On ice but not broken: Norwegian–Russian relations in polar science since 24 February 2022

Ole Arve Misund

doi:10.33265/polar.v44.10944

Ole Arve Misund Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway; and Norwegian College of Fishery Science, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3240-0764

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v44.10944

Keywords: International scientific cooperation, fisheries, polar environment, Arctic, Antarctica, war

Abstract

Western countries responded to the full-scale Russian attack on Ukraine on 24 February 2022 by imposing strong sanctions to isolate Russia. Norway has adhered to this policy, with exceptions for cooperation on border control, search and rescue, and fisheries research and management in the Barents Sea. Bilateral cooperation within polar science is on ice but has not broken off completely as some scientist-to-scientist contact has been maintained. This Perspective article outlines how these sanctions have greatly reduced cooperation between Norwegian research entities (especially the Institute of Marine Research and the Norwegian Polar Institute) and Russian institutes and scientists in various fields of marine and polar science. Some scientist-to-scientist contact remains, but the nature of these communications has become scantier during the course of the last three years. Maintaining some form of contact is vital for the sustainable management of the living marine resources that Russia and Norway share.

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