Russia's Kirkenes Consulate remains open, but for how long?
Consulates across Europe and Russia are hit by a wave of closure as diplomatic relations worsen.
The yellow building is the only one in Kirkenes with burglar bars on all ground-floor windows. Surveillance cameras keep an eye on people walking the street outside on their way to and from the town hall next building. A satellite antenna on the roof presumably links the diplomatic outpost with Moscow.
Russia’s Consulate General in the Norwegian border town had a key role in issuing visas. Nowadays, locals crossing the border to the Kola Peninsula are for the most people with dual citizenship. With outbreak of the full-scale war against Ukraine last February, officials ended most public cross-border project cooperation. From the Russian side, Putin had then already forced an end to almost all civil society initiatives involving Nordic neighbors. Western tourists stay away; cheap gas, restaurants and nightclubs in Murmansk were no longer tempting.
Today, the Kirkenes consulate serves as a transit hub for Russian diplomats on their way to Oslo, Barentsburg, Reykjavik. The land border up north is an easy journey from Moscow.
For how long it will remain open is unclear. Relationship is reduced to a minimum and consulates seem to be the next big hit in deterioration.
Last two weeks in brief:
