Thomas Nilsen

Northern Fleet sails out two frigates, one landing ship as NATO forces move north for exercise

“Planned combat training tasks,” the Northern Fleet says as the two frigates “Admiral Kasatonov” and “Admiral Gorshkov” this week left Severomorsk.
March 01, 2024

Russian caught for taking photos of military object in northern Norway

The Russian citizen was fined and expelled from Norway, the police in Finnmark inform.
February 26, 2024

Putins signs northwestern regions into Leningrad military district

Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree reestablishing the Soviet-era Moscow and Leningrad military districts which means an end to the Northern Fleet as a military district. The changes are valid from March 1st.
February 26, 2024

Northern winter destinations gets bombarded by selfie-taking tourists

Heavy snowfall, polar night and freezing cold. The trend for tourists taking selfies with astonishing Arctic backgrounds is filling up planes and hotels in the northern regions of Norway, Sweden and Finland.
February 26, 2024

More trouble on Kiruna-Narvik (de)railway shortly after reopening

An iron-ore train Saturday evening derailed and again caused a halt in traffic on Europe’s northernmost cross-border line. The incident happened only four days after the railway reopened after being closed for two months after the last derailing accident. Police is investigating possible sabotage.
February 26, 2024

Russian jamming is now messing up GPS signals for Norwegian aviation practically every day

Pilots flying the Finnmark region see a sharp spike in disturbances of navigation caused by Russian electronic warfare units located on the Kola Peninsula.
February 26, 2024

Russia's diplomats in Kirkenes removed Navalny portrait before staging propaganda photo session

The killing of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny prompted shock and grief among his supporters. Consul General Nikolai Konygin, however, got Navalny’s portrait out of sight when he one day before the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine hailed the country's "heroes".
February 23, 2024

U.S. bombers deploy to Kallax as NATO prepares for Swedish flag raising ceremony

The parliament in Hungary will vote on ratification of Swedish NATO membership on Monday. Formal flag raising for the North Atlantic Alliance’s 32nd member will take place outside the Headquarters in Brussels within a week or two.
February 23, 2024

PM Støre commemorates Navalny with candlelight in border town next to Russia

Russian authorities are responsible for Aleksei Navalny's death, the Norwegian Prime Minister makes clear.
February 21, 2024

Ramishvili and his Nordic colleagues all summoned over Navalny death

The killing of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who died in a Siberian prison camp last week, triggers strong diplomatic reactions.
February 20, 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