On the 31^st of March, we took another snowmobile trip, this time to Barentsburg, the biggest Russian city on the island. We went there for our Environmental Management course, in order to see what the Russian view of the management of Svalbard is. The original plan was to meet with the Russian consul general, but unfortunately he was not available at the time we went. So plan B was to go and visit the Russian research centre, in order to see the differences with UNIS and to see what research they were up to. Again, there seemed to be no one there when we went. Elusive, these guys!

What we did get (as intended) was a guided tour of the town. It used to be a large town with around 2000 inhabitants, their own chicken coop, pig sties and everything. But ever since the 80’s and 90’s, it has gradually lost inhabitants, and now only has a population of around 350. It honestly feels like a ghost town. We visited the gymnasium, which was old and dusty – but was still in use. The Lonyearbyen sport teams frequently have matches against the Barentsburg ones. Although when we went, we must have seen like 4 people, tops. Then, we took a trip to the library, and there was not a soul there. It was very eerie.

Our professor also organised two activities for us, but I can’t say much about the first one, because it's supposed to be a surprise, and I wouldn't want to ruin it for next year's SAMS students 😉.
The other activity was a Svalbard jeopardy, about the diplomatic relationships around the management of the island, and how informal diplomacy is the more important form of diplomacy.

On the way back from Barentsburg, we stopped at the settlement in Cole’s bay, an abandoned Russian settlement. We had a packed lunch provided by the Barentsburg hotel. 

All that remains of the settlement is the actual buildings. It was really cool to be able to visit them,a nd to see the conditions that people lived in! To think that people used to live in settlements like this, and overwinter when the fjord still froze over, so without connection to the outside world… They were very brave.

Alright, that's all for now! I have an exam later this week, so I should keep studying.

Next update will probably come after our cruise (which ends mid May). There should be some great pictures... and if we're lucky a polar bear or two 😃

See you then!

Ivan