Newsletter: The Voices Behind the Iron Curtain

HNN's Editor-in-Chief Arne O. Holm has spent the last few days in Vardø in Finmark with local and visiting artists. In this week's commentary, he speaks up on behalf of a forgotten group of people in the shadow of Russia's war in Ukraine;

“There is a place in the doghouse for those who, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, condemned the Barents cooperation. Had they taken a deep breath before sharpening their tongue, they could have listened to the voices of oppositional Russian artists pleading not to be forsaken,” writes Holm.

 Sanctions in effect 

The West’s sanctions against Russia are having an increasingly stronger effect. 

Norwegian energy giant Equinor confirms that the full exit from Kharyaga oilfield in Arctic Russia has been completed, as promised after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. 

Russian LNG company Novatek has been focused on finding new partners to help salvage its flagship LNG project in the Arctic after western companies exited the project. Despite these efforts this week the company said the opening of the project will be delayed by at least a year. 

It has been decided that Norway's last coal mine located on Svalbard receives two bonus years as a result of high coal prices. 

Groundbreaking research 

UiT The Arctic University of Norway was granted over 20 million NOK by the Groundbreaking research program in Norway. 

We continue the work of covering what is happening in the High North, big and small, and have a lot of exciting things to offer next week as well, so please follow us on social media and share our newsletter with other interested parties. 

Wishing you a good weekend on behalf of the editorial staff,

Trine Jonassen, News Editor 

This newsletter has been translated by Birgitte Annie Molid Martinussen