Another side of Lesley Riddoch

Border crossing

This is Willie the Border Crosser – a fabulously energetic Norwegian wrestler from Kirkenes who has been travelling backwards and forwards to Murmansk and all over the old Soviet Union is a clapped out Toyota, taking teams of young men from Norway beyond the formal limits of the western world for the last three decades.

In case there's confusion. Willie's type of wrestling is more Greek-Roman Olympic sports stuff than Mickey O'Rourke.

Willie's first trip only happened because he realised the military Russian guard was a fellow restler – he had the same mangled ears! After that he just kept travelling – ironically his day job was managing the Mountain Hall sports and concert venue in Kirkenes – a cave turned into a bunker by the Germans, extended by the Norwegians into a nuclear fallout shelter in case of Russian attack and finally a concert venue for the Barents Spektakel showcasing indigenous Russian musicians!

Willie has paid no attention to the hard facts of the Cold War or the tedious form-filling and high cost of crossing the old Iron Curtain and now the bureaucractic but no less formidable Ice Curtain into Russia. Inspired by the example of the Vardoe boxers and wrestlers in 1959 who sailed into Murmansk for the craic and promptly got arrested by the KGB, (see Monday's Scotsman column!) Willie decided to keep visiting his neighbours across the Iron Curtain. After all, Oslo is three hours away by plane – Murmansk just two. And Nikel – a heavily polluted mining town is even closer. Just 45 minutes from Kirkenes. And yet 1 in 5 inhabitants of Nikel have never been to Norway. Willie though has paid no attention to the mere formalities that have deterred almost everyone else. Norwegians currently have to "import" their cars to drive over and Russians must itemise every item of clothing and belongings and pay tax on any discrepancy on return. And that's after they've managed to get days off work to make the ten hour round trip twice to Murmansk to submit and collect their visa application in person. After all that the Norwegians have tough rules. If Russians don't have enough cash to afford Norwegian accommodation, they may be rebuffed. But hopes are high that in April a new border zone will be created allowing free local passage for people living 30 kms from the border on either side.

This big step forward in trust and common sense is not just the result of high level talks in Moscow/Oslo, or even enlightened self interest as the two nations prepare to exploit the 20% of oil and gas reserves that lie in their shared seas (unless collapsing gas prices put that on hold). It's also a tribute to persistent border crossers like Willie. Now I'm about to hop on the plane to oslo and then Edinburgh – a border crosser myself after a month in Sweden and Norway.

I'm looking forward to seeing my old man. And maybe a few green fields of home after nothing but snow for weeks!

Border Crossing

I've just come back from the Russian – Norwegian border, 14 kms from Kirkenes in Norway's High North -- driven there by Stein, a very helpful member of the Barents Secretariat. This low-key, quiet border may get busier from April when a new Border Zone will hopefully be created, allowing Russians and Norwegians living with 30 kms of the border visa-free travel – just as all Scandinavians currently enjoy across one another's national borders.

It's quite an advance because on the Russian side (which we didn't reach) there is a barbed wire fence reaching from the Barents Sea to the Gulf of Bothnia on the Finnish Baltic – even though, this border (Russia's oldest) is one of the most peaceful crossing places between east and west. And also one of the slowest – and not just because it's the only border where there's a two hour time difference. Stein tells me that even if you have a multi-journey visa, which allows 90 days in 6 months to be spent in Russia – you still have to "import" your car every time you go through. And you must drive (or cycle) through. No foot traffic is allowed (or makes much sense given its minus 20). The editor of the fabulous Barents Observer www.barentsobserver.com Thomas Nilsen wants his fastest ever processing time of 12 minutes reduced to one minute with biometrics to let him stick a finger into a reader at either side and drive straight through. Will that happen this year? Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store apparently discussed all these plans in Moscow this week with his opposite number. So big change could be just months away – though just for the border dwellers at first.The Barents Spetakel have had some really cheeky artistic pops at the whole absurdity of the border regime. They do get fit classes (border crossing exercises – geddit?) and made a false floodlit border on the frozen lake beside the check point (above) inviting people to cross.

A recent survey found 70% of Russians want to visit Norway – but only 30% would consider working here. I thought that sounded very low, but Norwegians think that's quite high given the cultural chasm that decades of separation have created. Roll on Spring! I have also been massively impressed by the way people aren't daunted by face-freezing temperatures. This woman had put little socks on her dogs feet so he could still enjoy his daily walk– "he's 13 so now he feels the cold," and older women appear to have better mobility in the snow thanks to wooden sledges that act as shopping trolleys/zimmers/ top speed devices for going down slopes. I'm off to try one now.

Arctic Calling

I'm in Kirkenes, 20 miles from the Russian border and so far east in Northern Norway that I'm on the same longitude line as Alexandria and Istanbul. I have rarely met more welcoming, friendly and smart, co-operative people. "The further north you go the better east-west co-operation become" – Russia's Foreign Minister observed in Kirkenes recently – and he's right. You know all that stuff about people getting colder and more defensive and almost less civilised and outgoing the further north it gets? Or colder the closer they get to "cold" Russia – forget that southern-based propaganda and self-hating nonsense.

I'm just back from "downtown Kirkenes" (population 3016 in 1996) to hear about the amazing Border Crossers – Norwegian sportsmen who've cheerfully ignored the border controls for decades to keep contact and competition with their neighbours alive. As you can see I came back somewhat excitable with some presents -- a winner's medal from the recent Cross Border Barents Olympics, and a Russian swimming cap.

The occasion for this visit is the Barents Spektakel – a four days arts event in the world's northernmost town. Their opening concert was quite simply the best cultural event I have ever attended.

If art is about transformation, then I am completely changed.

I watched in amazement as Russian singer, Stepanida Borisova from Far Northern Yakutia turned from small woman with innuit features into torch-singing, Valkyrie-like Arctic diva. Her shamanic incantation – backed by Norwegian and Finnish jazz drummers and percussionists is the most amazing performance I've ever seen in my life. And she's on again tonight. I have made it my mission to get her into this year's Edinburgh Festival. Help gratefully received and I'll try to load a (badly shot) film of her in action later.

Twelve indigenous Arctic artists performed from three different stages around the auditorium allowing a seamlessly transition from one haunting sound to another, without the disruptive effect of a presenter or MC. The result was a transportation to life on the ice – on both sides of the old Iron Curtain and both sides of the Atlantic. Olga Letykai Csonka was on next – a fur-swathed, face-painted, petite black-haired woman who used her voice, throat and chest to mimic every bird, bear and human emotion whilst dancing in soaring, swooping sensuous movements around the stage like a tumbling eagle.

The massive auditorium itself tells an unbelievable story. The mountain hall was first excavated by the Germans in the Second World War as a bunker. It was then extended by the townspeople, to guard against possible Soviet nuclear attack and it is now playing host to Russian artists, united across language barriers and geography by the Foreign Ministry of the Norwegian government in a hall that was built to keep them out!

Anyway, more later. But if you are interested in the festival check out the Barents website www.barentsspektakel.no/eng

 

Still more photos...

A date for your diary

If you bought the Scotsman over the last few days, you will have seen an advert like this one with Joyce McMillan. On 17 February, the Scotsman will launch a weekly podcast which will be produced by Feisty Productions. Lesley Riddoch will be joined by a posse of Scotsman journalists to discuss, dissect and debate the big issues. The podcast will be available on the Scotsman website. And here. 

Put the date in your diary now.

And the photos keep coming...

Coming up on February 17th !

 

More photos from Gotland

And the photos keep coming.

Northern Lighting

I've just spent the last two hours climbing a hill in (minus) 20, a (nearly) full moon and (at times waist) deep snow to spot some fabulous Northern Lights above Karashok – home of the Sami parliament. Finnmark is the homeland of these reindeer herding people who have roamed across all borders (including the Russian) for centuries. Now they are mostly settled and have a fabulous parliament building (left) which came in on time and on budget. I'm the guest of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry here – and from tomorrow until Sunday in Kirkenes. My mission – to see their "Far North" policy in action, encouraging cultural links between indigenous people on either side of the Arctic Norwegian- Russian border, in the interests of world security. I spent the day hearing about Sami customs and being struck by the number of parallels with Scottish Gaelic culture..... and discovering that Renee Zellwegger is part Sami – her mother came from Kirkenes!

Photos from Gotland

I took my camera with me and will post a series of albums over the next few days.

Today is Lau Church. Lau Church -- the fabulous centre of a medieval parish on Gotland-- has a problem. It's so cold in winter the faithful can't use it but heating would damage the precious murals and wooden interiors -- and cost a small fortune which would have to be found by a dwindling congregation.The answer -- devised by Tor Brostrom from Gotland University -- is to heat the people not the space. So the people in these pictures are being measured for comfort and warmth as they are heated from below by underfloor heating and from above by infra-red heaters placed inside chandeliers made by a Visby blacksmith and modelled on other medieval chandeliers in the church. According to Stefan Haase, Museum Curator, the church is now used outwith the short, warm Gotland summer (May-September), energy is being saved, and so is the priceless Church interior. And the temperature beside the heated congregation area -- minus two!