Thomas Nilsen

"The attack on Leonid Volkov demonstrates the logic of terror that the Kremlin spreads throughout the world"

"Anyone can become a target regardless of location," says Novaya Gazeta Europa editor Kirill Martynov after Navalny ally Leonid Volkov Tuesday evening was attacked with a hammer and tear gas outside his home in Lithuania.
March 13, 2024

Alaskan soldiers will fly across North Pole and jump over northern Norway

They call themselves America’s Arctic Angels, the parachuting soldiers with the U.S. Army 11th Airborne Division. Next week, the ultimate transpolar exercise kicks-off.
March 12, 2024

Izvestia: Admiral Moiseev takes over as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy

Russia's new Navy commander has decades of experience from the north, including onboard ballistic missile submarines sailing the Barents Sea.
March 10, 2024

Protesters ‘rename’ street in front of Russian Consulate in Kirkenes after killed opposition leader Navalny

A few locals in Kirkenes on Friday morning took their own initiative to 'rename' the street after the killed Russian opposition leader. Mayor Magnus Mæland supports the name-change.
March 08, 2024

Swedish forces exercise in northern Norway as the country officially joins NATO

March 7 became historic as all Nordic countries now are members of the North Atlantic Alliance. It happens simultaneously as thousands of Finnish and Swedish soldiers cross the border to Norway's Finnmark region for NATO's largest Arctic exercise so far north ever.
March 07, 2024

"An honor," says chess champion Kasparov after inclusion on Moscow’s extremist list

Russia's chess icon Garry Kasparov was Wednesday added to the "terrorists and extremists" list compiled by Putin's regime.
March 06, 2024

Russia keeps close eyes on Nordic Response as NATO expands in the north

A pair of Tu-142 maritime surveillance planes follows NATO maneuvers in the Norwegian Sea, while the Northern Fleet has several warships in the Barents Sea. Russian media and commentators perceive Nordic Response exercise as “offensive” and “provocative”.
March 06, 2024

Substantial expansion of trout farming in cooling water of Kola nuclear power plant

Russia aims to reduce dependence on Norwegian fry imports. The expanded facilities next to Kola nuclear power plant in Lake Imandra will by late 2026 release four million rainbow trout fry every year.
March 04, 2024

Crossings down another 5% in February as multi-entry visas expire

There were just over 4,000 crossings at the Norwegian-Russian border in February.
March 03, 2024

Yars nuclear-missile test from Plesetsk

The launch was expected and comes less than a day after Putin bragged about Russia’s nuclear weapons capabilities in his annual state of the nation speech.
March 01, 2024

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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