Political leaders across Russia step up support for their country’s bloody war against Ukraine Practically all of them are controlled by United Russia the political party built by Putin and his associates since the early 2000s United Russia appears as one of the major drivers of Putin’s war propaganda local leaders run campaigns and stage support rallies for the war a far northern village on the shores of great river Ob local authorities organised a snowmobile rally devoted to the Armed Forces The snowmobiles raced through town and onto the sea-ice of the Ob where nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput was moored the two letters that are Russia’s main war symbols A video of the rally is available on the website of the village administration Meanwhile, in Chukotka, the region located on Russia’s far east Arctic coast, regional governor Roman Kopin recently published on his Telegram channel a performance by local dance ensemble Ergyron the indigenous group shows devotion to President Putin and the war against Ukraine The performance ends with the dancers forming a “Z.” Also Chukotka has soldiers participating in the war. Recently, the regional government announced that one of its men had lost his life in battle Soldier Anatoly Artamonov came from Vankarem a tiny village on the coast of the Chukchi Sea Further west on Russia’s Arctic coast is the village of Gyda, where municipal Mayor Oleg Shabalin over the past two months has filled his VK page with war propaganda. Recently, he visited a local kindergarten where he underlined the importance of giving kids the right “patriotic upbringing” from early age The young mayor now ends all his social media posts with war slogans such as #ZaNashi (for our soldiers) There are plenty of pro-war rallies also in the Kola Peninsula Governor Andrei Chibis travels around in the region with a large “Z” on his chest The same position is displayed by Andrei Kuznetsov Kuznetsov took part in a pro-war rally in the border town of Nikel The mayor on his Telegram channel encouraged all locals to attend the action that was to “express support to the military personnel that take part in the special operation on demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine.” the municipality of Pechenga has been engaged in close cross-border cooperation with neighboring Norway and especially the town of Kirkenes The two municipalities have a friendship agreement that outline a number of joint activities and projects Despite the pro-war support from the Russian side, the friendship agreement has so far not been cancelled by the Norwegians Kirkenes also has a similar friendship agreement with Severomorsk Far from all Russians support the war. Every day there are protest action across the country. Telegram channels such as Activatica reports about many of them In the city of Arkhangelsk, local police has taken action against a number of protesters. Among them is Oksana Vladika When Murmansk Governor Andrei Chibis on the 16th of April announced that three navy sailors had been killed in Ukraine a storm of response followed on his VK page The post now has more than 1,000 comments from readers Let instead the officials from the Ministry of Defense go to war,” she underlines Published by: The Independent Barents Observer AS About us The Barents Observer follows the Code of Ethics of the Norwegian Press and the document Right and Duties of the Editor We report under full editorial independence and have no external interference Donate to our independent journalism Støtt oss via Vipps: 105 792 - Det betyr mye newstips@thebarentsobserver.com atle@thebarentsobserver.com thomas@thebarentsobserver.com☏ +47-905 73 143 denis@thebarentsobserver.com georgii@thebarentsobserver.com liza.vereykina@thebarentsobserver.com olesia@thebarentsobserver.com Privacy policy The vast and alluring Eurasian steppe personifies the infinity of time and space So it is no wonder that the heart of the steppe is the sanctuary for the remains of two of the region’s greatest poets and philosophers The double mausoleum dedicated to Abai Kunanbayev (1845-1904) and Shakarim Kudayberdiyev (1858-1931) commands the Kazakh savanna as it stretches toward the firmament a rousing testament to their enduring influence Often described as the founder of written Kazakh literature Abai is celebrated prolifically in Kazakhstan and throughout Central Asia His most famous work is The Book of Words in which he exhorts his readers through poetry to eschew corruption and embrace good moral character But he was also known for bridging the gap between east and west by translating the works of numerous European luminaries including Goethe and Lermontov into Kazakh for broader consumption is known for his tersely titled book Three Truths, which took him 30 years to complete when he confronted the newly minted Soviet Union with his truths Stalin had him shot in 1931 and banned his writings It wasn’t until the 1980s that his works were rediscovered and celebrated as a point of Kazakh pride the complex was built near the village of Zhidebay in the region where Abai’s father once ruled as sultan Abai’s mausoleum itself stands approximately 123 feet tall while his nephew’s is slightly shorter at some 115 feet Nearby are the monuments and burial plots for various family members including one for Abai’s mother where the grounds feature a small pyramid that makes the rather dubious claim to mark the geographical center of Eurasia the complex includes a library and amphitheater to fully celebrate the learned writers’ erudition and influence an oration competition is held here for children in grades eight to eleven The current recitation record is held by a student who performed 400 of Abai’s poems and songs from memory Malta’s largest cemetery is a Victorian-era architectural masterpiece This 17th-century temple gave the area of Ganeshkhind its name Not far from the more famous House of Juliet visitors will find the supposed residence of her lover The Catskills retreat of naturalist writer John Burroughs The oldest functional consecrated church on Mustang Island The seat of the Mantua bishop holds many secrets within its walls One of the most important Krio heritage sites in the country This chapel is the site of a yearly pilgrimage that originated during the Middle Ages It was the first time ever that two ships conducted simultaneous unloading of its cargo in the ice The nuclear icebreaker operator had two of its powerful vessels on site The “Ural” and “Taymyr” were both involved in the escort of cargo ships “Utrenny” and “Grigory Shelikhov.” In addition diesel-powered icebreaker “Admiral Makarov” was engaged A total of 4,600 tons of cargo was put on the river ice and subsequently transported on snow roads to nearby project development sites A key part of the cargo was oil pipes for the pipeline trunk connection to the Sever Bay oil terminal Also housing modules and belt vehicles were part of the shipment It is a highly complicated operation for the ships involved. The ship pilots must work with a high level of accuracy and failed movements could have irreversible consequences, Atomflot informs It is not the first shipment of the kind to the ice terminal of Tanalau. In February this year, a first vessel docked on site. Later this year, also the two nearby terminals of Karaul and Vorontsevo will be applied, project operator Vankorneft informs In total, Rosneft will take use of 16 terminal sites along the Yenisey in connection with its development of Vostok Oil They will handle more than 300,000 tons of winter-time shipments The Vostok Oil is the biggest industrial project currently under development in Russia It includes more than 50 license areas in the Taymyr Peninsula as much as 100 million tons of oil per year is to be extracted from site The state oil company run by Putin mate Igor Sechin is making an unprecedented industrial expansion into the vulnerable tundra of the Russian far north And Sechin is in a hurry. The Vostok Oil project is scheduled to produce more than 100 million tons of oil by year 2030 all of it to be shipped out through the Northern Sea Route to buyers in Europe and Asia Already in 2024, the project is due to produce at least 30 million tons more than 500,000 tons of construction materials are to be transported to the construction sites in peninsula Taymyr Much of it will be shipped to the port of Dudinka and the new Sever Bay terminal the company is in the process of preparing as many as 16 terminal mooring points along the northern parts of the Yenisey The mooring points will allow ships to moor and unload goods directly in the river ice the Vostok Oil is the biggest industrial project currently under development in Russia The need for deliveries of construction materials is massive and the company is grappling also with getting needed shipping capacities Rosneft has already contracted the brand new nuclear-powered icebreaker Ural it plans to apply services from another four icebreakers Metal and pipeline components are to be delivered in the course of winter 2023 Much of it will be shipped from Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Shipments will be made also from Krasnoyarsk The Vostok Oil will make the far northern Taymyr one of Russia’s most important oil regions A big number of tankers will ultimately shuttle to the Sever Bay terminal on the coast of the Kara Sea the terminal is due to handle 50 million tons of oil per year Few years later the annual volumes are to be increased to more than 100 million tons The Vostok Oil includes more than 50 license areas in the Taymyr Peninsula and the first of them to be developed are the Payakhskoye and Icheminskoye fields Both of them are due to come into production in 2024 The latter field is located along the western banks of river Yenisey and a 7 km long pipeline will be built under the river to infrastructure on the eastern side The development of Vostok Oil comes at at time when Russian hydrocarbons are under mounting pressure in the international market Sanctions introduced following Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine will ultimately lead to an embargo in the European market Rosneft argues that it will be able to develop the Vostok Oil without western technology as much as 98 percent of all the project’s materials and equipment will be produced domestically in Russia