Oct 8, 2024: Polar Journal Features Research by Olga Povoroznyuk
In a recent article published by the online information platform Polar Journal, titled “In shrinking Soviet towns, Northern Sea Route is keeping hope alive,” journalist Ole Ellekrog talked with Olga Povoroznyuk, InfraNorth’s research coordinator and lead of the Russian Arctic study region, about the difficulty of conducting anthropological research on Russia today and how InfraNorth is addressing this challenge.
Based on fieldwork conducted by Povoroznyuk prior to 2022, the article discusses how residents of Tiksi, a shrinking town in the Russian Arctic, hold on to hopes raised by the promises of development linked to the Northern Sea Route. While the route has become more viable as a result of climate change, actual improvements to local infrastructure remain minimal. Despite a period of prosperity under Soviet rule, the population of Tiksi has continued to decline, and promises of revitalization have remained largely unfulfilled.
