ABOUT SPITSBERGEN

Geography

Spitsbergen archipelago is a group of large and small islands stretched between the 74 and 81 degrees North and between 10 and 35 degrees East. It is washed by the Barents, Norwegian and Greenland seas. The total area is 63,000 sq. km. Nearly 60% of the land is covered by ice. Coal is the most important mineral resource on Spitsbergen, some gas and oil prospecting is also being conducted.

Climate

Spitsbergen has an Arctic climate, mildened by the northern arm of the Gulf Stream running along its Western coast. The average temperature of March (the coldest month) is -12,6°C, and the average temperature of July (the warmest month) is +4,5°C. In the winter time (from September to April) the temperature rarely drops below -30°C, whereas in the summer time (from June to August) it rarely exceeds +10°C. Frequent changes in temperature, humidity, air-pressure and wind strength are characteristic of Spitsbergen. Perpetual day lasts from April, 21 to August, 21, and the polar night - from October, 28 to February, 20.

History

The first records of the archipelago can be found in Russian chronicles and Icelandic sagas of the X.XI centuries. Its discovery is sometimes attributed to Scandinavian vikings who named the newly-found land "Svalbard", that is "the cold land". Other scholars insist, however, that this applies not to Spitsbergen but to the Jan Mayen island which is twice as close to Iceland and to the open parts of Greenland, and through which the routes of Normans passed.

According to the hypothesis of Russian scholars, the discovery of the archipelago and its primary development should be attributed to coast-dwellers from the North of Russia, the pomors, to whom Spitsbergen was known as early as the XIV-XV centuries. They considered the land they had discovered to be a part of Greenland and therefore named it Grumant. Pomors were whaling and hunting fur and have left numerous evidence of their presence there, such as tools of their trade, remains of boats and settlements, as well as wooden crosses which, apart from their religious purpose, served as seamarks. The Starostins from the city of Novgorod were the most famous pomors who lived on Spitsbergen.

The Dutch sea captain Willem Barents, who discovered Bjornoya (the Bear island) and "The Land of Spiky Hills" (Spitsbergen) in 1596, was the first to have officially mapped the contour of the Western coast of the archipelago. This was the starting point for regular scientific and economic activities (mostly whaling) on the archipelago conducted by Great Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, France, and afterwards by Denmark, Germany and Sweden. The Norwegians appeared on Spitsbergen in the end of XVIII century, their presence being mostly characterised by intensive trappers' activities.

The first Russian scientific research on Spitsbergen was inspired by the great Russian scholar M.V.Lomonosov, who in 1765-66 organized two naval expeditions under the command of V.I.Chichagov. Starting from the 1800's the British, French, German, Swedish and Norwegian scientists took part in research activities on Spitsbergen. Among others there were the well-known Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen who led their expeditions to Spitsbergen in the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX centuries. The first Russian geological expedition was headed by V.A.Rusanov, who in 1912 conducted coal prospecting and discovered, as it turned out later, long-lasting coalfields, thus having laid the foundations of Russian coal mining on Spitsbergen.

Spitsbergen has lost its status of "no-man's land" with the conclusion of the Treaty relating to Spitsbergen in Paris on February 9, 1920, which implies Norway’s sovereignty over Spitsbergen, but at the same time grants all the states-parties to the Treaty (currently 39 of them) equal liberty of access to economic and scientific activities on Spitsbergen on a footing of absolute equality, and also introduces prohibition on using of Spitsbergen for military purposes. In 1925 the Treaty relating to Spitsbergen, the Mining Code for Spitsbergen (elaborated by Norway according to Clause 8 of the Treaty and negotiated with all the states-parties to the mentioned Treaty), which was approved by the Norwegian Royal resolution, as well as the national Spitsbergen Law, upon which Norway has adopted its sovereignty over Spitsbergen, have come into force simultaneously.

Government

The Governor of Spitsbergen is the highest authority of Norway on the archipelago. His office is located in the civic centre of Spitsbergen . Longyearbyen. The settlement also has the Evangelical-Lutheran church of Longyearbyen, the University courses "UNIS", a school, a hospital, a post-office, shops, a bank, and an airport (5 km away from the settlement).

The second Norwegian settlement on the archipelago is Ny-Ålesund, a former coal mine, functioning at present as a scientific community with both Norwegian and foreign researchers. Coal mining is carried out by "Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani AS" on the basis of another mining settlement - Sveagruve. Norwegian population of the archipelago amounts to approximately 1500 people.

Russia on Spitsbergen

Being a party to the Treaty relating to Spitsbergen, Russia conducts economic (coal mining, tourism) and scientific activities on the archipelago. Since 1932 the State Trust "Arktikugol"¹ has been working on Spitsbergen. It owns 23 claims with the total area of 251sq. km, having one functioning mine "Barentsburg" (annual coal production is about 150 000 tonns) and two shut-down mines - "Pyramid" (coal mining stopped in the beginning of 1998) and "Grumant" (inactivated in 1961, plans of restarting mining are currently considered).

Barentsburg

The Barentsburg settlement is characterised by a comprehensive industrial infrastructure and well-developed social amenities (a recreation centre, a sports complex, the "Pomor" museum, a hospital, a kindergarden). Several Russian archaeological, meteorological, geophysical and glaciological institutions conduct their activities in this place. About 400 people live in the settlement. There is a Consulate of the Russian Federation² functioning in Barentsburg.

The distance from Longyearbyen to Barentsburg is about 55 km. There is no roadway connection between settlements. Water transport (in the navigation season) or helicopter is used to get from one settlement to the other. In the winter time snow-mobiles (scooters) are used as well.

The distance from the northernmost point of Norway to the Southern extremity of Spitsbergen is 567 km. Daily flights Longyearbyen-Tromsø-Oslo are carried out by "SAS " airlines.

¹Arktikugol’s office in Moscow – 125015, Butyrskaja street, 79, tel/fax: +(095) 979-98-41, in Murmansk – 183608, Pushkinskaja street, 10, tel: +(815)2 45-03-57, fax: +(815)2 45-81-03, on Spitsbergen: 9178 Barentsburg, tel/fax: +(47) 79-02-18-14.

² Consulate of the Russian Federation in Barentsburg – tel/fax: 79 02 17 85

July 2007