More from: Kirkenes

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

"Pain, disappointment, despair.” Norway’s Kirkenes mourns the death of Russia’s opposition leader

Alexei Navalny died in high security penal colony in northern Russia on Friday. The day before, the exhibition “Faces of Russian Resistance” opened in Kirkenes. The Barents Observer spoke to people who came to pay tribute to the politician after hearing of his death.
February 18, 2024

Kirkenes' international reputation in jeopardy over Severomorsk friendship

"Friends of Russia are enemies of the rest of us, as simple as that," says the well-known Finnish entrepreneur and investor Peter Vesterbacka.
February 25, 2023

Russian seamen walk streets of Kirkenes in military-looking uniforms

You could easily believe you met Russian soldiers wearing winter uniforms with the tricolor flag on the chest. The two were stopped by the police and requested to find more suitable clothing when onshore in Norway.
January 12, 2023

Tighter export restrictions on electronics, but not all Russian fishing vessels are checked

Russian fishing vessels making port calls to Northern Norway could be loopholes to bypass sanctions and export controls.
January 05, 2023

People turned their back when Russia's consul marked liberation day

Consul General Nikolai Konygin had invited to commemorate the Red Army’s liberation of Kirkenes. Environed by Ukrainian flags, the 78th anniversary became very different from previous ceremonies in the Norwegian border town.
October 22, 2022

A day after Northern Fleet Commander visited Norway, his nuclear subs start weapons testing in Norwegian Sea

Two Sierra-class nuclear-powered multi-purpose submarines will test new weapons and deep-diving in Norwegian Sea.
October 26, 2019

To protect the Northern Sea Route, Russia gives rebirth to missile-armed ekranoplans

Flying just a few feet above the surface, the wing-in-ground-effect craft could patrol huge areas where infrastructure is weakly developed.
July 31, 2018

Russians cross border to Norway for Pride Parade

“Love has no borders” was the slogan when 200 people turned out for Pride Parade in Norway’s border town to Russia.
September 23, 2017

Member of European Parliament bikes to Norway's Arctic coast, makes statement about need for new railway

A big majority of the EU Parliament Committee of Transport would support the projected railway line from northern Finland to the Norwegian Arctic shore, says MEP Michael Cramer.
August 18, 2017

Kirkenes gets longer runway for bigger planes

Norwegian Government gives priority to extension of the runway at Kirkenes airport.
April 05, 2017

Norway lost The Trial of the Century

The verdict of the court performance staged during the Barents Spektakel festival in Kirkenes is clear: The opening of the Barents Sea to oil drilling is in conflict with the Norwegian Constitution.
February 12, 2017

Russians still love taking a ride to neighboring Kirkenes

After two years of decline, traffic across the Norwegian-Russian border is again on the increase.
January 06, 2017

«Still room for Russian protest songs in Kirkenes»

The meddling of Russian authorities in Norwegian musician Moddi’s concerts in northern Norway does not pose a threat to cross-border cultural cooperation, says Luba Kuzovnikova, leader of curator group Pikene på Broen.
November 17, 2016

On border to Russia, a bonfire in protest against Norwegian defense cuts

«Peace does not come by itself», says Nina Karin Skogan as she and a group of companions light up a huge fire just few hundred meters from the Russian border.
October 01, 2016

Top FSB General on mission to Norway

Inside this motorcade crossing the border at Storskog Thursday morning is Army General Vladimir Kulishov, one of President Vladimir Putin’s top security officials.
August 25, 2016

Russia mulls extension of border zone

Official document indicates that Moscow is preparing the reintroduction of traveling restrictions in the borderlands to Norway and Finland.
August 24, 2016

This is a Norwegian-Russian success story

Almost half the population of Kirkenes can cross the border to Russia without a visa.
August 19, 2016

26 years on, Russian death clouds still descend on Norwegian borderlands

A new book tells the story about how a popular movement gathered the whole community of Kirkenes in a joint protest against heavy pollution from neighboring Nikel. More than two decades later, the winds still bring poisonous sulphur across the border.
August 04, 2016

Traveling artists in the borderland

The Dark Ecology project has over the last three years explored people and nature along the Norwegian-Russian border.
June 17, 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