Gallery: The Run-Down Arctic Mining Town Putin Wants to Be a Resort
Léo Delafontaine01Sasha is the guard of Pyramiden, an old and deserted Russian settlement north of Barentsburg.
Léo Delafontaine02A view of Pyramiden, an old Russian settlement abandoned in 1998 north of Barentsburg.
Léo Delafontaine03A sign proclaims “Our Goal Is Communism” on this bust of Lenin in Barentsburg’s central square.
Léo Delafontaine04Natasha, waitress at the hotel.
Léo Delafontaine05Barentsburg’s Russian consulate is the most northern consulate in the world.
Léo Delafontaine06Anatoly, blacksmith.
Léo Delafontaine07Nastia is 4 years old. Her father is a miner and her mother is a tailor at the textile factory.
Léo Delafontaine08Old residential buildings close to the sea have been gradually abandoned in favor of larger standard-level ones further inland.
Léo Delafontaine09Newly renovated residential building.
Léo Delafontaine10Inside a carpenter's shop.
Léo Delafontaine11Outside the power plant.
Léo Delafontaine12Shed at the entrance of the mine.
Léo Delafontaine13Irina, construction superviser.
Léo Delafontaine14Igor, miner.
Léo Delafontaine15Checkpoint where coal is produced.
