Do not get used to things, people, and places. There is no point in building a house, planting a tree, or giving birth to a son. Everyone came from somewhere; everyone will eventually go somewhere...
This could be the story of Svalbard as an abandoned land that, although de jure belongs to Norway, yet de facto does not belong to anyone, a kind of waiting room where people fall in love, work, go to bars, and after a while collect things and go further. This is only a stop on the way, not the final one. However, Maksym Bespalov managed to turn his report about the week-long trip into a declaration of love for a place so far from the world we are used to.
Maxim wanders through the settlements of the archipelago, literally picking up pieces of history scattered there. This is where Ukrainian miners who came to earn money once lived and just around the corner is the so-called Doomsday Vault, which stores seed samples in case of disasters. Here, the whole city welcomes the sun after the polar night, and at the same time, it is so lonely here that the tourist seems to be the best friend.
Svalbard can be very different. Can surprise, fall in love, and disappoint. In this book, Maksym depicted the history of Svalbard - its past, present, and perhaps even future - through the stories of Ukrainians who were brought to this place by fate. This is the history of Ukrainian Svalbard.
Maksym Bespalov is a traveler and writer. Since 2015, he has been working with the Hakuna Matata Expeditions company, organizing author tours to dozens of countries on different continents.
He visited 70 countries, some of which he described in his own books. For example, in the book "The Way to the End of the World" he writes about the pilgrimage route St. James's Way, and in the book "Everything you know about Ireland is true, but..." he depicts the history of the Emerald Peninsula.
