The article outlines the development of the bilateral Norwegian-Russian fisheries management regime since its establishment in the mid-1970s and discusses how fisheries cooperation in the post-Soviet period has been influenced by three factors external to the regime: the political climate between Russia and the West, Norwegian-Russian cooperation in the commercial sphere and the internal political and economic development in Russia. While cooperation in the early 1990s was characterized by good relations and a high level of regulative activity, the climate between the parties cooled off towards the turn of the millennium, and it became difficult to reach agreement on some issues. Since the early 2000s, development has been mainly positive, with both parties taking a pragmatic approach to cooperation.