Atle Staalesen

Cross-border travelers face quarantine

Health authorities warn people in Murmansk that visits to neighboring Scandinavia must be followed by 14 days of self-isolation.
March 12, 2020

Norway shutdown

Kindergartens, schools and universities are being closed along with sport halls and public events. It is the new normality, the country's health authorities say.
March 12, 2020

Big bang from Russian Arctic forces near Scandinavian border

More than 1,000 men from Russia's Northern Fleet engage in combat training along the border to Norway
March 11, 2020

An extreme Russian winter

The world's coldest country is not as freezing as before.
March 10, 2020

Two brand new naval vessels training in Arctic waters

Weather conditions were rough as the Northern Fleet's new tanker transferred several tons of liquids to state-of-the-arts frigate "Admiral Kasatonov".
March 10, 2020

Murmansk hints it might close border to Norway, Finland

Cases of coronavirus have been revealed at our neighbors, governor of the north Russian region explains.
March 10, 2020

At militarized Arctic archipelago Novaya Zemlya serves a trapped conscript from Aleksey Navalny's Anti-Corruption Fund

Ruslan Shaveddinov used to march the streets of Moscow in protests against the Kremlin. Now, he drives missile-carrying trucks in one of Russia's remotest military bases.
March 06, 2020

Putin signs Arctic master plan

The strategic document paves way for a massive industrialization of the country's far north.
March 06, 2020

Weapon drone crashes, explodes near Russian special forces base

At least five soldiers were injured as a drone carrying a bomb device crashed and exploded near the border to Norway and Finland.
March 05, 2020

Over warming Barents Sea comes a cool wave

Data from the past five years show that the Barents waters have became colder and more icy.
March 04, 2020

Pages

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