So yeah. There is this conference on Norwegian-Russian relations in the Arctic that is being held on Svalbard next week. When I first heard about it I thought it would be cool to attend, but I forgot to ask my thesis supervisor/professor if there was any opportunity for me to go. (He is the leader of the project that is arranging this conference, and my thesis is also attached to the same research project.) Enter the summer vacation; by the time I came back to the university, I had completely forgot about it.. until I happened to read about it this week. I sent an email to my professor, and he told me that, unfortunately, they couldn’t afford to invite me, but if somebody couldn’t come I might get their ticket. I thought that this was it, and was resigned to reading summaries about the different lectures and discussions when they came back home again.

This Friday I got the good news. I’ve never been to Svalbard before, so it’s certainly going to be an exciting experience. We even get to go to Pyramiden, a Russian ghost town not that far from Longyearbyen, where the conference is being held. That’s going to be an interesting trip, especially since I love urban decay and “contemporary” archeology. It might also provide some inspiration for something I am working on. I might post more about that later.

Session 1: The Arctic Frontier

Adolf Hoel and ”the Norwegian living space”
Einar-Arne Drivenes: (University of Tromsø, Norway)

Arctic hunting expeditions in a comparative Russian-Norwegian perspective
Jens Petter Nielsen: (University of Tromsø, Norway)

The Spitsbergen Case, 1870–1920
Anastasia Kasiyan (Institute of Universal History/Russian Academy of Sciences)

Russian Navy’s attaché in Kristiania Pavel von Veymarn and his “Russian Spitsbergen Company”
Vladimir Karelin (Murmansk State Pedagogical University, Russia)

Session 2: Neighbourliness and Borders in the Arctic

Norwegian presence on Svalbard as a security political measure, 1900–1965
Kristoffer Bjørklund, (Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, Norway)

Russian–Norwegian contacts on Spitsbergen. A Russian Perspective
Alexander Portsel: (Murmansk Technical University, Russia)

The struggle for Natural Resources in the Arctic: The dividing line?
Urban Wråkberg: (Barents Institute, Norway)

Studying northern seas across the boundaries: Russian-Norwegian relations in fishery science and oceonagraphy
Julia Lajus (European University at St. Petersburg)

Arctic in the new Russian literature
Vladislav Goldin (Pomor State University)

Session 3: The Cold Traces

The Arctic in Soviet Foreign Policy during the Cold War
Aleksey Komarov: (Institute of Universal History/Russian Academy of Sciences)

The Svalbard Case, 1944–47
Sven G. Holtsmark (Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, Norway)

The Dispute about the Sector Principle. Norway, the Soviet Union and the Barents Sea 1926-1960
Vidar Bjørnsen: (University of Tromsø, Norway)

Norwegian Polar Research between East and West
Stian Bones: (University of Tromsø, Norway)

Man in the Middle? The Governor of Svalbard and Russian-Norwegian relations in the High North
Thor Bjørn Arlov: (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway)

Norway and the High North: On Political Alarmism Since World War II
Hallvard Tjelmeland: (University of Tromsø, Norway)

Session 4: Emerging from the Frost

Conflict and Order in Svalbard Waters
Torbjørn Pedersen: (University of Tromsø, Norway)

Russia and the International Law Regime of the Arctic
Leonid Tymchenko (National University of the State Tax Service of Ukraine)

International Law and the “Scramble for the Arctic”
Morten Ruud: (The Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police)