Lenin stands tall in Russian race for the Arctic

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2007

BARENTSBURG, Norway (AFP) — The statue of Lenin and the hammer and sickle emblems that adorn the Russian enclave of Barentsburg, in Norwegian territory near the North Pole, are potent reminders of Moscow's longstanding claim to the Arctic.

Barentsburg, located in the Svalbard archipelago, has been a Russian mining town since 1932. None of the 500 residents who live here today are Norwegian or even speak the language.

For visitors, the local Norway Post office is the only visible indication of the Scandinavian country's sovereignty, amid a flood of signs in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.

Around town workers are repainting old buildings, broken windows are being replaced and roads are being repaved, all under the watchful eyes of a Lenin statue that has...