Recent History
After 1990, some descendants of the original settlers began to emphasise their family backgrounds, although only a few had been able to maintain a rusty knowledge of the Vardø dialect of the Norwegian language. Some have now migrated to Norway. There are special provisions in the Norway's immigration law which eases this process, albeit generally being less permissive than those which pertain in other countries which operate a "right of return". In order to obtain a permit to move to Norway and work there, a foreign citizen must show an adequate connection to the country, such as having two or more grandparents who were born there. As for citizenship, it is awarded on the same basis as to anyone else - which basis includes the formal renunciation of the original citizenship. By 2004 approximately 200 Kola Norwegians had settled in Norway.
In 2007, the small village of Port-Vladimir, the last stronghold of the Kola Norwegians lost its official recognition due to depopulation. Only 98 individuals identified themselves as Norwegians in the 2010 Census of Russia, including 20 in St.Petersburg, 11 in Murmansk, and 4 in Karelia.
Read more about this topic: Kola Norwegians
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.”
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809)
“Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)