Adapting to a changing society. The case of civil society in the Murmansk region

What role does civil society play in helping vulnerable groups in today's Murmansk? How are civil cooperation and interaction across the border affected by political changes in Russia, and by changing diplomatic and security relations between Norway and Russia? Researchers from NORCE in Northern Norway, and the Kola Science Center in Apatity in the Murmansk region have worked together in this project. The corona pandemic led to data collection having to be done on both sides of the border, and provided no opportunity for the NORCE researchers to actively participate in the project work in Russia. Although the researchers have not met physically, we have conducted literature studies together, have participated in several (virtual) conferences with joint presentations, and we have published articles in journals and popular science publications. This has been possible with the help of frequent digital meetings. Much of our research focus changed with covid-19, and has been directed at how the voluntary sector in Murmansk oblast has mobilized and adapted its activities targeting vulnerable groups during the pandemic. We have made interesting findings that show that completely new voluntary structures have emerged at the local and regional level, and that these have had a major impact in relieving the burden on public health and social services. We also have findings that show that well-established voluntary organizations have managed to adapt to varying degrees during this period of crisis. An increasingly difficult climate for international cooperation and funding has changed the framework conditions, and partly opened up new opportunities for obtaining funding for activities through Russian application-based funds such as < >. Our original plan to conduct studies of structures, goals and activities that characterize civil society in today's Murmansk was expanded to also look at changes in these structures through the pandemic and the resilience of volunteerism in the face of new tasks and framework conditions. In articles and presentations, we have compared the role of the voluntary sector in meeting challenges during the pandemic in Murmansk oblast with Troms and Finnmark counties. The researchers at KSC have made interesting findings through interviews from different parts of Murmansk county; rural areas, large cities, industrial cities and border municipalities that can contribute to developing new knowledge about the conditions of volunteering in different types of local communities. In March 2022, the institutional collaboration with KSC was terminated as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The collaboration has been partially continued with Russian researchers on an individual basis, as permitted by the NFR's regulations. The project has had a special focus on cross-border cooperation between voluntary organizations within the health and social sectors, and how the cooperation is affected by changes in the political climate. This work has gained two additional dimensions by studying how long-term cooperation in the Barents region was affected by corona, and how it is affected by the political cold situation after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In particular, we have looked at how the organizational community in Sør-Varanger municipality has had to adapt to a new everyday life where most of the cooperation has come to a standstill. Despite the challenges that corona and the war in Ukraine have created for the cooperation project, the researchers have stuck to the main goal: Understand how the voluntary sector operating in the border region of Murmansk adapts to changes in legal, political and social framework conditions.