The Barents Observer
@thebarentsobserver.com
Europe's northernmost independent English-Russian online newspaper. Cross-border news from the Arctic, Russia, and Nordic. Fighting censorship, supporting democracy! Our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebarentsobserver
Border crossings between 🇸🇯 and 🇷🇺 have dropped significantly as few Russians get visa to Norway and even fewer Norwegians have an interest in exploring the warmongering neighbor.
11 percent decline in border traffic YoY
Excluding the years with pandemic, the Norwegian-Russian border has not seen lower numbers since before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Border crossings between 🇸🇯 and 🇷🇺 have dropped significantly as few Russians get visa to Norway and even fewer Norwegians have an interest in exploring the warmongering neighbor.
"Today, Svalbard is the warmest place in the country!" Norwegian meteorologists reported on January 8
Today, Svalbard is the warmest place in Norway
On January 8, the only place in Norway that recorded temperatures above zero °C was the far northern archipelago of Svalbard.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:34 PM
"Today, Svalbard is the warmest place in the country!" Norwegian meteorologists reported on January 8
Since 2022, Russian tactics of influence in Norway have taken on more provocative forms, while also increasingly operating in the grey zone, becoming more covert and harder to identify and attribute. Opinion piece by professor @kariagam.bsky.social with @uitnorgesarktiske.bsky.social
Meet “Svetlana”, a Russian agent of influence in Norway
Since 2022, Russian tactics of influence in Norway have taken on more provocative forms, while also ...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Since 2022, Russian tactics of influence in Norway have taken on more provocative forms, while also increasingly operating in the grey zone, becoming more covert and harder to identify and attribute. Opinion piece by professor @kariagam.bsky.social with @uitnorgesarktiske.bsky.social
With -30 degrees outside, hundreds of people in the headquarter city of Russia’s Northern Fleet were left without heating for several days
Heating outage in thirty-degree frost stirs a roar in Navy hub Severomorsk
The January frosts of 2026 exposed the vulnerability of the utility system in Severomorsk, the headquarters city of Russia's Northern Fleet. Technical problems with the heating system left hundreds of...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
January 7, 2026 at 5:09 PM
With -30 degrees outside, hundreds of people in the headquarter city of Russia’s Northern Fleet were left without heating for several days
A covert LNG transshipment scheme is taking shape in the Ura Bay, Kola Peninsula
A secretive LNG transshipment scheme takes shape outside Kola Peninsula
Sanctioned shadow tankers are turning off AIS as they shuttle to the 400-metre-long Saam floating storage unit in the Ura Bay.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:51 PM
A covert LNG transshipment scheme is taking shape in the Ura Bay, Kola Peninsula
Kids that visit the Murmansk Centre for civic and patriotic education can take a closer look at Russian 'war trophies,' among them a used Norwegian-made M72 light anti-armor weapon
On display in Murmansk children's center is a Norwegian anti-tank weapon
The kids that visit the so-called Centre for civic and patriotic education in Murmansk can take a closer look at Russian 'war trophies,' among them a used Norwegian-made M72 light anti-armor weapon an...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
January 5, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Kids that visit the Murmansk Centre for civic and patriotic education can take a closer look at Russian 'war trophies,' among them a used Norwegian-made M72 light anti-armor weapon
Mayor of submarine town Vidyaevo, Kola Peninsula, faces 15 years in prison
Mayor of submarine town faces 15 years in prison
According to the Russian General Prosecutor, Mayor of Vidyaevo Sergei Bogza is guilty of large-scale corruption.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Mayor of submarine town Vidyaevo, Kola Peninsula, faces 15 years in prison
"We will work to make the Nordics the most integrated region in Europe in terms of defence," says Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O Sandvik as he takes over the rotating chair of the NORDEFCO cooperation structure
'We want to be Europe's most integrated region in terms of defence'
Norwegian defence minister Tore O. Sandvik expresses high ambitions for military cooperation in the Nordic region as he takes over the chair of NORDEFCO.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:33 PM
"We will work to make the Nordics the most integrated region in Europe in terms of defence," says Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O Sandvik as he takes over the rotating chair of the NORDEFCO cooperation structure
The Barents Observer in 2025: A year of censorship and repression. And victory against the Russian state
A year of censorship and repression. And victory against the Russian state
It was a year of massive Russian clampdown of free speech. But we would like to start with the good news — and there are plenty of reasons for that. The Barents Observer won against Putin's regime in ...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 30, 2025 at 12:34 PM
The Barents Observer in 2025: A year of censorship and repression. And victory against the Russian state
Russia's first domestically built LNG carrier with ice classification Arc7 sets out on its maiden voyage on Northern Sea Route. The Alexei Kosygin will join a growing fleet of Arctic carriers used to circumnavigate sanctions
Russia's new Arctic tanker will circumnavigate sanctions
A first domestically built LNG carrier with ice classification Arc7 has been handed over to buyers at the Zvezda Yard. The Alexei Kosygin will join a growing fleet of carriers used to circumnavigate s...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Russia's first domestically built LNG carrier with ice classification Arc7 sets out on its maiden voyage on Northern Sea Route. The Alexei Kosygin will join a growing fleet of Arctic carriers used to circumnavigate sanctions
Russian cargo carrier sanctioned by the US and Ukraine because of involvement in transportation of weapons made a port call in Barentsburg, Svalbard, in late December
Sanctioned Russian cargo carrier makes port call in Norwegian archipelago
The Taimyr is on the sanctions lists of the US and Ukraine because of its involvement in Russian weapon transportation. On December 22, it made a port call in Barentsburg, Svalbard.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 29, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Russian cargo carrier sanctioned by the US and Ukraine because of involvement in transportation of weapons made a port call in Barentsburg, Svalbard, in late December
On Christmas Day, Moscow sent strategic bombers to Norwegian Sea
On Christmas Day, Moscow sent strategic bombers to Norwegian Sea
Only two days after Tu-95 strategic bombers took off from Olenya, Kola Peninsula, as part of a massive terror raid against Ukraine, similar aircraft from the same base set off towards the Norwegian Se...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 27, 2025 at 8:26 PM
On Christmas Day, Moscow sent strategic bombers to Norwegian Sea
Le Monde: The Barents Observer is a «target of intimidation from the Kremlin»
December 26, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Le Monde: The Barents Observer is a «target of intimidation from the Kremlin»
Russian students are forced to use Putin's national messaging app Max
Students in Russia are forced to use Putin's national messaging app Max
Russian universities are transferring communication related educational processes to the new state-controlled messaging system Max, effectively forcing students to install the app. The ones who refus...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Russian students are forced to use Putin's national messaging app Max
A legion of young men from indigenous Nenets villages are perishing in the war
Vladislav Yapuntai was killed in Ukraine
A legion of young men from indigenous Nenets villages are perishing in the war. 26-year-old Vladislav Yapuntai is one of at least 17 members of the Yapuntai family that have been killed on the battlef...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:04 PM
A legion of young men from indigenous Nenets villages are perishing in the war
"We. Are. Watching," says NATO as Russian spy ship "Yantar" sails along the north Norwegian coast
'We. Are. Watching,' says NATO
Ships operating for Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 shadowed the Russian spy ship Yantar and the Northern Fleet destroyer Severomorsk along the North Norwegian coast.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:51 PM
"We. Are. Watching," says NATO as Russian spy ship "Yantar" sails along the north Norwegian coast
After exhausting negotiations, Norway and Russia agree about next year's catch quotas in the Barents Sea. The cod quota for 2026 is the lowest since 1991
Norway, Russia reach agreement on fisheries
After record-long negotiations, the two sides agree on next year's catch quotas in the Barents Sea.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:20 PM
After exhausting negotiations, Norway and Russia agree about next year's catch quotas in the Barents Sea. The cod quota for 2026 is the lowest since 1991
The "Christophe de Margerie," one of Russia's shadow tankers, has made port call at the Utrenny terminal after a several thousand kilometre-long mid-winter voyage across the ice-covered Northern Sea Route
This year's last voyage on Northern Sea Route goes to sanctioned LNG terminal
The Christophe de Margerie, a 'shadow tanker,' has made port call at the Utrenny terminal in the Gydan Peninsula after a 6,000-kilometre-long voyage across the ice-covered Arctic route.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:06 AM
The "Christophe de Margerie," one of Russia's shadow tankers, has made port call at the Utrenny terminal after a several thousand kilometre-long mid-winter voyage across the ice-covered Northern Sea Route
The Russian Paralympic Committee is cooperating with Putin's war ministry and several ultra-patriotic organisations in efforts to train crippled warriors for international sport events
Russian men crippled in war are now training for the Paralympics
Warriors disabled in the war of aggression against Ukraine are aiming for participation in the Paralympic Games.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:10 PM
The Russian Paralympic Committee is cooperating with Putin's war ministry and several ultra-patriotic organisations in efforts to train crippled warriors for international sport events
The Norwegian environmental organisation Nature and Youth has been declared an "undesirable organisation" in Russia. The organisation has worked with Russian partners for more than 30 years
Moscow declares Nature and Youth an 'undesirable organisation'
The Norwegian environmental youth organisation has worked with Russian partners for more than 30 years.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:36 PM
The Norwegian environmental organisation Nature and Youth has been declared an "undesirable organisation" in Russia. The organisation has worked with Russian partners for more than 30 years
With an underwater drone, the Ukrainians destroyed a Russian Varshavyanka-class submarine in the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. A fleet of six subs of the same class is planned built for the Northern Fleet. They will all carry names of occupied Ukrainian cities
The Ukrainians just destroyed one. Another six Improved Kilo-class subs will come to Russia's Northern Fleet
With an underwater drone, the Ukrainian Security Service destroyed an Improved Kilo-class (Varshavyanka) sub in the port of Novorossiisk. A fleet of six subs of the same class is planned built for the...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:50 PM
With an underwater drone, the Ukrainians destroyed a Russian Varshavyanka-class submarine in the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. A fleet of six subs of the same class is planned built for the Northern Fleet. They will all carry names of occupied Ukrainian cities
Putin orders building of North Pole ice base
Putin orders building of North Pole ice base
The Artur Chilingarov Ice Base will be located on an ice floe and house tourists who are ready to pay a minimum of €40,000 for a five-day visit.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 16, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Putin orders building of North Pole ice base
Over three decades, Norway invested heavily in bridge-building measures aimed at neighbouring Russian regions. It failed. The government in Oslo is now preparing a plan for blowing up bridges in case of a Russian attack
After three decades of bridge-building comes a plan for detonation
Norway bet on a democratic development in Russia and invested heavily in building bridges - both literally and in a political and human sense, with neighbouring Russian regions. It failed. The governm...
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Over three decades, Norway invested heavily in bridge-building measures aimed at neighbouring Russian regions. It failed. The government in Oslo is now preparing a plan for blowing up bridges in case of a Russian attack
Barents Observer journalist Olesia Krivtsova to be tried under 'foreign agent' article www.thebarentsobserver.com/democracy-an... image.thebarentsobserver.com/128812.webp?...
December 12, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Barents Observer journalist Olesia Krivtsova to be tried under 'foreign agent' article www.thebarentsobserver.com/democracy-an... image.thebarentsobserver.com/128812.webp?...
Less catch, higher prices: what is happening at the Murmansk Fish Port
Less catch, higher prices: what is happening at the Murmansk Fish Port
The cargo turnover of the Murmansk sea fish port has almost halved since the beginning of 2025 and continues to decline — in December, the port expects to handle no more than 10,000 tonnes.
www.thebarentsobserver.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Less catch, higher prices: what is happening at the Murmansk Fish Port