From DW Documentary.

In the far north of Norway, where western Europe and NATO border Russia, lies Kirkenes. It only has 3,500 inhabitants, but it’s a geopolitical heavyweight. A border battalion with 600 elite soldiers makes its military presence felt.

The two 19-year-old recruits David Bratland and Jesper Bruseth are doing their military service in Kirkenes with the ‘Jegerbataljonen GSV’. The training program for border fighters, around 400 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, is tough. In winter, temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius are not uncommon here. Added to that, just a few hours of daylight. During orienteering on skis, the recruits don’t just hone their physical fitness, but also their ability to take responsibility for their own actions. Their task: to monitor the almost 200-kilometer-long border with Russia and – in the event of war – to defend it. Recently, the soldiers have also received heavy weapons training for anti-aircraft and anti-tank defense.

Norway also demonstrates its claim to power and territory by promoting culture on behalf of the West. While David and Jesper cross the snow-covered expanses of the Norwegian tundra on skis, the Russian-born curator of the Barents Spektakel, Yevgeny Goman, is confronted with completely different challenges a few kilometers away on frozen Lake Förstevatne. The central element of the opening show of the art festival – a giant flying dragon – simply won’t take off. But, in the end, the opening show the following evening turns out to be a great spectacle against hopelessness.

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