Nytt kortnotat fra RE:Barentsprosjektet med resultater fra spørreundersøkelser gjennomført i 2022 og 2024 som viser nordmenns endringer i holdninger til Russland, russere og norsk russlandspolitikk i perioden.
Hovedfunn: Stor grad av stabilitet; nordmenn er skeptiske til det russiske regimet, støtter Ukraina i krigen, er blitt mer mistenksomme overfor russere, men skiller klart mellom regimet og vanlige russere. Noe mer usikkerhet (flere svarer ‘vet ikke’).
Thon Hotel Kautokeino, møterom Varri, tirsdag 12. November kl. 09:30-14:00
Siden Den kalde krigens dager har samer forsøkt å samarbeide på tvers av Jernteppet. Fra 1980-tallet av ble mulighetene stadig bedre, men de siste ti årene har det stramma seg til igjen, og i 2022 kollapsa forholdet mellom øst og vest. Hvor går vi herfra?
«Fra vår til vinter – og videre?» er del 2 av RE:Barents-prosjektets avslutningsseminar (for del 1, se her). Forskerne som har arbeidet i prosjektet inviterer til et åpent seminar der de vil formidle resultater, svare på spørsmål, og gi mulighet til å diskutere sjølve forskningstemaet.
På Thon hotell 12. november inviterer vi altså til en åpen samtale om hva det samiske samfunnet og Barentssamarbeidet har fått til i løpet av tiårene med åpenhet og samarbeid i forholdet mellom øst og vest, dagens situasjon, og hva som er utsiktene for framtidig samarbeid.
På programmet står blant anna NIBR-forsker Mikkel Berg-Nordlie (aktuell med boka «En kort introduksjon til samenes historie») som skal sette Jernteppe-kryssende samisk samarbeid inn i et historisk perspektiv, og Aurora Xiao Nicoline Ressler som har skrevet en master om helsesamarbeidet Kárášjohka-Lujávv’r. Det blir dessuten en paneldebatt mellom ulike deltakere samisk samarbeid på tvers av grensa.
Seminaret går fra 09:30 til 14:00 på tirsdag 12.11. Seminaret og seminarlunsjen er gratis, og ingen påmelding er nødvendig.
Seminaret tolkes mellom nordsamisk og norsk. Deltakere som vil benytte tolketjenesten må ta med telefon som kan laste inn tolketjenestens app, og egne øretelefoner
Velkommen!
Program:
09:30 Dørene åpner, kaffe
10:00 Åpning v/ Aadne Aasland (prosjektleder for Re:Barents, forsker 1 på NIBR-OsloMet)
10:15: Velkomstord v/ representant for Sámi allaskuvla
10:30 Foredrag: «Fra vinter til vår og tilbake igjen: Samisk samarbeid over Jernteppet i et historisk perspektiv»
RE:Barents-prosjektet nærmer seg slutten, og forskerne som har jobbet med prosjektet i 3 år, ønsker å formidle resultater til lokalsamfunn som har vært aktive i Barentssamarbeidet. Første formidlingsseminar finner sted i Alta på Kunnskapsparken, kaféen i 1. etg.
Dette er et rett-fra-jobben- seminar hvor vi starter med en matbit fra klokka 16.00. Første presentasjon tar for seg Alta kommunes vennskapskommunesamarbeid med Apatity, og vi har invitert med et panel med aktive deltakere fra Altasamfunnet. Det blir faglige framlegg, presentasjon av en fersk spørreundersøkelse, og diskusjoner med mulighet for spørsmål fra salen. Se programmet under.
Vigdis Nygaard, NORCE has published a report analyzing 50 years of cooperation between municipalities in Northern Norway and Northwest Russia in the period 1972 to 2022. The study documents signing of 30 agreements involving 28 different northern Norwegian municipalities. This cooperation grew from a formal exchange of delegations of administrative staff and politicians to a broader civil society involvement. The friendship was most active during the 1990-ies, and gradually became less regular. Only a handful of municipalities had an active cooperation when Russia’s war in Ukraine stopped all cooperation in 2022. The report offers some recommendations on how to use this experience when developing new forms of cooperation with other partners in a different geography at local level.
Aurora Xiao Nicoline Ressler has defended her Master’s thesis: The Friendship Cooperation Between Karasjok and Lovozero: A Qualitative Study of a Multidimensional Cross-border Friendship Between Two Sámi Capitals at Oslo Metropolitan University (Social Welfare and Health Policy). Aurora has been an active participant in the RE:Barents project, and we are proud of her great work. Congratulations to Aurora!
The Arctic Congress https://www.arcticcongress.com/ is this year’s biggest venue to present social science results of ongoing research in the Arctic. The event took place in Bodø and gathered more than 1000 participating researchers. Vigdis Nygaard from NORCE represented RE:Barents, and her presentation “Fading friendship – in the face of geopolitical changes” told the story about friendship agreements between Northen Norwegian and Russian municipalities, and the abrupt halt caused by the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Jørn Holm-Hansen and Aadne Aasland’s article «Cross-Border Cooperation Against the Odds? Russian and Norwegian Grassroots Organizations in a Changed Geopolitical Environment» has been published in Journal of Northern Studies (no. 1 2024). It is available for downloading together with the rest of the issue.
“Conviviality” is a useful term for exploring interactions and relationships taking place between different groups of people. While conviviality may arise through everyday processes, rhythms, and senses of belonging, it may also be made possible or limited by social structures, power relations and politics when taking place across borders. “Conviviality” as a theoretical perspective has mainly previously dealt with places within a border, and to a lesser extent has been linked to borders and boundary areas, and especially then in circumpolar areas. We use the concept of “border conviviality,” focusing on the intersection of changing geo-political contexts and changing personal contexts, to develop a theoretical look at “people-to-people” cooperation- and cohabitation through “conviviality” and how these were created, changed, and challenged in Kirkenes, a small town on the border of Norway and Russia, in the months following the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. We find that such a concept may provide a broader understanding of the dynamic nature of space and place associated with cooperation and “unification.” Additionally, we contend that the way in which “conviviality” is meaningfully linked to “borders” is shaped by how people live, work, and collaborate.
As part of the RE:Barents project we invited an anonymous researcher from Russia, whom we know from extensive research collaboration with OsloMet, to visit and report from this year’s Barents Pride festival in Kirkenes. The festival took place 21-24 September.
The decision to keep the author’s identity anonymous stems from the current restrictive anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Russia. This legislation not only prohibits «LGBT propaganda» targeted at children, but now extends its reach to people of all ages.
Below are the researcher’s text and photos.
“We have more trans people than translators here. And it is great!”
From September 21 to 24, the annual Norwegian-Russian Pride took place in Kirkenes, which has been held on the initiative of the two parties since 2017. A large number of LGBTQ people came from different regions of Russia to take part in the Pride. Barents Pride is a platform where these people can freely express their voice, speak out about the problems of the LGBTQ community in modern Russia and celebrate diversity and love. This is the goal and key idea of this event.
21 September
On the first day of the Pride, an exhibition opened where the works of participants from Russia were presented. All exhibits are united by a common message of understanding homophobia and transphobia as modern rhetoric of the Russian government. For example, to express their attitude towards repressive laws, visitors were asked to write a message to Russian officials over newspapers with political analytics. The exhibition was accompanied by a musical performance by the Russian indie group “Aloe Vera”.
After the opening, an annual protest took place on the border of Norway and Russia, where not only LGBTQ activists, but also representatives of Sami people from Russia held a common picket.
The day ended with a continuation of the unity of minorities – with a concert of Sami folk music from Roman Iakovlev and a queer performance from Timimie Märak.
22 September
The second day of the Pride began with a Sami workshop, where participants were invited to weave ethnic jewelry with elements of LGBTQ symbols.
The local cinema hosted the premiere of a documentary film about the life of LGBTQ people in Russia, “L*** 404”, filmed by the “Gorgon” art group after the start of the war in Ukraine. The characters in the film described in detail the problems associated with everyday homophobia, violence and rejection that they face in everyday life, in their families and at work. The will to live and a strong belief in change are the qualities of the film’s characters that give the viewer hope for a better future for Russia and the entire European continent.
In the afternoon, the Samfundshuset library hosted a lecture by the popular Russian-speaking historian Tamara Eidelman, “How People learned to appreciate freedom,” in which the speaker showed the genealogy of the phenomenon of freedom in a geographical and historical dimension in Russia and the world.
The second day of the Pride ended with a rainbow mass in the local Kirkenes church, where everyone present united in prayer for freedom, love and peace in three languages: Norwegian, Russian and English.
23 September
Last but not the least day of the pride began with a workshop on self-care for activists. At the workshop, topics on safety precautions and column movement during the parade were discussed.
At 13:00 the parade column moved towards Samfundshuset in the center of Kirkenes. Music, bright posters and clothes, slogans and greetings from residents – the solidarity of the participants in the Norwegian-Russian initiative was felt in everything.
After the parade, all participants gathered in the Samfundshuset hall for a welcome speech and tea.
The evening Pride program was concluded with a series of cultural events on the theme of protecting the rights of the Kven people and an interactive performance from the Pikene på Broen collective.
At night, everyone could meet in the bar as part of Barents Pride Night.
What is the significance of the Barents Pride for its participants?
For many visitors to Barents Pride 2023, this event is very special. We were able to talk to some participants and get their opinion about this event (all quotes have been edited and anonymized for the safety reasons)
“For me, Pride in Kirkenes is a breath of freedom, a place where you can breathe and be charged by others. It seems to me that without this event, many here from Russia would have lost their hope.” (Pride participant from Russia).
“This is my second time coming here for the parade. I have never been at the parades before the Barents one. Many thanks to Norwegian society and government. Today, being LGBT in Russia is like committing a terrible crime, but here you don’t have to hide who you are. Isn’t this the coolest gift one person can give another?” (Pride participant from Russia).
“Kirkenes is in itself a special place for any activist and simply freedom-loving person from the Murmansk region. Even before the war [i.e. in Ukraine from February 24, 2022] it was perceived as a fortress of freedom, and now even more so… I’m very glad to be part of this parade today”. (Pride participant from Russia).
“I think it’s great that today our society supports LGBTQ people from Russia. Despite all the terrible things that are happening in the modern world – wars, violence, hunger, events such as Barents Pride help imbrace humanity and build a future for our neighborly relations». (Pride participant from Norway)
