A fire at a shipyard on the Kola Peninsula involved in scrapping of radioactive waste might have led to increased levels of radiation. The accident occurred last Friday. Norway was not informed.

OPINION: When the future history of the Arctic will be written, 2010 will be marked off as the breakthrough year for commercial shipping along the Northern Sea Route.

The number of Russian students at universities in Norway exploded last year and they now constitute the largest group of foreign students in Norway. The highest rise has been at universities and university colleges in Northern Norway.

Lower prices on natural gas mean lower budget revenues for both Norway and Russia. It could also cast shadows over planned new field projects, including in the Barents Sea.

Head of the Russian navy, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, gave a clear instruction to the submarine yard Sevmash in Severodvinsk to speed up the on-going construction of several nuclear-powered strategic submarines.

Norilsk Nickel must modernize its polluting way or production, or risk considerably higher fines, says Vladimir Putin. The company and the federal environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor have concluded an agreement on reduction of pollutant emissions over the next three years.

China can make a valuable contribution in the Arctic region, Norway’s Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a speech at the China Institute of International of International Studies Forum in Beijing this week.

The State Secretaries at the Ministries of Foreign Affairs in Finland and Norway will drive together to Murmansk today.

Russian wants joint mapping, joint resource management and joint development with Norway in the Border areas of the Barents Sea.

The Kremlin changes politics towards governors of Russian regions. They must create good relationship with local political elites, or face dismissal.

Significant growth in the mining industry in the first half of 2010 prevented the economy of Murmansk Oblast from turning negative.

For the first time ever, a bulk carrier with non-Russian flag is using the Northern Sea Route as a transit trade lane, when transporting iron ore from the Northern Norway to China via Arctic and Russian waters.

Police in Murmansk has 1000 copies of a book that is critical of Prime Minister Putin, the opposition group Solidarity says.

The costs of using the service of nuclear icebreakers on the Northern Sea Route through the Northeast Passage should not be particularly higher than the costs of passing through the Suez Canal, says Atomflot.

A man from Petrozavodsk in the Republic of Karelia must pay 100,000 roubles (€2,600) in fine after being convicted for circulating leaflets calling for Russia to hand back territory it took from Finland during the Winter War of 1939-40.