Svalbard and the glasnost period
New Polar Evening at the Ishavsmuseet, the glasnost period in Svalbard.
Svalbard and the glasnost period are the theme at Ishavsmuseet Aarvak during the polar evening on September 12th at 7:00 PM.
Tor Ole Ree (63) from Verdal was a journalist and editor at Svalbardposten when glasnost swept optimistically across the Arctic archipelago, which is visiting the Ishavsmuseet this day.
Earlier this year, Ree published the memoir "Glasnostår på Svalbard" (Glasnostår på Svalbard), which deals with events from the years 1989–1995.
– In the Soviet settlements of Barentsburg and Pyramiden, "glasnost" and "perestroika" led to major changes. The glasnost era was characterized by openness and contributed to much closer communication between the Norwegian and the still Soviet settlements, Ree says.
In January 1991, Ree married Svetlana Povarova, who had been a journalist in Pyramiden for the newspaper Sjaktor Arktiki for two years. They were the first Norwegian-Russian couple to get married in Svalbard.
– There was a great uproar, and the wedding in Pyramiden became a symbol of a time characterized by a strong belief in the future. What happened stands in stark contrast to the situation we have today with a Russia that has gone to war of aggression against Ukraine. The breathing space that the glasnost period represented, today appears like a dream, says Ree.
In the lecture, the former editor also touches on the changes in Longyearbyen. This summer, the Norwegian coal mining was discontinued after over 100 years of operation. Ree lived close to this mining environment, and we take the audience back to a time that is already history.
– Through a photo cavalcade of sorrows and joys, powerful nature, nostalgia and historical dives back to the discovery of the archipelago, says Tor Ole Ree.
After Ree's lecture, dinner will be served in the museum as usual, and this time a bacalao buffet with white and red bacalao is on the menu. Registration for dinner here.
