Atle Staalesen

Pechenga united, but merger of Russian border towns comes with protest

Critics cry foul as local decision makers hammer through a merger of the four municipalities located along the border to Norway and Finland.
April 27, 2020

Armed Forces relocate Navalny's man in Novaya Zemlya

Political activist Ruslan Shaveddinov has been transferred to a desolate post in the militarized Arctic archipelago without telephone signal.
April 24, 2020

Border towns cut off from Mother Russia as number of virus cases spikes

People are now barred from both entering and exiting the district of Pechenga.
April 23, 2020

Nuclear-powered container ship loads up 15,000 tons of construction goods, sets course for northernmost military base

The "Sevmorput" will break its way through Arctic ice to the Northern Fleet's new compound in Franz Josef Land.
April 23, 2020

Moscow sends signal it might raise stakes in Svalbard waters

The Russian trawler that was caught in illegal fishing off the coast of the Norwegian Arctic archipelago paid its fine and everything seemed okay. Then came a diplomatic note from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
April 22, 2020

Future of journalism is under threat, warns press freedom organization

Authoritarian state regimes step up their oppression of independent media and the coming decade will be decisive for the future of journalism, says Reporters Without Borders.
April 21, 2020

Preparing for the unknown, Norway bolsters its Armed Forces

There are forces that want to weaken unity in Norway, as well as between western countries, Prime Minister Erna Solberg underlined as she on Friday presented her government's new long-term plan for the Armed Forces.
April 17, 2020

New Arctic terminal will be built twice bigger than planned

Natural gas company Novatek is making its new terminal in Gydan capable of handling more than 40 million tons of LNG per year.
April 16, 2020

The epidemiologist that became ruler of a vast north Russian region

As the coronavirus dramatically started to spread in the Republic of Komi, the Kremlin appointed Vladimir Uiba new regional leader.
April 15, 2020

Navy gets new vessel for secret underwater operations in Arctic

The 96 meter long special-purpose ship "Akademik Aleksandrov" has been formally incorporated in Russia's Northern Fleet.
April 14, 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