Russian Geographical Society opens office on Svalbard

The Russian Geographical Society opened an office in Barentsburg on 24 October, named an Expedition and Tourist Centre. The Barents Observer reports that the society has close ties to the Kremlin and the Russian Defence Ministry. The centre is reported to work on science, education and communications. Vice President Artyem Manukyan said in an address that the opening begins a new phase for the society's activity in the far north of the Arctic. He added that, at a time when the Arctic is often a field of geopolitical rivalry, the aim is to offer a space for open dialogue among residents, visitors, scientists, the public and representatives of several countries.

Local Russian representatives attended the ceremony, among them General Consul Andrei Chemerilo and Ildar Neverov, head of Trust Arktikugol (Russia's state-owned company on Svalbard). Chemerilo said that one of the first priorities will be an interactive map of the Russian historical presence on the archipelago, and that the centre had been under discussion for three years. Barentsburg is a Russian settlement run by the state company Arktikugol, and Norwegian law applies there under the Svalbard Treaty.

Darya Slyunyaeva has been appointed to lead the new office. Until recently she worked for Arktikugol. She has taken part in projects such as the Arctic Youth Network, and in February 2024 a text by her on Svalbard's history appeared on its website. She studied at the Russian Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy and has written several academic articles on Svalbard. In a 2023 piece she wrote that Russia faces a number of limits on its presence on the archipelago, and that Norway might start a revision or abolition of the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty. The Barents Observer asked her for comment; she had not replied when the article was published.

One day before the opening, the society met for a congress in Moscow. Vladimir Putin opened it and said the Arctic is now one of the society's main focus areas, as are occupied parts of Ukraine. Delegates approved a new charter and chose Sergei Shoigu, a former defence minister, as president again. The society dates from 1845.