More from: Democracy and Media

«What we need is more cross-border journalism»

His newspaper is banned by Moscow, but Thomas Nilsen and the Barents Observer continue reporting in Russian.
February 20, 2019

The Barents Observer is now blocked in Russia

A Moscow rat race against the independent Norwegian newspaper leads to its closure on Russian territory.
February 19, 2019

The Barents Observer launches Chinese version

The growing engagement of China in the Arctic is accompanied by independent Chinese-language news from and about the region.
February 12, 2019

Criminal case initiated against journalist who reported about act of terror in Arkhangelsk

Svetlana Prokopyova was detained by masked man who first raided her home.
February 07, 2019

Repressive authority steps up blocking of independent news media

Obey restrictions imposed by media regulator Roskomnadzor or risk being blocked in Russia.
February 01, 2019

Russia’s media controllers aim for blocking the Barents Observer

You have 24 hours to un-publish this story. If not, the website will be blocked in Russia, state media watchdog Roskomnadzor makes clear in a letter to the Barents Observer.
January 30, 2019

Arkhangelsk pacifist demands right to alternative civilian service, goes to court

Anatoly Veshchagin is fighting for his right not to serve in the military.
December 18, 2018

More prison for Sergey Mokhnatkin

The human rights defender was due to be released from prison in Arkhangelsk before December. That did not happen.
December 04, 2018

Human rights expert from Russia considered a threat to security and health in Finland

The human rights expert Alexey Tsykarev from Russia has been refused a visa to Finland. The refusal was based on the Schengen agreement’s paragraph on diseases that concern public health.
November 13, 2018

Moscow media group says powerful propaganda resources needed to balance Barents journalism

Head of the ecological monitoring and consulting group POMOR, Timofey Surovtsev, wants to counter Norwegian media's negative reporting on environmental problems in Russia.
November 07, 2018

Russian legislators encroach on news aggregators

Additional limitations are in the pipe for Yandex and other Russian aggregators of up-to-date news coverage.
October 25, 2018

Another protector of memorial complex for Stalin victims is arrested, accused of sexual crime

Director of the Medvezhyegorsk regional museum Sergey Koltyrin has for more than two decades been a key safeguarder of the Sandarmokh memorial complex in Karelia.
October 11, 2018

Rage against regional print

In Murmansk, politicians working in the shadows are trying to close an independent news agency
October 10, 2018

«People see us as enemies of the state»

The situation for gays and lesbians in Russia is deteriorating, says journalist and writer Aleksandr Borisov. He foresees more persecution of homosexuals.
September 29, 2018

Murmansk protesters marched on government office

People of different ages and political views gathered in a peaceful rally that ended up on the doorstep of Governor Marina Kovtun’s office.
September 10, 2018

Russia’s first blogger convicted for extremism wins support from Court of Human Rights

The sentence of blogger Savva Terentyev in 2008 was a violation of freedom of expression, the judges in Strasbourg say.
September 04, 2018

This will only make us stronger, says publisher after clampdown on independent newspaper

Regional news journal 7x7 has started a major crowdfunding effort after it was fined an unprecedented 850.000 rubles by Russia’s state media inspection agency.
August 31, 2018

The end is near, says political prisoner Oleg Sentsov

The Ukrainian film director is on hunger strike for 88 days in the remote Russian Arctic prison of Labytnangi.
August 09, 2018

Now also journalists can become «foreign agents»

It is another crackdown on the Russian media, and it will make it even harder for Russian journalists to engage in cooperation with foreign colleagues.
July 05, 2018

Navalny’s chief representative in Murmansk gets 150,000 ruble fine

Violetta Grudina organised a protest rally ahead of the inauguration of Vladimir Putin. Now comes the reaction from the authorities.
July 04, 2018

Arkhangelsk population down 10,000

Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Oblasts are the part of the Barents region with sharpest drop in population, while both Northern Sweden and Norway get more people.
June 26, 2018

This is an act of censorship, says publisher of independent regional news journal

Russia’s media supervision authority Roskomnadzor fines 7x7-journal 800.000 rubles for a blog post.
June 21, 2018

Supreme Court overturns acquittal of Yuri Dmitriev

Regional prosecutors regain momentum in the case against the Karelian human rights defender.
June 15, 2018

Oleg Sentsov on hunger strike in Yamal prison

The Ukrainian film director, who serves a 20-year sentence in the remote Russian Arctic town of Labytnangi, demands the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia.
May 28, 2018

Supreme Court sides with FSB, says Barents Observer editor poses threat to Russia's national security

The Federal Security Service is afraid of free journalism, says Thomas Nilsen as he today lost his appeal case in the highest court of Russia. He will now proceed to the European Court of Human Rights.
May 25, 2018

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