Atle Staalesen

COVID-19 vaccination starts in Murmansk

The first medical workers in the far northern region have got an injection of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
September 25, 2020

Climate change is making the Arctic more hospitable, says Russian nuclear icebreaker captain

Experienced Arctic shipmaster Aleksandr Skryabin tells President Putin that it is time to take advantage of warmer weather and shrinking sea-ice.
September 25, 2020

It is time to strengthen Nordic security, say ministers as they sign landmark defense deal

The defense ministers of Finland, Norway and Sweden meet in the far northern military base of Porsangmoen to sign an agreement that is to bolster Nordic cooperation.
September 24, 2020

Yacht club, comfy hotels and glamping. This is Nornickel's planned tourism hub on Barents Sea coast

As the mining and metallurgy company closes it aging plant in Nikel, it invests billions in a nearby major tourism complex.
September 23, 2020

Despite major technical troubles, new icebreaker Arktika sets course for Barents Sea

With only two of its three engines in operation, Russia's new nuclear-powered icebreaker is on its maiden voyage to icy waters.
September 22, 2020

"No hint of protest in this rally," says performance activist as she stages show in front of north Russian Election Commission

"It just seems to me that the Election Commission, instead of destroying unwanted ballot cards, may want use them somehow: for example, to decorate the State Council on the eve of winter and the New Year."
September 21, 2020

Amid growing concern over Arctic petroleum, big European lenders have confidence in Russia's new grand LNG project

Green energy transition and industrial pressure on local Arctic environments notwithstanding, major financial institutions from Europe and Asia are ready to grant $9.5 billion to the Arctic LNG 2 project, Reuters reports.
September 21, 2020

Encounter with climate change: Arctic town mayor witnesses melting tundra slide into the sea

Leader of a small town in Arctic Russia gets firsthand experience of local climate change as he witnesses the drift of vast tundra masses into coastal waters.
September 18, 2020

Oil drillers move into Arctic waters badly affected by climate change

Sea-ice is shrinking, permafrost melting and marine ecosystems undergoing dramatic change. Russian petroleum companies plan big drilling and massive field development in the shallow waters of the Ob Bay.
September 17, 2020

Someone tore down a huge war memorial on Russia's Barents Sea coast

The regional government in Murmansk is starting an investigation after a several meter high 2WW memorial in Liinakhamari on the Barents Sea coast was knocked to the ground.
September 16, 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