Atle Staalesen

Marina Kovtun goes to Kremlin, wins support from President Putin

She is under serious pressure from her own security services, but gets solid backing from the country’s Commander in Chief.
November 04, 2017

Despite warning from authorities, Eni kept on pumping Arctic oil with unsafe platform

It is high time that the company is deprived its operator responsibility, environmentalists say as Eni continues to push the limits in its scandal-ridden «Goliat» project.
November 03, 2017

Air companies merge as more Russians fly north

Regional carriers Nordavia and Red Wings join forces, become Russia’s 10th biggest air company.
November 01, 2017

Advanced seismic vessel finds new home in Murmansk

It will significantly expand our capacity to map the Arctic shelf, leader of company Sevmorneftegeofizika says.
November 01, 2017

Big dig in Kola Bay as Novatek takes new steps in Arctic gas project

Company CEO and owner Leonid Mikhelson goes to China to sign landmark agreements with project investors. Meanwhile, excavators remove millions of tons of land mass from the shores of the Kola Bay preparing the ground for Russia’s next major Arctic project.
October 31, 2017

Arctic oil tankers threaten walrus

Environmentalists fear that shipping in the Pechora Sea poses a serious threat to one of the biggest populations of walrus.
October 30, 2017

Police fears nationalist attack as blockbuster Matilda comes to Murmansk cinemas

The film about Czar Nikolay II and his mistress raises heightened security around city movie theaters.
October 27, 2017

Helicopter crash might add power to Russia’s push for new base on Svalbard

Moscow argues that a Russian search and rescue service is needed to protect its expanding activities in the area.
October 27, 2017

Russian helicopter down over Norwegian archipelago

It fell into the sea off the coast of Barentsburg, Svalbard, with eight people on board.
October 26, 2017

Learning to cook on the Arctic battlefield

Russian military researchers have successfully tested their new Arctic kitchen designed for soldiers’ life in the remote north.
October 26, 2017

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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