Despite the economical crises, there was a slight increase in the numbers of Russian tourists visiting the northernmost part of Norway last year.

airBaltic is launching four new flights to destinations in Barents Region making Riga the new hub for interconnecting flights between east and west in the north.

The administration of the far northern Nenets Autonomous Okrug intends to make oil companies finance the projected road between Naryan-Mar and Usinsk, the only way connecting the region with the outside world.

Murmansk Oblast is a region with low activity when it comes to innovation, a Russian survey shows.

Murmansk airport will be modernized this summer to meet international standards.

Trade between Russia and its Nordic neighbors in 2009 dropped dramatically, figures from the Russian Customs Service show.

The far northern Nenets Autonomous Okrug in 2009 had the biggest industrial growth in Russia. At the same time, the region suffered from a major drop in investments, budget revenues as well as in regional salaries, the Barents Monitoring report reads.

A new study, evaluating the prospects of an Arctic railway from Rovaniemi in northern Finland to the North-Norway coastal town of Kirkenes, shows a large potential. The estimates conclude that there could be a market for up to 40 daily trains from Finland to the Barents Sea coast.

The next few years will provide new possibilities in the High North believes newly elected President of the Norwegian Shipowners' Association Thor Jørgen Guttormsen.

The Russian Ministry of Transport has prepared a bill, which is to regulate commercial shipping along the Northern Sea Route.