7 ms·
Svalbard has a very weird legal status. It has visa-free right to live there and work there. Russia maintains a population there at a loss-making coal mine, arg
by EliRivers 3y ago
Svalbard has a very weird legal status. It has visa-free right to live there and work there. Russia maintains a population there at a loss-making coal mine, arguably to keep a persistent claim of having a national interest in it. As well as the location being ideal for polar satellite comms, with the opening of trade routes past Svalbard (with the melting of the Arctic) suddenly a lot of nations care a lot more and Norway and NATO allies have picked up the pace on exercises in the region. I have reason to believe that "what do we do if Russia decides it wants to take Svalbard" is regularly considered in military planning. The Svalbard treaty is a weird leftover from a different time; a time when Svalbard was much less valuable.
Svalbard has a surprisingly large Thai population. I don't know about today, but at one point about ten percent of the population were Thai citizens.
- killjoywashere 3y ago> ideal for polar satellite comms Indeed, Svalbard can be a handy keyword if you want to find articles on ionospheric disturbances to satellite comms, like GPS. > surprisingly large Thai population Hmmm... that sounds suspiciously like fisheries-related slavery/indentured servitude. See also: Dutch Harbor.
- wbl 3y agoI've been to Dutch Harbor but in the summer: sadly only three restaurants none of them Thai. But some good sushi and decent pizza. And apparently they now have a fiber connection to the rest of the world.
- yorwba 3y agohttps://journal-njmr.org/articles/10.33134/njmr.488 https://journal-njmr.org/articles/10.33134/njmr.488 says job opportunities for migrants from Thailand and the Philippines are "limited to the spheres of cleaning, shop assistance, construction works, catering (hotels, restaurants and cafés), massage studios or the Thai store", so no fishing. But "as Norwegian legislation regulating working conditions is only partially valid in Svalbard, people without permanent full-time jobs often accept conditions that are immoral".
- arcade79 3y ago> Hmmm... that sounds suspiciously like fisheries-related slavery/indentured servitude. See also: Dutch Harbor. Well, no. There's two parts to this. 1. Svalbard is rather nice. While years there doesn't count towards Norwegian citizenship, the wages are rather high and Norwegian-like. Building up a good personal economy is certainly appealing to a lot of people. 2. There's boatloads of Norwegians married to Thai women. However, to get to Svalbard in the first place, you need to show that you can sustain yourself without being a burden on the local society. There's no health care to speak of there (except a regular doctor). There's no social security there. You need to be able to fend for yourself and build your own thing, or have a work contract.
- haunter 3y ago>to live there and work there. The problem is the housing as most of them are provided by employers. It's really hard to get a rent just by your own https://www.sysselmesteren.no/en/entry-and-residence/ https://www.sysselmesteren.no/en/entry-and-residence/
- bookofjoe 3y ago> I have reason to believe that "what do we do if Russia decides it wants to take Svalbard" is regularly considered in military planning. A series called "Occupied" (trailer below) imagines Russia invading Norway to control its oil fields. It's excellent, with a superb cast. https://youtu.be/yfqRRHaFyJg?si=fbamSuZM6sM6WuE_ https://youtu.be/yfqRRHaFyJg?si=fbamSuZM6sM6WuE_
- CamperBob2 3y agoHaven't watched the show, but it sounds interesting. How do the writers rationalize the Russian invasion of a NATO country without kicking off WWIII?
- arcade79 3y agoEasy. In the series, Norway decides to invest in Thorium nuclear power to get out of oil. We basically decided "we'll be environmentally friendly". Suddenly powered by nuclear in addition to hydro - and having a hefty petroleum fund - we get by without exporting oil. The EU, and NATO, kinda depends on oil, and kinda asks Russia to invade. ;)
- bookofjoe 3y agoExcellent summary.
- LargoLasskhyfv 3y agoI've wondered about that, too. Probably came at the wrong time, with the Crimean thing, and so on. IIRC Russia even protested officially, via diplomatic channels, whatnot, while the series aired. But yeah, it's an OK show. Not mindblowing, but OK to watch.
- bookofjoe 3y agoYou are a strict grader! If you have a minute, suggest shows/movies you consider "mindblowing." Thanks!
- billiam 3y agoRussia has put a lot of effort into developing the ability to cut and disrupt as well as intercept undersea cables, so the increased dependence on Svalbard for satellite traffic is a control point all the interested countries should be looking at. They have already demonstrated that they are willing to hold world commerce at ransom, so even as they recede as a naval power they are upping their asymmetric capabilities on the world's oceans.
- paganel 3y agoHow is Russia holding “world commerce at ransom” without being a naval power country? Just by sheer will alone?
- WanderPanda 3y agoBy asymmetric capabilities I guess
- Terr_ 3y agoI'd guess parent poster is referring to blockading Ukrainian grain shipments in the Black Sea, a route with some important bottlenecks. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_Grain_Initiative https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_Grain_Initiative
- akira2501 3y ago> Russia has put a lot of effort into developing the ability to cut and disrupt as well as intercept undersea cables Sure, but the United States military are the undisputed masters of that craft. I mean, same goes for the rest of your claims. Maybe the idea of "world superpowers" is one that shouldn't have outlived the internet.
- virgulino 3y ago"Russia stages military-style propaganda parade on Norway's Svalbard archipelago - More than 50 vehicles, a helicopter and snowmobiles driven by men in military-like uniforms on the 9th of May paraded down the main street of Barentsburg." May 2023 Truly terrifying images: https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2023/05/russia-stages-military-style-propaganda-parade-norways-svalbard-archipelago https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2023/05/russia-st...
- cheerytomatoes 3y agoAnd I thought Norway was overdoing it with their show of (supposedly not military) force in the form of a "Research" destroyer they kept docked off of Longyearbyen for a while.
- dheera 3y agoI visited Svalbard in the dead of winter, it was a very surreal experience, not seeing any sunlight at all for a whole week. I was quite astounded by how "normal" life was there in the one town, and the contrast of the rawness of nature outside the town. In any direction away from the town there is nothing -- no roads, no cell reception, no shelters, just lots and lots of snow and hungry polar bears (hence you need someone with a rifle in your group if you leave the town at all).
- xarope 3y agoI noticed this, someone in the group had a rifle, and also brought along a "sacrificial" husky (basically they told me they'd shoot at the bear, sic the dog, and everybody had to run away screaming). No idea how much of this is true, and how much was story for a tourist.
- ed_balls 3y agoBarents Sea between Norway and Svalbard is quite shallow. It makes monitoring submarines much easier.
- xarope 3y agoThe local thai cafe is "pretty good". I was also struck by how good the wifi was in most of the dining places I went to. Ran around, past santa's post box, and the seed vault, snowshoed up trollstein (spelling?), had great fun with the sledding dogs from green dog. Ah, those were the days before covid.