Is This Place Real? (Barentsburg)

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Did you know that there is an abandoned Russian settlement in the Arctic called Barentsburg? Wait until you see this!!

Today was a wild adventure, to say the least.

I took a 2 hour boat ride from Longyearbyen (the biggest town in Svalbard) which is under Norwegian control, over to Barentsburg (the second-biggest town in Svalbard) which is under Russian control.

The two towns could not be any more different.

After visiting 169 countries and more than 500 cities, I find Barentsburg to be the absolute most bizarre town in the world.

It was purchased by the Soviet Union about 90 years ago from the Dutch because of the on-site coal mine... While there are about 400 Russian & Ukrainian miners still working here today, it's a failing business, and it's obvious that Russia keeps this place alive because they want a presence in the Arctic (think natural resources, trade routes, etc).

Walking around Barentsburg gave me flash backs to North Korea. Abandoned buildings. Seemingly staged people and culture. I still can't quite wrap my head around this!

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Видео Is This Place Real? (Barentsburg) канала Drew Binsky