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.
- Not Without My Birches
- Playground
- Dwellings
- New Buildings
- Canteen
- Fit For Going On
- Under Construction
- Bellevue
- Meeting Place
- Miners’s Pride
- Hillslope
- For Setting the Flag
- Residential Area
- Daydream
- Sunflowers
- Updated Industry