Atle Staalesen

How many new spies are caught by FSB?

The annual speech of President Putin to the Federal Security Service for the first time did not reveal the number of Russians and foreigners nabbed for espionage.
February 21, 2020

Seaport developers refuse to give up grand plan for Pechenga Bay

The port of Liinakhamari is the best suited site for a big container terminal on Russia’s Arctic coast, they argue.
February 20, 2020

Military drone pilots show off skills on Barents Sea coast

Surveillance of maritime traffic is key priority for the Northern Fleet’s UAV unit.
February 18, 2020

Authors of new Constitution eye special place for Arctic

Far northern territories, border areas and closed military towns should be directly subjected to the federal government in Moscow, says a leading member of the group now authoring Russia’s new Constitution.
February 18, 2020

Trouble for world’s most powerful icebreaker: the «Arktika» could face more delays

An electric motor on the super-powerful ship broke down during sea trails.
February 17, 2020

In joint operation, Murmansk commandos trained anti-terrorism onboard nuclear icebreakers

Key law enforcement authorities of the Russian Arctic region joined forces in exercise onboard two retired nuclear-powered icebreakers docked in Kola Bay.
February 17, 2020

China’s ambassador brushes off allegations his country is threat in Arctic

The Norwegian Intelligence Service fears a stronger Chinese presence in the North, but the country’s ambassador assures that Beijing wants nothing but regional peace and development.
February 16, 2020

Member of the European Parliament comes to Barents coast, calls for stronger EU engagement in Arctic

All key government structures of the Union must assign a far higher level of attention to Arctic affairs, says Urmas Paet.
February 13, 2020

Extremely low pressure brought down air traffic over northern Norway

Airline company Widerøe has in its almost 90 year history never experienced this kind of weather.
February 11, 2020

Rosneft tells Putin its new Arctic project will be biggest in global oil

The development of Vostok Oil is to include 100,000 new jobs, 15 new industry towns, 800 km of pipeline and total investments of more than €144 billion.
February 11, 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