Karelin, V. Russian business interests on Spitsbergen in the early twentieth century: Pavel Weymarn and Russian Spitsbergen Company // Norway and Russia in the Arctic : conference proceeding from international conference «Norway and Russia in the Arctic», Longyearbyen, 25-28 August 2009 / S. Bones, P. Mankova. – Tromso, 2010. – S. 19-27. – (Speculum boreale. The Publication Series of the Department of History and Religious Studies University of Tromso ; № 12).

During the summer of 1916, an important change occurred in von Weymam’s career. There are good reasons to assume that the change was connected with his company’s activity. Naval Minister Admiral Grigorovich proposed to Minister of Foreign Affairs Shtyurmer that a Russian naval attache position should be established at the imperial diplomatic mission in Kristiania. The name of the candidate was Lieutenant Pavel von Weymam. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs made an official request to the Norwegian authorities and achieved its consent.2526 Von Weymam was formally appointed as an assistant to Vladimir Stashevsky, the Russian Naval Attache for all three Scandinavian countries, in residence in Stockholm.26 In fact, von Weymam enjoyed great independency. During the war, Russian naval officers in Scandinavia developed a division of duties. Stashevsky was mostly busy with the problems of war contracts with Swedish industry and the so-called Scandinavian transit. In Copenhagen, Lieutenant Bezkrovny had headed naval intelligence activity against Germany on the Baltic Sea since 1913. As for von Weymam, he took on the responsibility of providing support for safe shipments from the Entente to Archangelsk and Murmansk with the co-operation of Norwegian ports. At that time, Russia faced problems with the transportation of ammunition, raw materials and industrial equipment, and Norway’s importance for Russia had increased significantly. Von Weymam’s subsequent efforts to develop coal production to meet the needs of Russian industry, the railways and the fleet were dictated by the fuel and transport crisis, which threatened economic and social stability. The Russian government was forced to take urgent measures to obtain a coal supply from any sources available. In Norway, Knudsen’s cabinet managed to establish a major Norwegian coal company on the archipelago in 1916 with the help of private finance. Norsk Store Spitsbergen Kul Kompani A/S had accumulated large coal deposits after buying out the assets of the American Coal Company. Leading Norwegian banks became major shareholders and their top managers were evidently inspired to appropriate other deposits, including those owned by Russian companies. Hence, Norsk Store Spitsbergen Kul Kompani A/S was able to monopolize coal production and obtain a higher level of profitability. Norsk Store Spitsbergen Kul Kompani A/S made an attempt to 25Russian Navy Archive in Sankt Petersburg. Fond 418. Opis 1. File № 2953., p. 7 26 The Russian naval attache position in Stockholm was established in 1906, soon after the Russian-Japanese war ended 25