one-room studios to two-story apartments with two or three bedrooms. The cost of renting a one-room apartment starts from 6,500 CZK (47,000 RUR). A two- or three-room apartment costs 10-15 thousand crowns per month (72-108 thousand rubles). An employer will help you find an apartment, but you can search on your own. Housing for rent in the Ros & Info Longyearbyen Facebook group.

To confirm solvency, it is enough to show the landlord a work contract.

I found housing through friends. We live together with a young man in a two-room apartment and pay 6,500 crowns (47,000 R) per month. Our house is located in the industrial area of ​​Longyearbyen, so our window overlooks the mountains, the fjord and the landfill. We are in no hurry to move to the city center, since we keep a dog outside and can have a barbecue near the house. In the city, dogs are not allowed on the street.

Of the utility bills, we only pay for electricity, since we live in a house without central heating. The building does not retain heat; it is blown away by the winds. During the day the apartment manages to cool down to +8 °C. In the evenings we turn on electric radiators. With such electricity consumption, the quarterly bill is winter time is 3500-4000 crowns (25-29 thousand rubles). In summer, the apartment is warm without additional heating, so the bill is half as much.

Part of the city's housing is owned by the Longyearbyen Community Council. These apartments are not rented out; they remain idle for months, but they have a practical purpose: people are temporarily resettled here from potentially dangerous areas if there is an avalanche or mudflow. This happens 2-3 times a year.

This is such a small apartment rent on Facebook for 7500 CZK per month

Transport

The length of asphalt roads in the city and its surroundings is 40 km. As of 2017, there are 1,340 registered vehicles in Longyearbyen for 2,200 people, including workers and service vehicles.

There is a Toyota car dealership in the city, and there is also a car service center there. Repairing or maintaining a car is expensive. Sometimes it's easier to sell. For example, changing shoes to winter tires costs 2,000 CZK (14,500 RUR). For visitors there is a car rental service. A day on a Kia Sportage will cost 890 CZK (6400 RUR), on a Toyota Hilux - 1050 CZK (7600 RUR). I don't have my own car.

The second most popular vehicle is a snowmobile. According to statistics, there are 2,100 snowmobiles in the city. A used snowmobile can be bought for 5,000 CZK (36,200 RUR), or for 80,000 CZK (578,400 RUR). The price depends on the model, condition and year of manufacture. I bought my snowmobile for 13,000 crowns (94,000 RUR). During the season from February to mid-May, my mileage does not exceed 2000 km.

94,000 R

my snowmobile was worth it

With a consumption of 20 liters per 100 km and a gasoline cost of 9.02 crowns per liter, fuel costs me 3,600 crowns per year (26,000 R). For insurance I pay 160 CZK per month (1160 RUR).

From public transport in Longyearbyen there is only a bus. He is tied to the flight schedule: first he transports tourists to hotels, and then collects them. There are no other routes. For a trip lasting 5-15 minutes, an adult ticket will cost 75 CZK (540 RUR). For the same route, a taxi will charge 150 CZK (1080 RUR).

Unnecessary things

The territory of Spitsbergen is a permafrost zone, you cannot bury garbage here. Therefore, recycling is a separate issue. Covered containers are provided for household waste, and bulky waste - snowmobiles, cars, household appliances, furniture, etc. - is stored at a local landfill. It costs some money. All waste is then transported to Norway for disposal.

There are two other ways to get rid of things - through Facebook and freemarket, this is something like a flea market. Freemarket is a good way to get a starter kit for your home in Svalbard. Here dishes, books, shoes, clothes, and interior items are transferred from one owner to another. Once every two weeks I look at the free market in search of flower pots, kitchen utensils and books. At the end tourist season down jackets, sleeping bags, and snowmobile boots appear at the free market, and hotels give away beds, tables and chairs.

First of all, this is all about caring for the environment. Things find a new owner instead of ending up in a landfill.

Medicine

Longyearbyen Hospital has a limited staff of doctors: a physiotherapist, a surgeon, a dentist, an obstetrician, a pediatrician and two nurses. According to the experience of friends, doctors try not to overprescribe medications; they advise drinking more water and resting. I had to be in the hospital twice. The consultation cost 152 crowns (1100 RUR).

Medicines in a pharmacy are sold according to a doctor's prescription through a special centralized medical system. You can buy paracetamol without a prescription (43 CZK - 311 RUR), ibuprofen (54 CZK - 390 RUR) and Otrivin nasal spray (64 CZK - 463 RUR). When I go to Russia, I buy all kinds of tablets - for coughs, allergies, pain.

311 R

worth a pack of paracetamol

If someone's health really requires urgent attention from a specialist, the patient is booked on the next flight to Tromsø Hospital. Tickets, hospitalization and sick leave are paid health insurance. If the patient is in serious condition, he is evacuated by helicopter from Tromsø.

I don’t trust the local hospital and try to resolve all health issues on the mainland.

Children and education

There are both babies and teenagers in Longyearbyen, but you cannot give birth here due to possible complications. It is customary to leave for Tromso 1-2 weeks before the due date or give birth in your own country. If you go to give birth in Norway, this will not give any additional rights to either the child or the parents.

By law, 49 to 59 weeks of maternity leave are paid if the work experience is 6 out of the last 10 months. The payment is equal to the average salary for the last year. The child's father is required to take 10 weeks of maternity leave to care for the newborn.

There are two kindergartens in the city; children from one to five years old go there. The cost of a place is 2,500 CZK (18,000 R) per month. If a child aged 1 to 2 years does not attend kindergarten, parents receive a cash benefit.

18,000 R

Kindergarten costs a month for a child

School starts at age 6. Surprisingly, the concept of “staying a second year” does not exist in Norway. All students are automatically promoted to the next grade.

For children in the city, events are held in the cultural center, there are sports sections and a youth center.

Language

The official language is Norwegian, but knowing English is enough to feel comfortable. English is spoken at the governor's office, at the post office, and in the store. I usually speak English at work, Norwegian when dealing with mail and phone calls.

When I first arrived on the island, my level of English was only sufficient for limited communication in the hotel. That's why I started learning Norwegian. The structure of the language is similar to English. I still have difficulty with pronunciation, understanding everyday speech and dialects, but I can read modern literature and news without difficulty.

I don’t feel a lack of communication in Russian: Russian-speaking people work here in shops, hotels, and restaurants. Some marry Norwegian citizens, others come to earn money, and others have become attached to the local way of life.

Products and food

All food is brought to the island. Perishable milk and chilled meat are delivered by plane, the rest by bulk carrier. The assortment of the grocery store satisfies a multinational contingent: there are products from Europe, Asia, and even Mexico. There are fresh fruits and vegetables on the shelves all year round. Bread and cakes are baked in a local bakery. There is also a Thai grocery store, but I rarely go there.

Prices are high even by local standards:

• bread - 37 crowns (270 R);
• sterilized milk - 18 CZK (130 R);
• eggs, 18 pieces - 50 crowns (360 R);
• apples, 1 kg - 48 CZK (340 RUR).

About 5,000 CZK (RUR 36,200) is spent on food for two people per month.

If you're too lazy to cook, Longyearbyen has 11 establishments, including budget eateries and luxury restaurants. There are no places where only city residents go: first of all, all establishments are designed for tourists.

The first course in a restaurant costs 100-200 CZK (720-1470 RUR), the main course costs 200-400 CZK (1470-2900 RUR). Dessert will cost another 70-150 crowns (510-1080 R). A cup of cappuccino costs 35-50 CZK (250-360 R).

2150 R

worth the seal steak

On Spitsbergen, I tried whale, seal and deer meat for the first time. In the hotel restaurant where I work, deer steak is the most expensive dish on the menu: 445 CZK (3200 RUR). A seal steak costs 295 CZK (2150 RUR), a whale steak costs 265 CZK (1900 RUR). Of course, there is also fish: a trout dish - 325 CZK (2350 R), a cod dish - 345 CZK (2500 R). Frozen meat and fish are also delivered by bulk carrier from the mainland.

Beef sandwich at a local restaurant, 219 CZK (1600 RUR)

Alcohol

Alcohol in Svalbard is sold according to quotas. This is how it happened historically: during the coal industry, these measures were introduced to prevent miners from drinking themselves to death in the polar night. Just like a century ago, city residents must present an alcohol card to buy alcohol.

Per month you can buy with the card:

1. Up to 2 liters of strong alcohol or 4 liters of fortified wine.
2. Up to 0.5 liters of fortified wine.
3. 24 cans of beer.
4. Wine in reasonable quantities.

The alcohol department is a duty-free shop. There is also a monthly quota for the purchase of alcohol for tourists. To buy a bottle of wine, tourists need to show a plane ticket.

Alcohol prices are as follows:

• can of beer - 8-15 crowns (60-110 R);
• vodka “Russian Standard” 0.5 l - 85 CZK (615 R);
• wine - from 70 CZK (505 R).

A certain percentage of alcohol sales goes to the city. This money is distributed in the form of grants for socially significant and entertainment projects. For example, in 2017, 2.7 million crowns (19.5 million rubles) received from the sale of alcohol went to sporting events, school and kindergarten educational projects, the needs of the Red Cross, and so on. Information on profits and distribution of money is publicly available.

Crime

In Longyearbyen you stop fearing for your life and property. There are no homeless people or beggars in the city; all residents mostly work and have enough money to live. Cars and houses are all left open. I only lock the house and take the car keys if I'm leaving for the mainland.

When you see people nearby with firearms in their hands, you are still confident in their adequacy. If someone does something, he will not run away from the island - this knowledge acts as a limiter.

RUR 253,000

The fine for drunk driving can be as high. But mostly tourists are fined, not local residents

Crime statistics in Longyearbyen include thefts and car thefts. They are usually committed by drunk tourists.

For drunk driving, a fine of 12-35 thousand crowns (87-253 thousand rubles) and deprivation of a driver’s license. The blood alcohol limit is 0.02 ppm. You can't pay a policeman off with a bribe. Authorities are also conducting raids in search of drugs. The fine for drug seizure is 4000-9000 CZK (28,900-65,000 RUR). Possible deportation.

Leisure

The answer to the question of how to spend your leisure time depends on the weather. In clear weather, you can ride snowmobiles or dog sleds. Around the city, mountains and valleys are a paradise for lovers of alpine or cross-country skiing. In summer you can go hiking, boating, and kayaking.

In the polar night and bad weather I go to the gym. There is a 25-meter swimming pool and a gym, a climbing wall and a hall for team games. Locals They themselves initiate and conduct yoga, kickboxing, and table tennis classes. For an annual gym membership I pay 1950 CZK (14,100 RUR).

Norwegians are a nation of skiers. Skiing is very popular in Svalbard. A special machine lays a ski track through the city for personal training. In April, a ski marathon takes place, both amateurs and Olympians take part - about 900 people in total. In the summer there are races: marathon, trail competitions.

The Polar Jazz and Dark Season Blues music festivals add variety to cultural life. A ticket for 4 days of the jazz festival costs 1800 CZK (13,000 RUR).

Eventually

For some, Svalbard is an isolating experience, subject to harsh climate, polar night and high costs. For me, this is a calm, confident life in an eco-friendly environment with the opportunity to engage in any activity right outside the door. The cold and lack of trees do not bother me. When I want a change of scenery, I buy a plane ticket and fly to warm countries or to family in Russia.

With all the expenses here, I manage to save 20-40% of my salary and not live on the “paycheck to paycheck” principle. I don’t plan to leave yet: I’m interested in watching how the Arctic develops and witnessing global warming.

This mountainous archipelago, lost in the icy expanses of the Arctic, is often called the “Top of Europe.”

Some of its islands are located beyond the eightieth degree of northern latitude. Only northern Greenland and the Canadian island of Ellesmere are located even closer to the North Pole.

In the morning fog, sailors approaching the archipelago from the south seem to see the outlines of the towers of medieval castles emerge from the haze. The mountain peaks of Spitsbergen, reaching 1700 meters in height, darken through the gray veil.

But then the ship comes closer, the fog dissipates, and a panorama of intricately rugged black rocky shores, crowned with white glaciers, opens before your eyes.

In some places, ice tongues descend straight to the sea, ending in ledges of transparent blue ice.

Narrow winding bays are lined with foamy stripes of waterfalls. And in the depths of the largest bay - Isfjord - the houses of the capital of Spitsbergen - the village of Longyearbyen - glow welcomingly with bright red, green and blue cubes.

More than a thousand islands are part of the archipelago. True, almost all of them are small, only five of them deserve the epithet “large”. These are Western Spitsbergen, Northeast Land, Edge Island, Barents Island and Prince Charles Land.

Spitsbergen is larger in area than Switzerland and could accommodate two Belgiums on its islands.

Since ancient times, the archipelago has had several names. The Dutch called it Spitsbergen, the Russians - Grumant, the Norwegians - Svalbard. Modern journalists often call this region the “Isles of Fogs.”

Indeed, Spitsbergen is one of the foggiest places on Earth. Even the famous African Skeleton Coast - the Namib Desert and the Bering Sea, notorious for its rain and fog, cannot compare with it in this regard.

More than 90 days a year (a quarter of the year!) there are fogs over the islands. And in June-October there are 12 to 20 days of fog every month.

The fogs on Spitsbergen are so dense that you can’t see anything even five steps away. Sounds are muffled, the outlines of objects are distorted, so that it is impossible to recognize even familiar terrain. All buildings and large stones are covered with a fluffy brush of frost.

In spring, during fog, you can observe an unusual optical phenomenon here, which in the language of scientists is called “gloria”. The low polar sun casts long shadows of objects surrounded by a rainbow outline onto the veil of fog and low clouds.

The famous polar explorer Amundsen, who made an emergency landing on a plane in the ice north of Spitsbergen, describes Gloria as follows:

To the side of us, in the fog, I saw a complete reflection of our car, surrounded by a halo of all the colors of the rainbow. The spectacle is amazing, beautiful and unique.

From afar, from aboard a ship heading to Spitsbergen, you can see the intricately jagged peaks of the mountains, for which it was given its name (Spitsbergen means “Sharp Mountains” in Dutch).

This name was given to the archipelago by the Dutch navigator Willem Barents, who discovered it in 1596. True, in fairness, it must be said that Russian Pomors, two centuries before the Dutchman, sailed their boats to the cold Grumant (as they called the archipelago).

One day, four Russian hunters, having landed here to hunt, did not find their ship crushed by ice the next morning. The Russian Robinsons lived on Spitsbergen for six whole years before they were rescued by another Russian ship that accidentally visited the islands.

After Barents, many famous navigators and explorers visited the archipelago. Hudson and Chichagov, Nordenskiöld and Nansen, Amundsen and Rusanov laid out their routes here.

But the main contribution to the study of Spitsbergen, undoubtedly, was made by the brave Pomors, who mastered the harsh islands for five centuries.

To this day, on the map of the archipelago you can find the Russian Islands and Russkaya Bay, Admiral Makarov Mountain and Cape Ermak, the Rusanov Valley and Solovetskaya Bay.

The unique nature of Spitsbergen is determined by the fact that west coast one of the branches of the warm North Atlantic Current, a continuation of the Gulf Stream, is approaching. Heated waters through the fjords penetrate deep into the islands and warm them.

In February, the frost here does not exceed fifteen degrees, and the average annual temperature on the islands is six degrees above zero. (And this is at eightieth latitude!)

Therefore, in summer the coast of the islands is covered with a green carpet of tundra, full of bright colors.

Purple saxifrage, yellow polar poppies, blue forget-me-nots and purple carnations delight the eyes of the residents of Logier and other Svalbard villages: Barentsburg, Pyramiden, Ny-Ålesund, Longyearbyen and Sveagruva during the long polar day.

And the snow fields on the slopes at this time in some places turn pink - due to the appearance of microscopic algae on them.

Wide valleys going high into the mountains are filled with glaciers. Their silent, dirty-white rivers slowly (usually at a speed of a meter per day, no more) move towards the sea.

Where glaciers flow into fjords, the ice slides into the water and breaks off. This is how icebergs form.

In some valleys, where the glaciers end before reaching the shore, short but turbulent rivers flow from under them, the longest of which is only 48 kilometers. In winter they all freeze to the bottom.

Worn down by glaciers Mountain peaks islands take on the most fantastic forms. Thus, Mount Skansen resembles an ancient fortress, Mount Tempel is an ancient Indian temple, and Mount Pyramid looks like a stack of giant neatly stacked bales of hay.

The most famous mountain, Tre Kruner, has three peaks. Their names: Svea, Nora and Dana symbolize the brotherhood of the three Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The truncated pyramidal contours of the three peaks are colored with clear horizontal stripes of yellow limestone and red sandstone.

Ancient Scandinavian legends imagined Spitsbergen as a gloomy land of cold, darkness, snow and ice. The Vikings believed that this was the most inhospitable region in the world. But it's not fair. Compared to other Arctic islands, such as Ellesmere or Severnaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, Svalbard looks like a real oasis in the icy polar desert.

It is inhabited by three thousand people, mostly northern researchers and, oddly enough, miners. Coal deposits were formed here hundreds of millions of years ago, when Spitsbergen was one with Europe and its climate was incomparably warmer than now. Now Russian miners, in agreement with the Norwegians, are mining coal here.

But life on the islands can be found not only in human settlements. Here you can find reindeer and arctic foxes, nimble rodents - lemmings and white partridges.

A polar owl silently circles over the valleys, and in the summer thousands of migratory birds fly here: ducks, geese and swans.

Most of the noise and splashing is on the coast. With the warm current, flocks of cod and herring, halibut and haddock come to the island, and behind them come seals: harp and bearded seal.

On pebble beaches under the rocks, fanged walruses make their rookeries, and in the open sea you can often see fountains of whales.

There are still a lot of the latter in the waters of Spitsbergen, although whaling fleets have hunted in these places since the times of the Barents and Hudson. Most of them are beluga whales and killer whales, but the famous narwhal unicorn is also found.

The head of this whale ends with a sharp two-meter bone growth, similar to a horn.

They say that Ivan the Terrible had a staff made of a beautiful, twisted narwhal horn (apparently brought by Russian Pomors from Grumant).

The main seal hunter also comes to the islands.

The largest predator in the polar basin is now protected by law and is not at all afraid of humans.

Sometimes meetings with him end sadly for polar explorers, especially on distant islands.

And it happens that desperate radiograms like the following fly to Barentsburg or Longyearbyen from researchers working somewhere on the Prince Charles Islands:

Urgently send a helicopter for evacuation. Surrounded by nine hungry bears. We don't risk leaving the house.

The musk ox, brought here from Greenland in the 1920s, has also taken root on the archipelago. The herd of these powerful squat ungulates, covered with thick and long hair reaching to the ground, has grown noticeably in recent years, fortunately, their main enemies, wolves, are not on Spitsbergen.

In harsh winters, female musk oxen hide small cubs under their bellies, where, in any snowstorm, it is warm and cozy in a canopy of wool. Now there are more than a hundred musk oxen on Spitsbergen, but at the beginning there were only 17.

The highlight of Spitsbergen is its wonderful bird colonies. On the tiny ledges of steep cliffs that drop down to the sea, tens of thousands of kittiwakes, guillemots, guillemots, fulmars, puffins and cormorants buzz and fuss. And predatory glaucous gulls hover over the rocks, looking for prey.

There are plenty of fish in the sea for both seals and seagulls, especially since west bank even in winter, under the influence of a warm current, the border of floating ice forms a deep bend, like a bay with icy shores, facing north.

In the old days it was called Whaler Bay, since it was here that the whaling center was located. In other winters there is no ice at all on the western coast, and Isfjord is covered with ice only for a month and a half.

However, the North is the North, and from October to February the polar night reigns over Spitsbergen. However, the archipelago does not become a “land of eternal darkness” at this time. In clear weather it is illuminated by the moon.

As the great polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen wrote, “instead of the sun there remains the most delightful radiance of the moon: it circles the sky day and night...”.

Moonlight is reflected by myriads of snow and ice crystals and allows you not only to move freely without a flashlight, but also to distinguish distant mountains. It is especially bright during the full moon.

And in December-January, in frosty weather, auroras blaze in the sky. Against the background of the flaming sky, light patterns of the most fantastic kind appear, continuously changing their shape and color.

You can stand for hours, forgetting to put on a hat, in the bitter cold, unable to take your eyes off the amazing play of colors in the cold sky.

Words are powerless to describe this truly grandiose spectacle. What a pity that there are no tourists on the islands at this time!

And they all couldn't forget him harsh beauty, dazzling white mountain peaks and the blue surface of fjords, the deafening hubbub of bird colonies and the modest charm of tundra flowers, greenish-transparent walls of coastal glacial cliffs and the colors of the northern lights...

And when the winterers, returning to their native land, sail from the shore, they traditionally throw old boots into the water from board the ship - as a sign that they will someday return to this cold but beautiful land.

Spitsbergen Islands, gloomy rocky islands beyond the Arctic Circle. The name itself, given by the Dutchman Barents, means “Sharp Mountains”. The total area is about 64 thousand square kilometers, but people do not inhabit them very willingly - the population of the islands is about 3 thousand people. Most of them are Norwegians and Russians.

People often went here to kill whales and sea animals. But when the whale was killed and the remaining one was banned, almost no one had any desire to swim here. No one is eager to spend the winter on Spitsbergen either. Here, out of the 50 species of birds that nest here, only one unfortunate polar partridge spends the winter, which cannot escape the winter on its short wings and is forced, like an animal, to rummage through the snowdrifts in search of food.

Svalbard is a demilitarized zone, which means the possession of any weapons is prohibited. Coal is being mined here, the reserves of which are very significant. However, coal is now not highly valued in the world and therefore almost all of it is spent on heating local villages. In addition, the most easily accessible one, which was practically on the surface, has already been worked out. However, from time to time the question of “reviving the coal industry” is raised, but the voices do not sound very loud, due to the small population of the islands, the opposite words of all sorts of greens and Greenpeace. In addition, the income of islanders is 20-30% higher than that of residents of mainland Norway, so they are not particularly poor.