Svalbard, previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen, followed in size by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. The largest settlement is Longyearbyen on the west coast of Spitsbergen.
Spitsbergen, is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway.
Bear Island is the southernmost island of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago. The island is located at the limits of the Norwegian and Barents seas, approximately halfway between Spitsbergen and the North Cape. Bear Island was discovered by Dutch explorers Willem Barentsz and Jacob van Heemskerck on 10 June 1596. It was named after a polar bear that was seen swimming nearby. The island was considered terra nullius until the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 placed it under Norwegian sovereignty.
Barentsburg is the second-largest settlement in Svalbard, Norway, with about 455 inhabitants (2020). A coal mining town, the settlement was almost entirely made up of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians. With the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, most of the Ukrainian citizens were reported to have left.
The polar archipelago of Svalbard was first discovered by Willem Barentsz in 1596, although there is disputed evidence of use by Pomors or Norsemen. Whaling for bowhead whales started in 1611, dominated by English and Dutch companies, though other countries participated. At that time there was no agreement about sovereignty. Whaling stations, the largest being Smeerenburg, were built during the 17th century, but gradually whaling decreased. Hunting was carried out from the 17th century by Pomors, but from the 19th century it became more dominated by Norwegians.
The Svalbard Treaty recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the time called Spitsbergen. The exercise of sovereignty is, however, subject to certain stipulations, and not all Norwegian law applies. The treaty restricts military uses of the archipelago, but it is not demilitarized. The signatories were given equal rights to engage in commercial activities on the islands. As of 2023, Norway and Russia make use of this right.
Pyramiden is an abandoned Soviet coal mining settlement on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard which has become a tourist destination. Founded by Sweden in 1910 and sold to the Soviet Union in 1927, Pyramiden was closed in 1998 and has since remained largely abandoned with most of its infrastructure and buildings still in place, the cold climate preserving much of what has been left behind.
Cold-weather warfare, also known as arctic warfare or winter warfare, encompasses military operations affected by snow, ice, thawing conditions, or cold, both on land and at sea, as well as the strategies and tactics used by military forces in these situations and environments.
Svalbard lies under the sovereignty of Norway, but the Svalbard Treaty places several restrictions. Norway cannot use the archipelago for warlike purposes, cannot discriminate economic activity based on nationality and is required to conserve the natural environment. Uniquely, Svalbard is an entirely visa-free zone. Everybody may live and work in Svalbard indefinitely regardless of country of citizenship. Svalbard Treaty grants treaty nationals equal right of abode as Norwegian nationals. Non-treaty nationals may live and work indefinitely visa-free as well. "Regulations concerning rejection and expulsion from Svalbard" is in force on non-discriminatory basis.
Svalbard Airport is the main airport serving Svalbard in Norway. It is 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of Longyearbyen on the west coast, and is the northernmost airport in the world with scheduled public flights. The first airport near Longyearbyen was constructed during World War II. In 1959, it was first used for occasional flights, but could only be used a few months a year. Construction of the new airport at Hotellneset started in 1973, and the airport was opened on 2 September 1975. It is owned and operated by state-owned Avinor.
Station Group Banak, formerly Banak Air Station, is a military airbase located at Banak, just north of Lakselv in Porsanger in Finnmark, Norway. Operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF), it serves a detachment of the 330 Squadron, which operates two Westland Sea King helicopters used for search and rescue operations in Finnmark, Svalbard and surrounding Arctic sea areas. Of the station's two helicopters, one is on standby at any given time. The station group is co-located with the civilian Lakselv Airport, Banak and is administratively under the 132nd Air Wing and Bodø Main Air Station. Banak is RNoAF's most northerly base and has fifty employees.
Orion's Belt is a 1985 Norwegian dual-language, political action thriller film, directed by Ola Solum and Tristan de Vere Cole. It is based on Jon Michelet's 1977 novel by the same name. The film follows three Svalbard-based shabby seamen, played by Helge Jordal, Sverre Anker Ousdal and Hans Ola Sørlie, who discover a Soviet bearing station. They are subsequently targets of Soviet liquidation and American interrogation in an attempt to quiet them and retain the political status quo. The Cold War topics were a critique of the Norwegian policy of allowing a Soviet presence on Svalbard.
Jon Michelet was a Norwegian novelist. He had experience in various lines of work, including sailor and dock worker and references to these experiences can be found in his writing. His writing spans several genres such as crime novels, newspaper columns, sports journalism and children's books.
Varg Veum is the central character in a series of crime novels, written by the Norwegian author Gunnar Staalesen, about a private detective who lives in Bergen, on the west coast of Norway. The books have been translated into several languages, including English, Spanish, German, and Swedish.
Norwegian Ninja is a 2010 Norwegian action comedy film, directed by Thomas Cappelen Malling. The film, based on a 2006 book, presents real-life espionage-convicted Arne Treholt as the leader of a ninja group saving Norway during the Cold War and stars Mads Ousdal as Treholt.
Novelists, screenwriters and filmmakers have set their works in Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic, the northernmost part of Norway yet closer to Greenland. Such works often make use of its Arctic climate, polar bears, isolation and the natural beauty of its dominant glaciers, mountains and fjords.
Kjerulføya is an island north of Nordaustlandet in Svalbard, Norway. It is named for Theodor Kjerulf. The island is located within Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve.
Geir Bøhren is a Norwegian musician and film score composer.
Bent Åserud is a Norwegian musician and film score composer.
Norway–Soviet Union relations refers to the historical bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, Norway and the Soviet Union, between 1917 and 1991. The establishment of diplomatic relationships between Norway and the Soviet union dates back to Norway–Russia relations which started on 30 October 1905. The Soviet Union maintained an embassy in Oslo and a consulate in Barentsburg, while Norway maintained an embassy in Moscow.
