Editing Pyramiden (section)

== History ==
Pyramiden was founded by Sweden in 1910<ref>{{cite web |last1=Overrein |first1=Øystein |last2=Henriksen |first2=Jørn |last3=Johansen |first3=Bjørn Fossli |last4=Prestvold |first4=Kristin |title=Pyramiden [78° 39.3' N 16° 20' E] |url=http://cruise-handbook.npolar.no/en/isfjorden/pyramiden.html |website=The Cruise Handbook for Svalbard |publisher=Norwegian Polar Institute |access-date=30 July 2020}}</ref> and sold to the [[Soviet Union]] in 1927.<ref name=sweocc>[http://popularhistoria.se/artiklar/sveriges-okanda-ockupation/ Sveriges okända ockupation]. Populär Historia, 14 March 2001. {{retrieved|access-date=2016-10-06}}</ref> It lies at the foot of the [[Billefjorden]] on the island of [[Spitsbergen]] and is named after the pyramid-shaped mountain with the same name adjacent to the town.<ref name=nikak/> The nearest settlements are [[Svalbard]]'s capital, [[Longyearbyen]], some {{convert|50|km}} to the south, [[Barentsburg]] approximately {{convert|100|km}} southwest and the small research community of [[Ny-Ålesund]], {{convert|100|km}} to the west. In Soviet times, the population was mostly Ukrainian, consisting of miners from the [[Donbas]] and staff from [[Volyn Oblast|Volyn]].<ref>{{Cite book|first=Maxim [Максим Беспалов] |last=Bespalov  | year=2017 |script-title=uk:Український Шпіцберген |trans-title=Ukrainian Spitsbergen |language=uk |location=Kyïv |publisher=Tempora |pages=162–169 |isbn=978-617-569-316-2 }}</ref><ref name="LB.ua">[https://ukr.lb.ua/society/2016/09/22/345871_ostriv_shpitsbergen_mistse_de.html Остров Шпицберген: место, где не рождаются и не умирают люди]</ref>

Owned by the state-owned Russian mining company [[Arktikugol]], which also owns the settlement of [[Barentsburg]], Pyramiden once had over 1,000 inhabitants. Among its amenities were a cultural centre with a theater, a library, art and music studios; a sports complex; and a cantina open 24&nbsp;hours a day.<ref name="CDickey2015">{{cite web |last1=Dickey |first1=Colin |title=The Cold Rim of the World |url=https://longreads.com/2015/03/18/the-cold-rim-of-the-world/ |website=Longreads |access-date=22 May 2021 |date=March 2015}}</ref> It also had a primary school.<ref name=Umbreit2005>{{cite book|last=Umbreit|first=Andreas |title=Spitsbergen: Svalbard, Franz Josef, Jan Mayen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TExU1p6Cy20C|accessdate=21 May 2021|edition=3rd|year=2005|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|location=Chalfont St. Peter, Bucks|isbn=978-1-84162-092-3}}</ref>{{RP|200}} The northernmost monument to [[Vladimir Lenin]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ham |first=Anthony |date=20 June 2022 |title=The abandoned Soviet mining town in Norway's Arctic |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220620-pyramiden-an-abandoned-soviet-mining-town-in-the-arctic }}</ref> and the northernmost swimming pool were also found here.<ref name=nikak>{{Cite magazine|last=Sokolov-Mitrich |first=Dimitri [Дмитрий Соколов-Митрич] |date=22 October 2009 |script-title=ru:Архипелаг никак |trans-title=The No-Way Archipelago |magazine=Русский Репортёр [Russian Reporter] |issue=40 (119) |language=ru |url=https://expert.ru/russian_reporter/2009/40/shpicbergen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160905230840/https://expert.ru/russian_reporter/2009/40/shpicbergen/ |archive-date=5 September 2016 }}</ref>

In 1996, a [[Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801|charter flight for Arktikugol crashed]] on the approach to [[Svalbard Airport]] with the loss of 141 lives.<ref>{{cite web |title=Exploring Pyramiden & Barentsburg (Svalbard / Шпицбе́рген) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzGROhnnF0M  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/LzGROhnnF0M| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|website=YouTube |access-date=22 May 2021 |format=Video |date=7 December 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Between 1955 and 1998, as much as nine million tonnes of coal were extracted from the mine.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pyramiden Coal Mine, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway |publisher=Mindat |url=https://www.mindat.org/loc-14287.html }}</ref> Mining ceased on 31 March 1998 and the settlement closed that same year. The last permanent resident departed on 10 October, leaving Pyramiden as a [[ghost town]].<ref name=Nuwer2014>{{cite web|last=Nuwer|first=Rachel|author-link=Rachel Nuwer|title=A Soviet Ghost Town in the Arctic Circle, Pyramiden Stands Alone|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/soviet-ghost-town-arctic-circle-pyramiden-stands-alone-180951429/?no-ist|work=Smithsonian Magazine|date=19 May 2014|access-date=27 May 2014}}</ref>

Until 2007, the former settlement remained uninhabited and largely untouched. The buildings' interiors remained largely as they were when the settlement was abandoned.<ref name="BBC2000">{{cite news |last1=Kirby |first1=Alex |title=Pulling out of Pyramiden |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/905956.stm |access-date=22 May 2021 |work=BBC News |date=2 September 2000}}</ref> In 2012, [[Aleksandr Romanovsky]] became the first person to return to live in Pyramiden. He has since been joined by five others. Romanovsky, a musician and tour guide in the settlement, has called himself the "world's most northern head-banger". Romanovsky has lived for years on his own in this abandoned town.<ref>{{cite web |last=Beazley |first=David |date=10 October 2016 |title=Pyramiden, Population 6: The Soviet ghost town frozen in time |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXwUnp4Yjsw |access-date=22 May 2021 |website=YouTube |format=Video}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Beazley |first=David |date=9 May 2016 |title=Pyramiden: population 6. The Soviet ghost town frozen in time high in the Arctic {{!}} Aeon Videos |url=https://aeon.co/videos/pyramiden-population-6-the-soviet-ghost-town-frozen-in-time-high-in-the-arctic |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=Aeon |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Beazley |first=David |date=4 October 2016 |title=Pyramiden: population 6 |url=https://vimeo.com/185525719}}</ref>

On 27 August 2019, the world's northernmost film festival was held in Pyramiden, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of [[Cinema of the Soviet Union|Soviet cinema]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=26 June 2019 |script-title=ru:Новосибирец оказался на острове за полярным кругом и открыл древний кинотеатр |trans-title=Novosibirsk [Novosibirsk's Stanislav Schubert] found himself on an island beyond the Arctic Circle and reopened an ancient cinema |language=ru |publisher=NGS (Shkulev Media Holding) |url=https://news.ngs.ru/more/66137569/ }} NGS News Report on film festival.</ref>

In 2022, Russia announced new investment plans to support its presence in Pyramiden and [[Barentsburg]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosen |first=Kenneth |date=17 December 2022 |title=A Battle for the Arctic Is Underway. And the U.S. Is Already Behind. |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/17/climate-change-arctic-00071169 |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=Politico}}</ref>