The purpose of this chapter is threefold. First, it provides a historical background that illustrates key interests and motives in Soviet and Russian Svalbard policy from the Cold War to the present day. Second, it examines Soviet and Russian attempts to weaken Norwegian governance and authority. The chapter describes how a long-standing policy of bilateralism toward Norway has been complemented by various forms of covert and manipulative actions on the part of Russia to exert pressure. The third element of the chapter is a discussion of concepts, which concludes that subversion is an appropriate term for such forms of Russian activity, not least because the term opens for an understanding of how this interacts with other instruments of international politics, such as diplomacy or military power. The examples provided in the chapter offer an indication of how Russian subversion against Norway in Svalbard has unfolded, both during the Cold War and in recent times.