Atle Staalesen

Norway expands oil drilling, boosts production

The petrostate awards another 62 drilling licenses to the oil and gas industry. The country steers towards a 15-year high in hydrocarbon extraction.
January 17, 2024

Russia's Foreign Ministry university MGIMO signs deal on Svalbard

The university that teaches Russia's diplomats enters into cooperation with Trust Arktikugol, the Russian state company operating on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago.
January 16, 2024

Military recruitment officers raid market places in Pechenga for more migrant warriors

Increasingly desperate for more soldiers, the Russian Armed Forces step up efforts to enrol new countrymen in military service. Among the targets of the military recruiters are migrant workers in far northern towns.
January 15, 2024

Eleven Iranians arrested by Finnish border guards after illegal crossing from Russia

The group was assisted by people on the Russian side, the Finnish Border Guard informs.
January 12, 2024

Wave of criticism rose against two Russian government officials that wore caps with Norwegian flags on

"We are highly displeased with the head of our city administration that carries the flag of a NATO country," a group of Russian soldiers says in a video.
January 10, 2024

Russian subs to sail more under Arctic sea-ice

Operations under the sea-ice will be one of the top priorities for our submariners in 2024, Russia's Northern Fleet underlines.
January 10, 2024

The "North Pole" is drifting towards Franz Josef Land

After 16 months of drift with the currents, Russia's Arctic research vessel Severny Polyus has course for the waters between the archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Svalbard. It was previously anticipated that the ship would end up further west in the Greenland Sea.
January 09, 2024

This small town Russian school near border to Finland has lost at least 7 former pupils in war

School No 3 in Alakurtti has opened a special 'memory exhibition' dedicated to former students killed in Ukraine.
January 05, 2024

It is freezing midwinter, but Rosneft continues Arctic shipments to its grand Vostok Oil

According to the Russian state oil company, as much as 700,000 tons of goods will be shipped to the project construction sites along the Yenisey River in course of winter.
January 04, 2024

From Northern Norway to Ukraine. Norwegian Air Force starts training of Ukrainian personnel

Two F-16 fighter jets are sent from the North Norwegian airbase of Bodø as part of efforts to educate Ukrainian pilots and Air Force technicians.
January 04, 2024

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Atle is journalist and Publisher of the Independent Barents Observer.

In 2002, he founded the Barents Observer. He was editor until 2009 and later worked as journalist and project coordinator for several European cross-border cooperation projects. In late 2015, following a conflict over editorial rights, he re-established the Barents Observer as an independent and non-profit stock company along with the rest of the newspaper crew.  

Atle has a degree in Russian studies from the University of Oslo and studied journalism at the Moscow State University.

atle@thebarentsobserver.com
@atlestaalesen