Thomas Nilsen

Chechen special forces drills anti-terror on nuclear icebreaker

Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov’s «Flying Squad» has arrived to Murmansk, ready for joint exercises with other services in the Arctic.
April 09, 2018

Russia to develop unmanned ships for the Arctic

Autonomous vessels in convoys following nuclear powered icebreakers will improve efficiency of shipping along the Northern Sea Route, a study by Russian nuclear researchers says.
April 05, 2018

Arctic brigade kicks off winter drill in borderland

Russia’s 200th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade exercises winter warfare with drones and new weapons systems.
April 04, 2018

Mine-trucks in northern Sweden go electric

Boliden will run first test-route this fall in a project with potential to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from mining.
April 04, 2018

First icebreaker to reach the North Pole ends her days in a scrapyard

Plans to put the nuclear-powered icebreaker «Arktika» on display as museum will likely be cancelled.
April 04, 2018

Northern Fleet drills submarine hunt in Barents Sea

March 30, 2018

Video: Ejection test of new nuke missile at Plesetsk

Russia’s scary Sarmat intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile is one step closer to being deployed.
March 30, 2018

Moscow shows the door to Nordic diplomats

Norway, Sweden, Finland and Demark are among the 23 countries Russia on Friday told it is expelling diplomats in a tit-for-tat move.
March 30, 2018

EU opens for issuing visa directly at borders

Norway: Too early to say if this can be done at Storskog checkpoint to Russia.
March 25, 2018

Russian navy’s Arctic patrol vessels suffer delays of 3-4 years

March 25, 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