Behind Russia’s “Victory Day” ceremony on Svalbard was a veiled effort to build a militarised presence

The Barents Observer reports that four young people in naval-style uniforms from a St Petersburg organisation called Flagman took part in the Russian 9 May ceremony at Kapp Heer on Svalbard. The Barents Observer said Flagman calls itself a club of young sailors. It said the group works with Russian military structures and intends to open a local branch in Barentsburg. The four knelt and placed flowers next to a cannon that Norwegian forces used in the Second World War, near a Russian helicopter base. Onlookers waved Russian tricolours and Soviet red flags. The Russian Consulate General and Trust Arktikugol (Russia's state-owned company on Svalbard) organised the event.

Flagman presents itself as a civilian group promoting sailing. Flagman supports maritime cadet classes, the Barents Observer reported, and its website says pupils get schooling equal to that of the Nakhimov Naval School without boarding. Photographs show its youth leaders in naval-style or field uniforms. In November 2025 one leader took children, some apparently under 10, to a memorial at Rzhev in the Tver region. The children also went to a camp with military-style training that included weapons exercises. A Flagman co-founder was part of the Svalbard delegation. He is a First Rank Captain in the Russian Navy who commanded Northern Fleet ships.

In August 2025 a Flagman delegation visited Barentsburg and met Consul General Andrei Chemerilo. The stated aim was to discuss the legacy of the explorer V.Y. Chichagov from 1765 to 1766, but the agenda also covered a possible Barentsburg branch. The Barents Observer asked the Consulate General and Arktikugol about the branch plans. It had no reply when it published.

Kari Aga Myklebost, a UiT professor who studies Russian history, said the ceremony fits a pattern of Russian strategic behaviour seen since 2022, when a new Consul General and a new head of Trust Arktikugol arrived. She said Norway should push back consistently and monitor Russian power projection. Reports by the Dossier Center and NRK link Chemerilo to the GRU. Lars Fause of Sysselmesteren (the Governor of Svalbard) told Aftenposten that nothing about the demonstration gave cause to react. He said his remit is peace and stability.