Newsletter: Cooperation Lives On Despite Arms Race

Editor-in-Chief Arne O. Holm notes that the term “disarmament” is joining the ranks of other linguistic dinosaurs at the same time as Mikhail Gorbatsjov is laid to rest. 

"His legacy has been thoroughly wiped out by his political successors," says Holm in this week’s commentary. 

Russian dissent

Amid an arms race, sanctions, and an ice-cold cooperation climate, Russian protest art lives on both sides of the border, with strong devices against Putin’s war propaganda: 

An artistic jab at war propaganda and the authoritarian. Contact on a war-critical basis instead of freezing all dialogue across the border. These are important counteractions against Russia’s regime, says Russian Evgenij Goman in an interview with HNN’s Astri Edvardsen.

A sign of the times is also that the USA is planning to appoint its first Arctic ambassador. The announcement clearly shows that the US is serious about the Arctic, says Senior Research Fellow Andreas Østhagen at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. 

Nordic ministers say the increased military presence and activity in northern Europe underlines the importance of avoiding incidents. 

“On several occasions, we have seen irresponsible and unprofessional Russian behavior," said Finland's, Norway's, and Sweden's Ministers of Defense in a joint statement last week. 

Something to celebrate

The Democrat Mary Peltola will be Alaska's first native member of Congress and the first woman to fill the state's only seat in the House of Representatives. 

Plus, here comes an exciting project, if we can call the moving of a whole city just that: 

This weekend, Kiruna in Northern Sweden opens its new city center after 18 years of planning to move its 10 000 inhabitants spread over 5000 homes. A move that will save both the iron ore mine and the city. High North News is present to cover the event, so stay tuned. 

That leaves only for us to wish our readers a good weekend on behalf of the editorial staff of High North News. Feel free to follow us on social media. 

Wishing you all the best for the rest of the weekend,

Trine Jonassen, News Editor 

This newsletter has been translated from Norwegian to English by Birgitte Annie Molid Martinussen.