More from: Democracy and Media

Murmansk court turns down LGBT activist’s appeal

Sergey Alekseenko, former head of Foreign Agent branded NGO Maximum, has to pay the 100,000 rubles fine for violating the law against propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships among minors.

May 27, 2016

Iceland will not back down on sanctions against Russia

Iceland will continue to follow the EU in its sanctions against Russia, the country’s new Foreign Minister Lilja Alfredsdottir says.

May 25, 2016

Arctic governors among top 10 in salary rating

The leaders of two Arctic regions are among the ten best paid governors in Russia.

May 20, 2016

Pechenga newspaper director wins in court, again

Irina Iskorneva wins another court case against the Pechenga municipality.

May 19, 2016

Russian salaries lower than Chinese

The average salary in Russia has fallen to under $450, making Russian labour cheaper than Chinese, Sberbank’s Chief Analyst says.

May 19, 2016

Karelia has the most government-critical media

Russian critical-minded media is under mounting pressure. But there is still quite a bit left in the Republic of Karelia, a new study finds.

May 13, 2016

Reasonable to resume talks with Russia

Mayor of Kirkenes, Rune Rafaelsen, hopes Norway’s Minister of Fisheries upcoming visit to St. Petersburg sparks dialog on seafood export to the Russian market.

May 13, 2016

Finland-Russia trade down – but some remain hopeful

An economic barometer survey found that while trade between Finland and Russia contracted again last year – some companies say they see some light at the end of a rather dismal economic tunnel.

May 11, 2016

Putin dismissed the Russian Ambassador to Norway

Vyacheslav Pavlovsky, who has been Ambassador to Norway for the last six years, has been dismissed from his post.

May 06, 2016

Unemployment on the raise

Jobless rates in Murmansk grow to the highest level in more than a decade.

May 05, 2016

Future Novatek location changes status

As part of preparation for future oil and gas activities, two settlements outside Murmansk will loose their status as closed territories.

May 04, 2016

Moddi plays Pussy Riot’s Punk Prayer on church steps close to Russian border

VIDEO STORY: “The message that Pussy Riot was trying to spread was a legitimate one,” says the Norwegian musician Pål Moddi Knutsen. Denied inside, his translation of the song was recorded on the church steps in Grense Jakobselv.

April 27, 2016

Barents Press calls on Lavrov to scrap demand for journalist accreditation

The Foreign Ministry’s bureaucratic accreditation rules hamper cross-border journalism in a period of time when objective information on Russia from western media is more important than ever.

April 25, 2016

Barents journalism - between ultimate freedom and «climate of oppression»

The World Press Freedom Index 2016 ranks Finland on top and Russia as No 148.

April 20, 2016

Half of income is spent on food

Because of the economic crisis Russia is going through, the share of income that people spend on foodstuffs has passed 50 percent.

April 20, 2016

Finns give fewer births

The numbers of births in Finland hit a 150-year low in 2015. Tougher times economically can be among the reasons.

April 19, 2016

More pressure against NGOs

As parliament elections come closer, prosecutors step up inspections of civil society stakeholders, among them independent media and journalist organizations.

April 18, 2016