Abstract
Copies of the Poliarnaia kochegarkanewspaper, published by the Russian/Soviet mining trust Arktikugol and stored in the State Archive of the Murmansk Region (GAMO), contain a wealth of material which emerged after a systematic coverage, for nearly half a century, of various aspects of the development of the Svalbard (Spitsbergen) archipelago, from Stalin’s times to the late Soviet period. In the newspaper, one can find a wide range of topics and genres, from the official publications both at the state and the local levels to sketches of polar dwellers’ everyday life. Poliarnaia kochegarka’s articles help readers to trace the development of Arktikugol’s capacities and the formation of normal living conditions in the Soviet Arctic settlements on the archipelago. Poliarnaia kochegarkaalso contains many observations on the Norwegian mines on Svalbard. Its particular interest, however, consists in various historical surveys and the information about the international contacts on the archipelago.
Highlights
Copies of the Poliarnaia kochegarka newspaper, published by the Russian/Soviet mining trust Arktikugol and stored in the State Archive of the Murmansk Region (GAMO), contain a wealth of material which emerged after a systematic coverage, for nearly half a century, of various aspects of the development of the Svalbard (Spitsbergen) archipelago, from Stalin’s times to the late Soviet period
Periodicals occupy an important place among printed historical sources. They reflect the official opinions and priorities, as well as people’s mood at certain times, and occasionally contain valuable information about earlier historical periods. This can justly be said about the newspaper Poliarnaia kochegarka (Polar Furnace) published by the Soviet trust Arktikugol
An almost complete set of this newspaper since 1948, plus some prewar issues, are kept at the State Archive of the Murmansk Region (GAMO). What information can this in-house edition provide to those who are interested in the mining history of the Spitsbergen (Svalbard) archipelago?
Summary
Official documents occupied a prominent place on the newspaper’s pages. Much space was allocated to the official materials supplied by the leadership of the mines and the trust’s public institutions. Those were the editorials where the tasks of the working collective were prioritized, as well as conference materials and the information about the decisions taken at various meetings and by elected public bodies. The trust and mines’ management regularly informed the newspaper readership about the achievements of and prospects for the mines’ development. The trust’s Director for the Production V. Trifonenkov wrote about this in detail in 1980 Gnilorybov gave a one-and-a-half page description of the prospects for the mines’ development during the 12th Five-year Plan (“Osnovnye zadachi trudiashchikhsia tresta Arktikugol na 1986 god” [The Main Tasks for the Arktikugol employees in 1986]”, see no. 12 of 1986)
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