Norway’s Prime Minister says it is important to thank Russia for their liberation of Finnmark 70 years ago, but calls on Moscow to respect international law today.
“Whatever happens in the rest of the world, we must continue our cooperation,” said Murmansk Governor Marina Kovtun when she on Saturday together with Arkhangelsk Governor Igor Orlov met colleagues from Northern Norway.
Rørbua, Norway’s first free administration building after World War II and the 1944 tunnel, where 3500 people were hiding during the last days of the war, were both declared preserved at a ceremony on Saturday.
On the day where messages of thanks and remembrance are flying fast between the Norwegian and Russian peoples gathered in Kirkenes, the Sami felt excluded.
Børge Brende and Sergey Lavrov marked the 70th anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of Norway’s northernmost county from NaziGerman occupation. See video of the press conference.
Head of the Barents Institute Marianne Neerland Soleim on Saturday will receive President Putin’s letter of appreciation for her effort to identify Soviet prisoners of war who died in German camps in Norway.
Thousands lost their lives on the battlefields on the Kola Peninsula before the Red Army in October 1944 liberated Eastern Finnmark. Today, Murmansk Governor Marina Kovtun laid down wreaths together with Norway’s Defense Ministry.
Thousands of people in Norway have lived with a secret for almost 70 years. German war children in the High North are an important voice in remembering the liberation of Finnmark and a poignant lesson in history about misdirected anger and the damage it can cause.
The autumn of 1944 large parts of Finnmark and northern Troms were burnt and destroyed by Nazi German forces retreating from onrushing Soviet troops. The civilian population was forced to evacuate or hide.
