April 3, 2023: Chapter by Olga Povoroznyuk & Peter Schweitzer in “The Siberian World”

The chapter “What difference does a railroad make?” by Olga Povoroznyuk and Peter Schweitzer is focusing on the impact of the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) in Eastern Siberia in the 1970s-1980s. Special attention is paid to the role of the cities of Tynda and Severobaikalsk which were founded along the BAM at that time. In their paper, the authors are also addressing the impact of the railroad on the local indigenous communities. 

The volume The Siberian World is a collection of insightful papers based on various ethnographic studies dealing with a variety of topics such as indigenous rights and the impact of climate change.

Ziker, J.P., Ferguson, J., & Davydov, V. (Eds.). (2023). The Siberian World. Routledge.

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

Dec 2025: Article by Alexandra Meyer, Ria-Maria Adams and Sophie Elixhauser in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography has recently published the article “Lifelines and Gateways: The Relational Affordances of Arctic Airports” by InfraNorth researchers Alexandra Meyer, Ria-Maria Adams and Sophie Elixhauser. Airports are indispensable to life in the Arctic. Often shaped by geopolitical agendas and external economic interests, they provide vital links for local communities across remote […]

Dec 2025: Peter Schweitzer Interviewed on Austrian Public Radio Ö1

The Austrian public broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) featured InfraNorth principal investigator Peter Schweitzer in an interview on its Ö1 weekend feuilleton “Diagonal” on December 6, 2025, which focused on the politics of infrastructure. Schweitzer appeared in a segment titled “A Silk Road Across the Arctic” (in German: Seidenstrasse über die Arktis), interviewed by Erich Klein […]

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

Dec 2025: Forthcoming Special Issue of the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

The forthcoming special issue “Ethnographies of Infrastructure” of the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, guest edited by Philipp Budka, Peter Schweitzer, and Olga Povoroznyuk, is progressively being made available online ahead of the print edition, which will appear in February 2026. The introduction, authored by Schweitzer, Povoroznyuk, and Budka, is now available open-access. It presents the […]

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

Dec 2025: Article by Peter Schweitzer, et al. in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography has recently published the article “Scenarios and Ethnography: Infrastructural Futures as Windows into the Present” by Peter Schweitzer, Olga Povoroznyuk, Philipp Budka, Alexandra Meyer, Katrin Schmid, and Nikita Strelkovskii. This article reflects on two scenario workshops conducted in 2023 in Kirkenes, Norway, and Churchill, Canada, as part of the ERC […]