"Little Murmansk" - in Norway

- I visit Kirkenes at least once a month, says Evgenia, a tourist who just has arrived from Murmansk. – I like to do some shopping here because I can always find something suitable for myself. Besides, a trip to Kirkenes is something like a small journey: five hours I sit in the bus and look at the Northern landscapes. Then I find myself in another place that is very similar to my own city. Perhaps, this is the feeling I like most.

The distance between Murmansk and Kirkenes, a town in the province of Finnmark, is 250 kilometers. The road to the Norwegian border goes through military camps and other territories that during the Soviet period were closed to the public. Most part of the objects remains “not for everybody” till now, so entrance here is only possible if you are living in the Murmansk area, if you have a special admission or you pass through these places to cross the border.

The number of tourists increases every year
However, many people pass this route every day. Travel agencies have got a great choice of buses that leave from Murmansk every day. The predicted growth of people who cross the Norwegian border in 2014 could grow to 400 000 people per year.

”Little Murmansk”
The ice-free port of Kirkenes is centrally situated by the Barents Sea. There are a large number of Russian seamen and tourists who do shopping or simply walk around the town. There is a joke in Russia that another name of small and cozy Kirkenes is ”little Murmansk”. If you don’t consider the difference in the number of inhabitants, it is possible to find many parallels.

There are a large number of shops on the pedestrian street and some tourists compare it with Lenin Street in Murmansk city center. The shopping center «Amfi» in Kirkenes can be compared with Murmansk’s “Volna” mall. Street signs are duplicated into Russian, most of the sellers know Russian language. As in Murmansk there are the same hills around Kirkenes, the same polar night that starts in December and polar day with sun above the horizon during day and night.

- My husband and I are here for the second time, says Alexandra, another tourist from Murmansk, - We have decided to visit Kirkenes once again after our long trip across Scandinavia. – This time we want to visit the town’s sights. What has surprised me most of all? Probably, the “Library” signboard written in Russian, by the town’s main square.

Norwegians read about Russia
Nina Strimp has worked in the library of Sør-Varanger more than 10 years. In 1997 she moved to Kirkenes from Nikel. Before, she used to work in the foreign department of the Murmansk Scientific Library.

- In my opinion a person`s happiness consists of things that he does and, basically, it is his job. Perhaps, people of my profession are the happiest in the world. Public libraries are work without dependence of government policy so I can use my knowledge in every country.

Despite the fact that Norway has another educational system than Russia, I had almost no problem with finding work for myself, - says Nina Ivanovna. The number of “credits” (in Russia these units called “hours”) in my diploma are approximately the same as European norms.

Nina Ivanovna tells that there is an interesting trend: the Norwegians nowadays are more interested in Russian issues. -Of course this is immediately reflected in the literature level, she says. - In our library there are books (and many of their authors have visited us) about the North Caucasus, Ukraine and other regions. Nina Ivanovna believes that in the future, Norway will show the way in “East-West” relations to others countries. Due to its geographical and social conditions, Kirkenes will play a central role in such relationships, the librarian says.

Shopping in the North
There are a lot of small shops on the pedestrian street of Kirkenes, and they are like a magnet for the tourists. Most of the “shopping tourists” are from Nikel or other towns in the Murmansk region.

- Kirkenes is a town where borders between two states are erased, says Christina, shop assistant in of those shops. - People in this town are very kind to each other. You can come from anywhere, but the attitude will remain unchanged. Russian families living in Kirkenes quite often meet with each other at a local Orthodox church. Probably, people spend their spare time differently than they do in Russia. What thing do I miss the most? Perhaps, it is the Russian meal.

Maintaining Russian traditions
If you will follow the pedestrian street, at the end of it you will find a big shopping center called “Amfi” which Russian-speaking inhabitants compare to “Volna” mall in the center of Murmansk. Russian tourists who come to Kirkenes for the first time pay attention to its external wooden façade.

- I came from Naberezhnye Chelny (a city in the middle Russia with a half of million inhabitants) in 2010. The popular belief that people in the north are a bit kinder than people in the south has been affirmed here in Kirkenes, Anna says. - Besides my relatives, I miss Russian meals also. I am a believing person so I often visit the Orthodox Church here in Kirkenes. Archbishop Simon doesn’t forget about people who live abroad and he visits our church once a month. I have met many friends there. From time to time, we support another Russian tradition: we visit each other for a cup of tea.

Kirkenes nowadays is not a town that is situated in the outback of Norway. In some sense life in this town is very busy. In recent years Kirkenes has gained new roles. One of them is that of a cross-border town in the Barents region, with its close relationships to the neighboring regions.

Written by Sergey Andaykin