Introduction: World Routes in the Arctic

The Arctic is associated in popular perception with a vast frozen snow covered empty place. Everybody who has been in the Arctic, whether in the Eurasian or North American part, knows that this stereotype is correct. Indeed, the Arctic is a place with lots of space that determines the lifestyle of the people in this area. All human activities – whether livelihood or mastering of the territory– are and always have been connected with substantial movement. Hunting, fishing, trading, the establishment of settlements and keeping them alive, all this needs the movement of goods and human resources.