Thomas Nilsen

Cruise lines remove White Sea, Murmansk itineraries after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine

Regent Seven Seas Cruises plans to remove St. Petersburg, Solovki, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk from its cruises this year, while Hurtigruten Expeditions says it will consider alternatives.
February 27, 2022

Sweden, Finland closed the skies for sanctioned Duma Chairman who then chose north Norway route

Rossiya’s Special Flight Squadron en route from Havana to Moscow had to make a detour via northern Norway. Onboard was Vyacheslav Volodin, the controversial Chairman of the Russian parliament.
February 26, 2022

Dmitry Medvedev vows to reintroduce death penalty

After the Council of Europe on Friday suspended Russia’s rights of representation, the country’s deputy chairman of the Security Council says this is a good opportunity to restore the death penalty for the most severe crimes.
February 26, 2022

Anonymous takes down websites of Defense Ministry, RT and Kremlin

International hacktivist group declares cyber attacks against Putin after the Russian President launched war on Ukraine.
February 26, 2022

Russians, Ukrainians and Norwegians in joint anti-war protest

"Putin to The Hague" - The message was clear on the doorsteps to Russia's Consulate General in the Norwegian border town.
February 25, 2022

Northern Fleet attacks Ukraine, but no spillover impact on the Arctic

Three large assault landing ships from Severomorsk attack Ukraine with soldiers and amphibious vehicles from the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade. There are reportedly also soldiers, weapons and vehicles from the 200th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade in the border war zone to Ukraine.
February 24, 2022

Støre: Russia’s Ukraine invasion a ‘serious violation' of international rights

Norway strongly condemns Russia’s military attack on Ukraine, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
February 24, 2022

Russia's new hypersonic Tsirkon missile was fired from Norwegian sector of Barents Sea

President Putin has praised the weapon as part of Russia’s new unrivaled missile systems but this is the first time ever such launch has taken place in waters between mainland Norway and Svalbard.
February 23, 2022

Putin's Ukraine move puts Pyhäjoki nuclear plant in jeopardy

Finland’s Defense Ministry will do a new security assessment of the partly Russian-owned nuclear power plant project near Oulu in northern Finland.
February 22, 2022

Finnish Army exercises inter-agency readiness

With growing threat of hybrid operations, a wide range of stakeholders will train combat for protection of vital society functions in Lapland.
February 22, 2022

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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