jorgesanchez's travel recommendations

Barentsburg is a Russian settlement at a few hours by snowmobile from Longyearbyen, in the main island of the Svalbard, called Spitsberg. There live approximately 1200 inhabitants exploiting the charcoal mines, mainly Ukrainians but also from Russia, Byelorussia and other ex republics of the disappeared USSR, of which 1000 are men and the rest women. According to a Treaty signed in 1920 in Sevres (where the then Soviet Union was not invited) the Svalbard have a special status exempted of any Army; they are a kind of no man’s land administrated by Norwegian but any country can exploit the mines or install a Radio or Meteorology station, for instance. In Barensturg you see signs in Cyrillic alphabet in the streets, a statue to Lenin, and an Orthodox Church. There is a hotel for tourists and a shop where you can buy Lenin pins, medals from the WWII, and old USSR military shapkas. Barentsburg is the second greatest one in the Svalbard. It looks like a Siberian village.

Address: village of Barenstburg Barentsburg Svalbard Svalbard Phone: + no available E-mail: noavailable@yahoo.com Price: exclusive