Atle Staalesen

Will Russia revive infamous SMERSH counter-intelligence in Kola Peninsula?

The structure established by Josef Stalin to fight "anti-Soviet elements" is today praised by the security agencies in the heavily militarised Murmansk region. Strong forces in Russia call for the resurrection of the notorious service across the whole country.
January 28, 2024

School kids in Severomorsk-3 salute another killed warrior

Aleksei Kosteev himself studied at the local School No 8 before he enrolled in the naval infantry, fought in Syria and was killed on the battlefield in Ukraine.
January 24, 2024

Two heavy lift carriers loaded with LNG plant modules start 6,000 km midwinter odyssey towards Murmansk

The Pugnax and Audax are making it through the thick sea-ice of the Northern Sea Route on their way from China to the Kola Bay.
January 24, 2024

Terror haunts Suez Canal. Moscow wants shippers to look to its far northern route

But international shipping companies shun the remote and icy waters along Russia's increasingly militarised Arctic coast. Figures from 2023 show that shipments lag far behind the Kremlin's targets.
January 23, 2024

Counting of killed Komi warriors reaches 400

It is unknown how many soldiers from the north Russian region that actually have lost their lives in the war, but a local count now reaches four hundred.
January 17, 2024

Norway expands oil drilling, boosts production

The petrostate awards another 62 drilling licenses to the oil and gas industry. The country steers towards a 15-year high in hydrocarbon extraction.
January 17, 2024

Russia's Foreign Ministry university MGIMO signs deal on Svalbard

The university that teaches Russia's diplomats enters into cooperation with Trust Arktikugol, the Russian state company operating on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago.
January 16, 2024

Military recruitment officers raid market places in Pechenga for more migrant warriors

Increasingly desperate for more soldiers, the Russian Armed Forces step up efforts to enrol new countrymen in military service. Among the targets of the military recruiters are migrant workers in far northern towns.
January 15, 2024

Eleven Iranians arrested by Finnish border guards after illegal crossing from Russia

The group was assisted by people on the Russian side, the Finnish Border Guard informs.
January 12, 2024

Wave of criticism rose against two Russian government officials that wore caps with Norwegian flags on

"We are highly displeased with the head of our city administration that carries the flag of a NATO country," a group of Russian soldiers says in a video.
January 10, 2024

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Atle is journalist and Publisher of the Independent Barents Observer.

In 2002, he founded the Barents Observer. He was editor until 2009 and later worked as journalist and project coordinator for several European cross-border cooperation projects. In late 2015, following a conflict over editorial rights, he re-established the Barents Observer as an independent and non-profit stock company along with the rest of the newspaper crew.  

Atle has a degree in Russian studies from the University of Oslo and studied journalism at the Moscow State University.

atle@thebarentsobserver.com
@atlestaalesen