A new Iron Curtain is eroding Norway's hard-won ties with Russia on Arctic issues
The countries share a border. Along the frontier, residents say a new barrier has disrupted everything from Arctic climate action and nuclear waste control to trade and cross-border sports leagues.
Capt. Pal Bratbak has patrolled the Barents Sea for decades. His Norwegian coast guard search and rescue cutter mostly chases after distress calls from fishermen. The fishermen are chasing the cod — and the cod sometimes lead them astray.
"The codfish, they don't see the border, so we help every boat in our area," he says, and that means as many Russian boats as Norwegian. A treaty allows both nations to catch a quota, and that management of the Barents Sea Arctic cod fleet is considered a success worldwide, both economically and environmentally.
"That's important for Norway and
