The Russian arrived in Norway with the intention of committing suicide. However, he robbed a bank and devastated the lives of an entire city all of a sudden.
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| [Svalbard,Norway] |
In the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, the first bank heist in local history occurred a few years ago. The criminal took 70 thousand crowns from storage, which was around $8,000 at the time, but he did not escape the site of the crime; instead, he sought arrest. Maxim Popov, a 29-year-old jobless Russian, was the unusual attacker. His goal was realized when he was arrested and sentenced to 14 months in jail. Popov travelled in northern Norway with the intent of obtaining guns and committing himself, but changed his mind, according to court records. Why did a Volgograd resident feel compelled to venture beyond the Arctic Circle, and what transpired in Spitsbergen?
North Remembers
Longyearbyen, the world's northernmost city, appears to have a picture-perfect lifestyle. The lengthy winter pampers with brilliant northern lights in the Arctic Circle, while the brief summer is recognized as a global festivity. Solfestuka, or the Festival of the Sun, begins every year on March 8 in the afternoon, and is a worldwide celebration of the first rays of sunlight. Walruses and seals may be found in the fjords, and reindeer and arctic foxes can be seen nearby.
Residents of the city are prohibited from owning cats in order to prevent assaults on endangered Arctic birds. The northern romanticism, dog sledding and snowmobiling expeditions (there are very few roads on the island), as well as a local monument - the World Seed Storage, concealed in the mountain - have all drawn visitors in recent years, particularly Russian tourists.
However, living on the northern islands is not as simple or secure. Polar bears, a dangerous species that frequently attacks local inhabitants, are one of the ongoing risks. That is why the administration of the Svalbard archipelago, where Longyearbyen is located in the permafrost, advises people to keep guns on hand at all times. It is not permitted to keep it charged within city bounds, but it is essential important outside of villages. Shooting is taught to youngsters as well. Maxim Popov, a 29-year-old jobless Volgograd native, traveled to Svalbard for the weapon.
Popov subsequently stated that he did not leave the impression that he was sliding into darkness in late autumn of 2018, and that this melancholy condition had pushed him into despair. It's unclear whether he sought professional assistance, but a tumultuous emotional history prompted him to consider purchasing a firearm. It was difficult to get it legally at home since it required a medical evaluation, which included obtaining a conclusion from a psychiatrist.
Popov began searching the internet for information on the streamlined receiving of guns and came across references to Longyearbyen, where each tourist is granted a self-defense lease. By completing a short application form, even minors can hire a pistol. Travelers frequently carry guns on the streets of the city, despite the fact that this is officially forbidden: signs stating "Weapons are prohibited" are posted in local stores and institutions, and they are offered to be turned up to the lockers.
Popov came to the conclusion that he had finally found a route out. He proceeded to the Spitsbergen government's website and filled out an application for a permission to rent guns before departing Volgograd. The application was granted by officials, who saw him as just another tourist. However, things did not turn out to be so straightforward.
No Time To Die
Locals in Svalbard joke that it is forbidden to die on the archipelago. Even the mayor makes such declarations, stating that breaking this unbreakable law would result in death. This is owing to a prohibition on the burial of human remains on the islands since 1950. This occurred after the permafrost began to melt in the twentieth century as a result of climate change: during one of the rounds, a local environmental inspector discovered human skulls and bones at the area of the ancient whalers' graveyard, which had long since devolved into stony soil.
The bones were buried in the 17th century and brought to the museum, but the permafrost in the Longyearbyen municipal cemetery melted with time, bringing the mummified bodies to the surface. It not only looked terrifying, but it was also extremely hazardous, as the frozen remains may carry diseases capable of causing an outbreak.
According to a survey commissioned by the Norwegian Environmental Protection Agency and released in 2019, Svalbard is one of the fastest warming regions on the planet. The average annual temperature there climbed by more than seven degrees between 1971 and 2017. Experts project that by 2100, the yearly temperature in these areas will have risen by 18 degrees, with a 65 percent increase in precipitation.
The thawing of permafrost poses a threat to the lives of thousands of people who live in these areas: avalanches bury apartment complexes year after year, and many people are always prepared to go. The mayor of Longyearbyen says, "Anything that is not attached to solid ground moves."
This is true of buildings, roads, and infrastructure. As a result, the majority of the structures in the archipelago's main inhabited settlement, Longyearbyen, are supported by permafrost piles. It is both easier and less expensive than excavating a rock foundation.
Aside from the possibility of remains washing up on the ground, there is also the constant concern of polar bear attack: carcasses do not decompose in the cold, so they might attract these vicious carnivores.
In December 17, 2018, Popov from Volgograd stepped foot on the place where you can't die. It was the height of the archipelago's long polar night, which lasts from October to February and sees the sun never rise beyond the horizon. He arrived at the hotel in complete darkness, and for the following two days, he wandered up and down the city's lone street, which is lined with stores and restaurants. Locals congregate here in the evenings, arriving to the taverns on a dog sled.
The Russian, on the other hand, was not up to them: he was interested in the Longyear78 Outdoor & Expeditions store, where he could hire bear-proof weaponry for 190 kroons ($ 20) per day, according to an earlier approved application. Popov had all he needed to carry out his objectives as soon as the consultant handed him a rifle. The dream was closer than ever, and, as is customary, he established a new goal for himself after achieving his first.
He understood later in a hotel room that he didn't want to go back to Russia almost as much as he didn't want to die now. Then he'll tell you that he had the idea to undertake something that would keep him on Norwegian soil for a long time. Popov typed "This is a robbery" into the English-Russian web translator and obtained the following response: "This is a robbery."
The Only Culprit
Every youngster in Norway is familiar with the traditional fairy tale "When the Robbers Came to Cardamom." It's about a successful and peaceful hamlet where everyone lives in peace and harmony until a band of crooks comes and disrupts the local people' way of life. They are eventually apprehended and directed in the correct direction. Longyearbyen, like the legendary Cardamom, had almost nil crime statistics before to Popov's catastrophic action. It's tough to breach the law in a town with a population of less than 2,500 people, the majority of whom know each other by name.
Longyearbyen has previously only appeared in international newspapers once, when the World Seed Vault was flooded owing to climate change. The world's "archive," which was created to preserve mankind from nuclear war, asteroids, and global warming, was destroyed by melting glaciers. The city appeared to be attracting little media interest, but on the morning of December 21, another occurrence occurred that thrust him back onto the front pages.
At gunpoint, the employee entered manager Trond Hellstad's office. He had no idea what was going on and assumed the visitor had just forgotten to leave the pistol at the bank's entryway, so he requested him to leave the office. Popov, on the other hand, just reiterated what he had stated at the bank's entrance. Hellstad tried to reason with him, but he just kept repeating the same lines, such as "I need money." Popov tucked the money into his coat pockets and exited the premises after the bank personnel placed a bundle of crowns on the lobby table.
When the SpareBank heist was reported to the police, the station determined that it was a mistake or a hoax. Such a crime made little sense because the offender had nowhere to flee. The road through Longyearbyen only leads to the airport, and it abruptly terminates after a few miles on the opposite side of town. The only way out is to take a snowmobile and travel to the frozen wastelands, but it will be difficult to survive there alone for lengthy periods of time, and there will be no need for money in the ice desert.
The Russian, on the other hand, had no desire to conceal. He returned to the rental and gave up the hired weapon, which the manager chastised him for having in the city armed. Popov then contacted his mother and informed her of the robbery. He later said, "She encouraged me to run, but I told my mother I was on a barren island." He returned to the crime scene to get the money. The cops had already arrived at this point.
Popov was found guilty of threats, the use of force, and the unlawful use of firearms by the District Court of mainland Norway on May 8, 2019. He was fined and sentenced to 14 months in jail, which he will serve on Tromso, Norway's mainland, because Svalbard lacks such a facility. Nothing is known about Popov's fate after that.
Locals believe the Russian did not want to harm anyone and really apologized, but many see this act as the start of a period of darkness for Longyearbyen.
Following this incident, a succession of small thefts occurred in the city, and locals no longer leave their cars or homes unattended, despite the fact that this behaviour was once common. The people of the fairytale city's faith in one another has been gone for all time. It has grown more difficult to live in a country where it is officially illegal to have cats, to get sick, to give birth, or to bury the dead.