Tensions Over the Ukraine War Deepen the Chill Near the North Pole

BARENTSBURG, Norway — At first look, Sergey Gushchin, 50, is maybe not a person one would assume to be the Russian consul common on the world’s northernmost diplomatic mission: ponytail, bluejeans, bass participant in a punk band.

But on Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago positioned between mainland Norway and the North Pole, it has lengthy been a degree of pleasure to differentiate individuals from governments. Russians, Ukrainians and Norwegians have lived facet by facet for many years on this remoted and excessive wilderness identified largely for polar bears and a quickly warming local weather, not for divisive politics.

There’s a saying within the excessive Arctic that in case your snowmobile breaks down, nobody asks in your nationality earlier than serving to to restore it. However Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has echoed on the high of the world, threatening longstanding private {and professional} relationships, cultural interactions and even pleasant sports activities rivalries.

The Svalbard vacationer board has known as for a boycott of Russian state-owned companies within the coal mining settlement of Barentsburg. Mr. Gushchin, till now thought of an inclusive, moderating determine, has stunned and angered many with feedback regarding the Russian invasion and an accusation that Norwegian information media present largely “pretend information.”

Timofey Rogozhin, the previous high Russian vacationer official in Barentsburg, who left his job final 12 months, now spends appreciable time on Telegram, countering Russian propaganda in regards to the invasion. Calling himself a dissident, he describes atrocities dedicated in Ukrainian cities as “not errors however crimes.”

“Svalbard is a spot the place individuals from all completely different nations have managed to get alongside peacefully,” stated Elizabeth Bourne, an American who’s director of the Spitsbergen Artists Heart in Longyearbyen, the primarily Norwegian transportation, commerce, analysis and college hub of Svalbard. “This case is in peril of placing an finish to that. I believe that might be a tragedy.”

Longyearbyen is about 30 miles northeast of Barentsburg and is inhabited by roughly 2,500 residents from 50 nations. Cultural exchanges involving singing and dancing, and sports activities exchanges involving video games like chess and basketball have been ongoing between Barentsburg and Longyearbyen for the reason that Soviet period.

Their longevity is made extra exceptional by the shortage of a street between the cities. Journey should be completed by snowmobile, boat or helicopter.

“Possibly individuals of Longyearbyen wouldn’t prefer to see me, however they nonetheless prefer to see individuals of Barentsburg,” Mr. Gushchin stated.

A 1920 treaty gave Norway sovereignty over Svalbard. However different nations that signed the treaty, together with the Soviet Union/Russia, have been granted equal rights to conduct such business actions as mining, scientific analysis and tourism.

The Russian consulate in Barentsburg overlooks the Inexperienced Fjord and a sort of outside museum of the Soviet previous: a bust of Lenin, a Cyrillic signal proclaiming “Communism is our objective,” refurbished Stalinist residence blocks and smokestacks that belch sulfurous coal on the native energy plant.

As soon as, greater than 1,000 individuals lived right here. Now there are solely about 370, two-thirds of them Ukrainian, Mr. Gushchin stated. Most miners are from the Donbas area in japanese Ukraine, which has shut ties to Russia. It’s the space the place preventing between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists started in 2014. Others from the area work in tourism and different service jobs.

Quite a few Russians and Ukrainians approached by a New York Instances reporter on Wednesday refused to debate politics. However Natalia Maksimishina, a Russian tour information, criticized Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, referring to attainable warfare crimes dedicated by Russian forces and saying, “I hope to see him subsequent in The Hague.”

Barentsburg is actually operated by Belief Arktikugol, a Russian state-run mining enterprise. The boycott known as for by the Svalbard vacationer board recommends that cash not be spent within the city’s resort, Purple Bear pub and brewery, eating places or memento store.

Barentsburg appeared largely empty on Wednesday, aside from clots of vacationers arriving on a small ship. Earlier than the pandemic, tourism introduced in extra money than coal, Mr. Gushchin stated. Now, he added, Belief Arktikugol loses “huge cash” weekly. Many vacationers who do go to convey their very own meals and depart shortly, he stated.

Critics of the boycott say it hurts the Russian authorities lower than native individuals in Barentsburg, most of them Ukrainian. Bank cards issued by Russian banks don’t work within the Norwegian monetary system amid worldwide sanctions. Flights are troublesome to schedule.

In a lightweight second throughout an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Gushchin lamented that his band’s solo guitarist had moved away. “When you’ve got solely a bass participant and a drummer, it resembles extra like punk, not rock,” he stated.

In a extra critical second, Mr. Gushchin put logs on a fireplace within the consulate’s reception space, however didn’t try to thaw the sudden chill between him and plenty of on Svalbard.

He stood by debunked remarks he made in English in early April to Nettavisen, a Norwegian on-line newspaper. He advised the outlet that buildings within the Ukrainian port metropolis of Mariupol had been destroyed not by Russian projectiles however by a Ukrainian battalion with Nazi sympathies. And {that a} pregnant lady photographed outdoors of a besieged hospital was not a affected person.

Requested by Nettavisen whether or not he felt obliged to make such remarks in his official capability, Mr. Gushchin stated in addition they mirrored his opinion. In any other case, he stated, he must resign his put up instantly. On Wednesday, Mr. Gushchin stated, “I noticed that it actually touched emotions of many Norwegians, however I advised them what I believe.”

His remarks to Nettavisen had been jarring to many, who discovered them sharply contrasting with Mr. Gushchin’s place as a subdeacon within the Russian Orthodox Church. Final August, he helped carry out the liturgy at Svalbard Church in Longyearbyen, a parish of the Church of Norway. Siv Limstrand, the Lutheran pastor at Svalbard Church, stated she had beforehand thought of Mr. Gushchin to be “very pleasant, easygoing, nonformal, extending communication and cooperation.”

“Folks get dissatisfied, however he’s a state official,” Ms. Limstrand stated. “We are able to’t actually count on one thing completely different from him. However slightly extra diplomacy, I believe, may have been inside attain.”

Having arrived in Barentsburg in November 2018, Mr. Gushchin awaits his successor, saying he and his spouse are desirous to return to Moscow to see their 22-year-old daughter and his 82-year-old mom. Maybe, many who know him on Svalbard say privately, that’s the reason he dares not contradict Mr. Putin.

Clearly, Mr. Gushchin is delicate to optics. On Wednesday, he declined to be photographed standing beside a taxidermied polar bear within the consulate, saying it could convey a deceptive image of Russian aggression.

He additionally stated he wouldn’t attend a deliberate cultural change in Longyearbyen on Might 21 in order “to not provoke anyone.”

“There are quite a lot of Russian and Ukrainian compatriots and likewise Norwegians who gained’t be very completely satisfied if I participate,” Mr. Gushchin stated.

When he took the posting on Svalbard, Mr. Gushchin stated, he thought of it a “dream” job, one which has been “an enormous journey.” However he additionally stated he is able to return to Russia.

With a sigh, then fun, he stated he hoped the invasion of Ukraine didn’t change into “one thing extra ugly and international.” If World Struggle III breaks out “and we’re caught right here,” he stated with gallows humor, “will probably be troublesome to go house.”