History of Svalbard - Normalization

Normalization

"Normalization" was a term keyed in the 1970s to transform especially Longyearbyen from a company town to a regular community. The first steps towards local democracy were taken with the 1971 establishment of the Svalbard Council for the Norwegian population, although it only had a commentary function. Public services were transferred to the company Svalbard Samfunnsdrift in 1989, while private enterprise established services such as construction companies and a mall. Tourism became a livelihood with the establishments of hotels from 1995. From 2002 Longyearbyen Community Council was incorporated with many of the same responsibilities as a municipality.

Since the 1990s, several research and hi-tech institutes have established themselves, such as the University Centre in Svalbard, the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association, the Svalbard Satellite Station, the Svalbard Undersea Cable System and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The 1990s saw a large reduction in Russian activity. Schools were closed in 1994 and children and mothers were sent to the mainland, reducing the population of Barentsburg to 800 and of Pyramiden to 600. Operations resumed at Svea in 1997, while Pyramiden was abandoned in 1998. The Svalbard Environmental Protection Act came into effect in 2002 and was followed up with three new national parks and three new nature reserves. From 1990 to 2011, the Russian and Ukrainian population fell during from 2,300 to 370, while the Norwegian population increased from 1,100 to 2,000.