Grumant: The Island of Communism

Discovered by Willem Barents in 1596 and now under Norwegian control, Svalbard is on the Spitsbergen archipelago, the northernmost point of Europe. It was known to the Russian Pomors back in the 12th century, who called it Grumant. A forbidding place, its coal mine is worked by Russians who endure its harsh environment with one day off a week and a rare holiday on New Year's and when the sun emerges to end the "polar night". With the world's northermost statue of Lenin and a cashless society, Grumant has been dubbed "an island of communism". (Montreal World Film Festival)