Abandoned RUSSIA (2022) Pyramiden, Svalbard, Arctic Circle.
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
- In one of the eeriest experiences we’ve had yet, in the documentary we explore the abandoned Russian settlement of Pyramiden on the arctic island of Svalbard. Join us as we discover why the Russians settled on Norwegian land and why they left in such a hurry…
A special thanks to the Svalbard Museum for granting us permission to use the archived photos in their collection for this film. If visiting the Longyearbyen, we highly recommend taking a couple of hours to visit the carefully crafted museum that’s full of history and information on this incredible island.
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We met living in Cornwall UK and have been planning big adventures ever since. We converted our Ford Transit and are now discovering the world at our own pace! Come say hi and follow us on our adventures and guaranteed mishaps.
00:00 - Abandoned Russia
00:25 - Looking for a Soviet ghost town
01:00 - Pyramiden, Svalbard
01:31 - The Svalbard Treaty
02:10 - Why did the USSR come here?
03:08 - The iron curtain showcase town
04:00 - The heart of Pyramiden
04:58 - The Swimming pool
05:20 - Was it hard living in the arctic?
06:14 - The downfall of Pyramiden
06:56 - Johan, the rifle and the polar bears
07:14 - The Culture House, The end of the road
10:00 - Outro, where do the profits go?
10:22 - Next time
---- Script snips for SEO --
Today We are boarding the MS PolarGirl in Longyrbean, the northernmost permanent settlement on Earth, yet we are heading even further north, looking for a soviet ghost town.
2.
We are looking for Pyramiden, a Russian settlement technically on Norwegian land that was abandoned overnight. And we are here to find out why.
This is Pyramiden. Once home to over 1000? people, now home to 6.
It is overlooked by the mighty Nordenskiöld glacier.
But why did the Soviets come here, and why did Russia end up leaving so quickly?
Once a lawless state, Svalbard, in a bid to solve conflict between mining owners and workers, came under Norwegian sovereignty with The Svalbard Treaty in 1920
The countries who signed the treaty agreed to give full and absolute sovereignty to Norway over the islands, under the conditions that signatories citizens could live there without discrimination, that the environment was protected, *AND that the land would not be militarised.
Today, there are 46 countries who have signed the treaty, but only the Russians and Norwegians have an active presence on the archipelago.
As well as being home to bountiful coal, the Soviet coal company’s move to take over Pyramiden very quickly served political and strategic purposes.
It was a showroom of Soviet communism that was otherwise not seen due to the iron curtain. It was one of two presences here in the high arctic which could help with future claims to sea and land territories as well as potential strategic shipping routes as Arctic ice melts away. (Something like this)
At a time when life inside the Soviet Union was largely unknown, Pyramiden was used to portray a Soviet Utopia of sorts - boasting of helicopters for transport, self sufficient farmland and a strong community that thrived in the long polar nights. They created a village that was designed to alleviate the hardships that Arctic living presented, including a school, hospital, gym and swimming pool, and culture house, making workers and their families feel at home in these high arctic fjords.
Miners, mainly from Ukraine at the time, were eager to come to make the most of good wages, free accommodation and food allowing them to save for a better future.
A carefully crafted portrayal of the very best that the Mainland had to offer, conveniently on a platform for the whole world to see.
The Canteen was the heart of the village, the place where everyone came for every meal of the day. It was decorated with lavish mosaics and even had a lushus garden in the entrance hall in a bid to make people forget the harsh conditions outside.
There was also grass indoors for kids to play as parents socialized.
- As the Soviet economic crash casted a shadow of uncertainty on Pyramiden’s future, the Russian company eventually realised they couldn’t sustain Pyramiden. Barentsburg.
America vs Russia. conspiracy.
- In 1994, miners started to be laid off, families sent home and, by 1998, the once bustling village quickly waved off the last boat of 18 miners, leaving, Johan totally alone with some unwelcome visitors, polar bears.
#russia #abandoned #documentary
How does this channel only have 680 subscribers?! This content is incredibly well done - kudos guys. Your channel is about to blow up.
What a lovely thing to hear, thank you so much David! It's comments like these that keep giving us the motivation to continue sharing these stories! Still very much learning with every video, but it's been a lot of fun!
Have you ever been to Svalbard yourself? It's an incredible place to visit!
751 now ;)
This is exactly what I was thinking
Bang on! This should be on the telly
you two have just created a mini documentary, this is FANTASTIC! Amazing storytelling here and SO interesting. Keep it up.
Aww Liz thank you so much! We decided to mix things up a little with this one as there was just so much history to pack into ten minutes! I hope we've done it justice! P x
@@RollingRoutes it paid off! So stunning.
Wow guys, amazing video, well worth the wait. As always you are so professional, it looks like a TV documentary. Part of the canteen reminded me of the 'Overlook' from 'The Shining' and I expected to see Jack Nicholson. Well done, one of your best videos...
Pete! So nice to hear from you. We have been busy making money for our next trip and battling a few bugs, but have been working hard to put this together, so really glad it went down well :). TV documentary standards, thats a thought now, should we approach ITV for a mini series ha? (maybe we are more Channel 5 material? 🤣🤣)
Hows the weather holding up your end, turned fully autumn yet? It's felt like winter has hit in the North West UK this week
Very interesting and superbly edited, I was surprised to note it's a small channel. Keep doing what you're doing and regularly uploading, the algorithm will pick you up and this channel will blow up, content is very very good.
Thank you so much James! The algorithm is the toughest part of it all, especially when some films take longer than others to produce, we find we fall off the algorithm quite quickly. But we absolutely love sharing these stories and have learnt so much since we first started. It's appreciation like your comment that keeps us going, so thank you so much! - Paloma x
You guys crush it with your video and editing skills. This was a really well done video and what a place to live! Couldn’t imagine it
I know imagine being there for 3 months in total dark knowing polar bears are all around! Thanks for the nice comment guys, super appreciated as always 😊😊😊
@@RollingRoutes 3 months of cold darkness is bad enough, adding polar bears is like the cherry on the 💩 sundae 😭
@@Meghanandmatt haha that's a lovely bit of terminology there, robbing that myself.
This is utterly amazing. Incredibly beautifully shot and so interesting. I wish I could give you two thumbs up. Thank you
Ahh thanks so much!! Two thumbs up would be great ha, but maybe a share if not 😉. Its a super interesting place right!? Have you ever wanted to visited Svalbard?
This is probably one of the best documentaries I have seen on Pyramiden. I really enjoyed it! ❤
That pool table was beautiful. I think it should be put in a museum to preserve it. Great video guys and I like that you feel on a different level--like when you teared up talking about the hardships and the children.
Thank you so much! I was affected a lot more by it than I thought I would. It was such a nostalgic place. Interestingly enough, because svalbard is technically an arctic desert, the humidity is super low, so this would be one of the reasons why that pool table has kept in great condition all these years - it's almost like a natural museum environment! A very fascinating place! - Paloma x
Oh my gosh wow you two, we thoroughly enjoyed this and appreciate how much time and skill went into creating this! I love the old footage as well, we really felt like we were there with you! So informative and gripping. Insane, WOW 😧 xxx
Aww what a lovely comment to wake up to, thank you lads! Definitely took a lot more work than usual, but I hope we've done it justice!!
That was rather interesting. I could tell that Paloma was struggling emotionally with some of her narration, it must have been quite moving. Excellent vlog! By the way, I've been following you for a short while thanks to 'the 3 amigos'.😀🐻❄
Hi Philip! Thanks for taking the time to comment, we're so happy that you've decided to join us from the good old 3 amigos! You are quite right - I didn't expect it to affect me so much, but I did shed a tear or two as I was walking around. It's such a nostalgic place to visit - you really can see all the love that was poured into it slowly falling down. Have you been to anywhere like this before? - P x
@@RollingRoutes No, I've not been anywhere like Svalbard. I've not even been to Scandanavia as a whole. However, I vaguely recall seeing that Russian town on a programme called 'abandoned engineering' which told the story.
Fascinating video, and nicely shot! Very interesting story.
Thank you Mirko! We found it really interesting, so happy that we were able to translate the experience on screen!
This is fantastic! I love the little glimpses to the past via old soviet TV programs. Wish you a solid channel growth as the current amount of subscribers doesn't reflect the quality. I hope to see vlogs from the planned bicycle trip.
Greetings and good luck from Cwtsh hostel team in Swansea ;)
Hey Adrian!
Sorry for the delay getting back to you, not been on here for a while. It was nice to meet you at the hostel and thanks for your help. Hope all is good in Swansea!
Just uploaded our latest video if you are interested - ruclips.net/video/y_rHiKpPTvk/видео.html
Wow! Look at these numbers!! Congrats on the growth guys :) Another beautiful film, excited for the next!
Haha I know right, pretty happy with this so far, and we enjoyed making it more documentary in style. Thanks for the support bud!
What an incredible video! The editing is superb and the content very moving. Thank you for creating and sharing this work. Very humbling
Hey Chris! Thanks for the lovely comment! How did you find our vid by the way?
Very kind words that will keep us motivated to make our next video :). Fanc y a visit to Pyramiden?
@@RollingRoutes Been a subscriber for a while, cannot remember how I found you, a fellow scouser 😊Definitely would like to visit there
I really enjoyed this video. Very well done
Beautifully made and really educational 👍🏻
Cheers Matt! Was such a strange place, you feel the emptyness if you get me! Really gets to you especially when you see things just abandoned that was once a community. Loved the experience though, did quite strange being in 'Russian' territory though, very eerie.
This was such a lovely video,and i love your channel.Have a lovely weekend and stay safe debs fan xx 🤗........
Hey Debs! Ahh thanks, lovely to hear from you, we have to check your channel out now ha. Where are you adventuring at the moment? Chris x
Oh my god this was proper fascinating and very well edited & filmed, well done I hope your channel all the best
Thanks Conor, really appreciate the feedback! It's a early fascinating place, have you been?
Very fascinating. It looks surprisingly well maintained in parts. Great content 👍
Thanks for taking the time to comment! It's incredible isn't it? One reason why a lot of the structures that are outdoors seem to be well preserved is because Svalbard is technically an arctic desert, so very little humidity around to rot away wood! However, as rising temps are happening, there's more rainfall than ever before, so things might start to decay a little quicker as time goes on. It's such a fascinating place!
I loved watching this! Loved the footage! the raw emotion and I’ve learnt something new tonight! Can’t wait for the next video when’s it out? 👏👏🥰
Ahh thanks Roni! We were learning so much as we went as well, we were not expecting it to be that emotional an experience as it was.
Well we would like to say Sunday for the next vid, but we of course have not even started it as we have been busy 😂😂. This Sunday or next hopefully...
It was very interesting. Thank you.
Thank You Tom! Have you ever wanted to visit Svalbard or Pyramiden?
Class video, well done
Cheers Buddy, family holiday in Pyramiden next year ha?
🤘Thats as close as I could get to the peace sign! Great movie. A proper doc! Another example of why you two need yours own tv show. As Pete said - reminded me of the Shinning! 😦
Haha rock on dude! That works too I suppose. Paloma said she has seen the first 20mins of the shining, then she fell asleep... TV series here we come ha.
This was a stunning piece of work. The footage, editing, storytelling, the emotions everything is perfect. Well done guys it's obvious the amount of work that would have went in to this. Keep going it will pay off in the end 💛
Hey! Sorry for the delay been a busy month, but we are just back with a new video. Ahh this is super kind of you to say, we put a good bit of time into this one so glad it went down well.
Just uploaded our latest video if you are interested - ruclips.net/video/y_rHiKpPTvk/видео.html
@@RollingRoutes just watched it - another beautifully shot video. Your storytelling is on point as always.
Amazing!
Thank you Devon! It's such a fascinating place!
✌ Did you enojy the video? Leave a like or✌emoji if you want to see world peace! ✌✌
00:00 - Abandoned Russia
00:25 - Looking for a Soviet ghost town
01:00 - Pyramiden, Svalbard
01:31 - The Svalbard Treaty
02:10 - Why did the USSR come here?
03:08 - The iron curtain showcase town
04:00 - The heart of Pyramiden
04:58 - The Swimming pool
05:20 - Was it hard living in the arctic?
06:14 - The downfall of Pyramiden
06:56 - Johan, the rifle and the polar bears
07:14 - The Culture House, The end of the road
10:00 - Outro, where do the profits go?
10:22 - Next time
I spent near Pyramiden 5 summers (2015-2019), visited it many many times and I never heard about Johan. I would be interested about his story more.
Wow living so close for soo long must of been an interesting experience, what were you there for? Thanks for the comment Martin!
@@RollingRoutes Near Pyramiden is a czech arctic station - i was doing a research there. Actually all my science sites were near Pyramiden and I have to go through the city every time. But as I said, Johan was never there before, so I was interested in his story :-).
What a cool place to do research at, I'm very jealous! Johan was such an interesting guy - he works as an engineer there, so only jumps in as a guide when they're low on the ground for staff. He had some really funny stories about Pyramiden in its hay-day - he met his wife there, got married and had a child. They did move away for a while, but he then returned to Pyramiden alone and looked after the place once everyone left during that first winter. Really interesting guy and we felt lucky to have him show us around with all his personal stories about the place.
Interesting video-I have stayed there overnight 4 times from 2013 to 2019
Such an eerie place, must of been a very strange place to live!
I can't imagine how hard it must have been to live there - crazy stuff!!
Awesome video super content
Thanks Dave! A bit different to our usual stuff, but we hope we've done the place justice!
Great vid. Well shot and put together! Love the drone shots too.
I remember Johan from when I went! :)
Jealous you saw belugas and a seal!
Apparently the week before we went there was a mother polar bear and 2 cubs munching on a seal in that exact place! Now those lot lucked out ha. Thanks for the nice words, we was not sure if we could use the drone but of course no one was around to say no haha. Johan has a very interesting life right ha! Think you could do the long 3 month polar night though?
@@RollingRoutes yes, we heard the same thing about the polar bear with cubs and we were on the island at the same time 😔
I'd like to visit during the polar night especially if there's a chance to see the Northern lights.
@@WestGoesEast I imagine it would be epic to experience the darkness for a stint! Really want to go back and try the hotel out!
Wow a really good documented video, so much history and information, but also scary with all the Polar bears that would love to eat you for their lunch/dinner 🐻❄️ xx
hahaha
Haha yes they would make a quick snack of you if they catch you 🤣🤣
Call up Mr. Bald, I think this would be a dream come true of his.
Just had to look him up - it definitely sounds right up his street! Thanks for mentioning him, off to binge watch the rest of his videos!
Wow your documentary is so good! We didn't know the story of this city, it's pretty crazy to think about the impact of some political decisions...
And as usual, your motion design skills are well appreciated 👍🏻🤓 Maybe some day you could teach us some tricks uhuh
Hey guys!
Ahhh you are too kind. I know the story is far more interesting than we thought and we have been learning loads more about it since we left! Svalbard on the travel list now ha? How are you guys getting on?
All motion work is Palomas work of art haha x
And yes anytime you want any help with After Effects let us know ha
Enjoyed the video - looks like an amazing experience.
(One minor critique: the "make it look old" filter is rather cringe, no need to do that) 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to comment Rutger! It definitely left an impression on us, I hope we managed to do it justice. Have you visited before?
Haha, always eager to hear constructive critique, duly noted for next time! Every video is still an experiment, so it's great to hear people's honest opinions!
Long ear bin?
Haha something like that! 😂😂 What did you think of the film, any thoughts?
Neat. I was just there. When were you guys there?
Amazing! It's such an eerie place isn't it?! We were there in September (it's taken us a while to catch up with the videos). We do wish we had been able to stay for longer though.
Did you get to see it in the snow when you were there?
Is there a next video? I don’t see one after this one. Thanks
Hey Kathy! Sorry for the delay we have been working hard on our new video which we just uploaded, would love to know what you think 😁
ruclips.net/video/y_rHiKpPTvk/видео.html
Yay! I’ll watch it later today!
woohoo!! Merry Christmas
Looks good for a 30 ear old abandoned town.
I find fascinating these accounts of the relics of the Soviet Socialist era.
Its super interesting right! We would love to go back and find out more, any other tips on Soviet places to explore?
Just uploaded our latest video if you are interested - ruclips.net/video/y_rHiKpPTvk/видео.html
This video and channel just proves how bad and messed up RUclips is. Seriously, how can such great content get so few views and subs???? Anyway, awesome doc. Cheers, Dave.
1984-1987 я працював геофізиком на Піраміді
This island was home to freefouzand freehundred and firtyfree no wonder it only has freehundred subscribers who wants to listen to someone who can't pronounce words proper
Fankyou for sharing your foughts, proper enlightening I'd say 🙂
All this interesting stuff we never knew about, so well done for bringing it to us, great video! 😉I also don't remember the 1996 Russian plane crash on Svalbard, very sad. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vnukovo_Airlines_Flight_2801#Cause
Yes the crash was a big deal at the time and a lot of the people who knew the ways of living in Pyramiden died so it made it harder for the people living there!