It is not surprising that a novel by a young Russian author has the title All Russians Love Birch Trees.
In the Arctic solitude of Spitsbergen lies the Russian mining community of Barentsburg, founded in 1932. A Russian company obtained the right to mine for coal on Norwegian territory through the Spitsbergen Treaty in 1920. Now Barentsburg is almost a ghost town, with only a few hundred Russian and Ukrainian miners still living and working there. In the middle of this treeless settlement on a steep mountain slope stands their nostalgic mural of birches.
It can be seen from the new buildings and renovation work that Russia still considers this long-abandoned outpost near the North Pole to be of great strategic importance.