Thomas Nilsen

Arctic in trouble: Sea ice bottoms as carbon emissions peak

It is December and European Arctic waters are free of ice way north of Svalbard and Novaya Zemlya.
December 09, 2018

Crowded in the skies to Santa

About 95 charter planes bring Europeans to Finnish Lapland on Sunday, one of the busiest days in aviation history of northern Scandinavia.
December 09, 2018

Smile for cooperation up north, but Lavrov still undecided on Kirkenes visit

Sergey Lavrov and Ine Eriksen Søreide had bilateral talks in Milan on Thursday, but the Russian Foreign Minister could not directly say if he can make it to Kirkenes next year to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of Eastern Finnmark.
December 06, 2018

Two Kalibr cruise missiles test fired from Barents Sea in last few days

The cruise missiles that can strike deep in northern Europe were launched from both a submarine and a surface vessel.
December 06, 2018

Moscow garbage sparks mass protest across Northwest-Russia

The capital should recycle its waste instead of dumping it up north.
December 06, 2018

This sub will soon add about 100 nuclear warheads to the Barents Sea

First upgraded ballistic missile submarine has left Severodvinsk and embarked on comprehensive sea trials.
December 04, 2018

Not one shot was fired

In a new move not seen before, Russia announced navy rocket training in the Norwegian Sea. But that was about it.
November 22, 2018

Russian navy announces rocket shooting outside Lofoten

Third time in less than a month that the Russian navy warns about shooting exercises in Norway’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
November 21, 2018

All-time high with 677 charter flights to Lapland

China, Singapore, UK and Italy top the list of tourists flying in to northern Finland during Christmas season.
November 20, 2018

Finland summons Ambassador over GPS jamming

Russian Ambassador to Helsinki, Pavel Kuznetsov, will have to meet in the Foreign Ministry on Monday.
November 16, 2018

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Thomas Nilsen is editor of the Independent Barents Observer with its news desk located in Kirkenes, northern Norway. He has a long experience in media cooperation across the borders in the high north of Europe, both as radio- and newspaper reporter all the way back to the days before the breakup of the Soviet Union. 

Nilsen has been editor of Barents Observer since 2009.

He was Deputy Head of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat from 2004-2009. Until 2003, he worked 12 years for the Bellona Foundation’s Russian study group, focusing on nuclear safety issues and general environmental challenges in northern areas and the Arctic. 

Thomas has been traveling extensively across northern Scandinavia and Arctic Russia since the late 80’s working for different media and organizations. He is also a guide at sea and in remote locations in the Russian north for various groups and regularly lectures on security issues, environmental and socio-economic development.

Thomas Nilsen studied at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Mobile: +47-90573143

thomas@thebarentsobserver.com
@nilsen.thomas