Atle Staalesen

Shell teams up with Gazprom Neft on remote Arctic tundra

The two companies are jointly to develop license areas in Russia's far northern Gydan Peninsula.
December 04, 2020

Massive dredging opens shallow Arctic gulf for big shipping

More than 32 million cubic meters of sea bottom was removed from the Gulf of Ob this summer.
December 04, 2020

As COVID surges, a new military hospital opens in Northern Fleet city Severomorsk

Nine month after Vladimir Putin ordered its construction, the new medical center stands ready to treat patients from the far northern military district.
December 03, 2020

The great global energy shift could push Moscow towards plastics production on Arctic tundra

Russia's powerful petroleum industry feels a mounting pressure from alternative energy sources, and strong voices now say the country's vast natural gas resources in the Arctic should be used in petrochemical production.
December 02, 2020

Rosneft consolidates position in largest Arctic oil project

The state company is due to buy out partner Neftegazholding from the huge Vostok Oil
December 02, 2020

More research, tourist attractions and staff for world's northernmost national park

A new development program for national park Russkaya Arktika includes a staff boost of 30 percent and the opening of 9 new museum sites for visiting tourists.
December 01, 2020

Erna Solberg's new Arctic Policy outlines dramatic shift in regional security

A sharp change in Norway's relationship with neighboring Russia stands a the core of the Prime Minister's new policy document.
December 01, 2020

Top official: This is what Arctic climate change will cost Russia

Direct damage on buildings and infrastructure will be up to €99 billion, says Deputy Minister of the Far East and Arctic Aleksandr Krutikov.
November 27, 2020

Sechin assures Putin his new Arctic project will produce 30 million tons of oil by 2024

About 100 drilling rigs will be erected on the Taymyr tundra and a 770 km long oil pipeline will bring vast volumes to a new major terminal on the coast of the Kara Sea. Launch is less than 4 years away, and everything is proceeding according to plans, Sechin tells the President.
November 26, 2020

The great patriotic battle for the young minds

War victory and heroic patriotism are instrumental in the Kremlin's development of a Russian national ideology, and children and youth are the main ideological targets. The patriotic push stretches into neighboring Norwegian borderlands.
November 25, 2020

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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