Rosvik to Russia – Norrbotten in words and deeds
Where culture is woven together with technology, that is where our journey begins. Maria Öman, Regional Library Norrbotten, welcomes us to a webinar where historical stories and future predictions have a place. It is here, in Norrbotten, that the conversations about the value of books in the field begin and then extend towards the horizon of Russia. Our guide is Lars Gyllenhaal, author of military history.
Books and libraries have shaped Lars' life from a young age, and libraries play a big role when he writes his books. It was through books that Lars was attracted to the Russian language and Russia, or Soviet as it was called at the time. During his high school years in Sollentuna, Lars learns Russian, and will spend a lot of time in Russia in the future. In Sweden, he becomes a link between cultures and countries through the Barents Cooperation.
Lars' first book, The Battle of the North Calotte, was written while he was working as a teacher on the Kola Peninsula. Through interviews with World War II veterans of many nationalities, the understanding of the human being's incredible ability to handle difficulties grows. Many had been forced there for various reasons. One in five people came from Ukraine.
Towards the present
And with those words we move towards the present and an insight into the security situation that Norrbotten is facing. In a gray area between peace and war, where cyberattacks can be a weapon and political events in the East actually affect us already today. As an example, the cyberattack that hit Kalix municipality in December 2021 is mentioned.
When foreign power can so easily paralyze our society, what happens if we have to start rationing our electricity? The Internet is a very big part of our everyday lives today. Will physical books be more in demand then? Probably. To get an insight into what that could look like, you can read Therese Henriksson's short story A not-so-temporary interruption which is specially written for the Library in readiness. Perhaps many Älvsby residents will recognize themselves after the major power outage in freezing cold January 2024, where the mobile network also went down. At that time, the library served as a kind of hub for the residents.
In the military, literature is an important part of a soldier's baggage. Lars shares stories about field libraries and the importance of paperbacks for morale in the heat of battle. In a time when the world feels increasingly uncertain, perhaps it is in the safe world of books that we can find our refuge. In Norrbotten, where the landscape is vast and the people are hardened, we carry literature with us as a faithful companion through life's changing landscape.
Library staff have been Lars' guide through literature, and perhaps some of the people he has met over the years will be among the audience at the webinar organized by Bibliotek i beredskap. It is a collaboration between the Norrbotten Regional Library and the Västerbotten Regional Library that aims to strengthen the role of libraries in total defense by offering a fictional entry point to start working on the library's own preparedness.
Lars Gyllenhaal's book recommendations
- The threat from Russia by Oscar Jonsson
- War or Peace: Russia and the West – a rapprochement by Mikhail Shishkin
- Live like a farmer by Niklas Kämpargård
- Russia and Swedish disarmament by Lars Gyllenhaal
- The Battle for the North Pole by Lars Gyllenhaal and James F. Gebhardt
- Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Life by Ben Sherwood
- Us and Them by Bengt Jangfeldt
- The Road to Unfreedom by Timothy Snyder
- Survive the crisis: Prepping and everyday preparedness by Trygve Skanding and Jostein Saakvitne
Text and image: Linda Kvenås