Norway–Russia border

From the 11th century Olaf III of Norway regarded the borders of Norway as reaching to the White Sea. The first Norwegians started moving to Finnmark in the 13th century. Vardøhus Fortress was erected by Norway in 1300 further east than today's land border, supporting Norwegian land ownership on the Varanger Peninsula. There were no permanent Norwegian settlements on the Kola Peninsula. In 1326 Norway and the Novgorod Republic signed an agreement regarding taxation of the Kola Peninsula and Finnmark.[1] No border line was drawn, creating a marchland where both countries held the right to taxation of the Sami.[2] Religiously motivated Russian colonization of the jointly taxed areas started in the 16th century, and Russian-Orthodox chapels were built at Neiden, Pechenga and Boris Gleb. This accelerated the need for a specific border line. In 1582 Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible declared the Kola Bay part of Russia, later specifying that Russia claimed all of Lapland.[2] He further proposed that a new border line be drawn up. Denmark–Norway's King Frederick II responded by renewing the Norwegian claim to all land to the White Sea. His successor Christian IV traveled along the Finnmark coast in 1599 to increase the weight of the claims. As part of the Treaty of Knäred in 1613, Sweden abandoned all claims in Finnmark.[1]

Territory (pink) ceded by Russia to Norway in 1826

The Dano-Norwegian government took the initiative to establish a border line in 1789. Russian authorities agreed, but because of the Russo-Turkish War no work was undertaken. New Dano-Norwegian requests were raised in 1793, 1797, and 1809, without action from their Russian counterpart. Norway joined a union with Sweden in 1814 and two years later King Carl John again tried to start negotiations, without success. In 1825, however, a common Norwegian and Russian commission was established to draw a border line, resulting in a report and a map which was approved by both countries' authorities. The treaty was signed in Saint Petersburg on 14 May 1826, and the following summer border poles were laid along the border. The thalweg principle was followed in the Jakobselva and Pasvikelva Rivers. Along the land borders the boundary markers were laid at a distance of 6 alen or 5 arshin (3.765 m or 12.35 ft).[1] The border remains Norway's youngest unchanged border and Russia's oldest.[3]

Norwegians guarding the Finland–Norway border at Skafferhullet in 1940 after the outbreak of the Winter War

The border was reviewed in 1846; a cairn was constructed at Krokfjellet, and the land border from the sea to Golmmešoaivi was cleared. The marker at the mouth of the Jakobselva was gone and had to be rebuilt, while several others had to be repaired. It was agreed that there would be a review every twenty-five years, which was formalized through a declaration the following year. Some markers were repaired in 1857, and new reviews were carried out in 1871 and 1896. In the latter year the width of the cleared area increased to 8 meters (26 ft). Maps were created for the entire border line in 1:42,000 scale, and in 1:8400 scale for the area immediately surrounding each marker. A partial review was carried out between Neiden and the Tana River in 1912.[1] Up until the 1940s the border had been open, without border controls; farmers at Grense Jakobselv, for instance, did not need to worry about whether or not their cattle were on the correct side of the border.[4]

During the late 19th century customs checkpoints were established at Elvenes and Grense Jakobselv. Norwegian authorities gave permission for customs-free transit of wares along Pasvikelva.[5] There was a limited amount of trans-border trade, and import for personal use under certain volumes was customs-free. This was accelerated by significantly lower prices in Russia compared to Norway.[6] From 1902 to 1917 the border crossing was used to smuggle revolutionary Russian literature into Russia. The material was printed at Finnmarken's printing press in Vadsø and smuggled over the border by boat.[7] During World War I six soldiers were stationed at Nyborgmoen in Nesseby as "neutrality guards". This was gradually increased so that by 1918 there were 93 soldiers stationed in Sør-Varanger to guard the border.[8]

Petsamo was first ceded from Russia to Finland in 1920, and then reversed to the Soviet Union due to the Moscow Armistice of 1944 and the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947

Finland declared its independence from Russia following the October Revolution, which was followed up with the 1920 Treaty of Tartu, which ceded Petsamo to Finland, thus giving Finland access to the Barents Sea. This resulted in Norway and the Soviet Union no longer having a common border. The planned 1921 review was not carried out. A treaty regarding the border was signed between Finland and Norway on 28 April 1924, replacing the 1826 treaty, but not changing the border line. A review was carried out in 1925. The border line at the mouth of the Jakobselva was revised on 12 September 1931, and new markers were placed in June 1939.[1] When Finland owned the Petsamo area there was a car ferry over the river between Svanvik–Salmijärvi which was the main border crossing.

The Moscow Armistice of 1944 and the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 ceded Petsamo and other Finnish areas to the USSR.[1] During Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, northern Norway served as the staging area for the German attack on Murmansk. The Soviet Union made an excursion over the border in 1944 in the Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive which aimed to extinguish the German military forces in the area. Soviet forces took the town of Kirkenes, which had been evacuated by the Germans who used scorched earth tactics, on 24 October 1944. Soviet troops continued west to Tana, but withdrew in September 1945.[9]

The ceding of Petsamo from Finland to the Soviet Union had no effect on the border, as the Soviet Union by default inherits the old border line.[10] A common commission was created to the review the border, with negotiations taking place from 1 to 16 August 1946. The field review took place between 1 July and 4 September 1947.[1] Norway initially proposed using cairns to mark the border, but the Soviet Union wanted to use the same method as along its other borders, with wooden markers, each 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) from the border line. There was to be a free line of sight from each pair of markers to the next. The idea initially met resistance from Norwegian authorities of cost reasons, but they soon agreed on the principle to reduce unintentional border crossings.[11] Markers in soil were dug down 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) and markers on bedrock were fastened with four bolts. Border checkpoints were established at Skafferhullet and Boris Gleb. Geodesic measurements were undertaken to establish the border in accordance with the Bessel ellipsoid. The entire border area was mapped in 1:20,000.[1]

Norwegian border outpost in March

The Soviet authorities made proposals to change the border. The first was an equal exchange of land at Skoltefoss, but this was rejected by the Norwegian authorities as the proposed ceding was valuable for hydroelectricity. At Grensefoss Norway owned land on both sides of the border, but there was no interest by the Norwegian authorities to change the border as they wanted it to remain the same as from 1826. The border along Klistervatn and Fossevatn was set based on the maps from 1896.[1] At the mouth of Jakobselva the maps from 1896 were of poor quality in combination with the thalweg having shifted since 1896. The thalweg line would create problems for the settlement at Grense Jakobselv, as they no longer would be able to use their harbor or have free access to the sea.[12] The countries therefore agreed on a new line based on a Norwegian proposal, in exchange for the Soviet Union receiving three islets, including Kistholmen and Brennholmen, in the Pasvik River.[1] The marine border within the territorial waters was established by a protocol signed on 15 February 1957. It was marked with two lead markers and originally stretched 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi).[1]

Jakobselva

During the Soviet era the border was guarded by Soviet border troops.[13] The border was one of the two land borders between NATO and the Soviet Union, the other being the Soviet Union–Turkey border. This ensured that Russia–Norway border relations were a relevant matter for other NATO allies.[14] During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was considered Norway's main enemy and Norway maintained a large military presence on the border. Norwegian government plans for the defense of Finnmark against the Soviet Union during the Cold War were based on using scorched earth tactics in the event of the Soviets crossing the border.[15] The whole county of Finnmark was regarded by NATO as a buffer zone.[16] Norwegian military leaders regarded the population in the county as potentially unreliable, and did not trust that they would be willing to defend their country against intruders, on account of the county's special ethnic and political composition, specifically Sami people and a higher number of communist sympathizers than elsewhere.[17]

On the Norwegian side the border was from 1948 to 1950 patrolled by the National Mobile Police Service. From 1950 the responsibility was transferred to Sør-Varanger Police District, who received 25 officers from around the country. From 15 July 1955 the responsibility was taken over by the Norwegian Border Commission, who had nine outpost sergeants and 42 officers. This was terminated on 29 December 1958, when the responsibility was transferred to the Norwegian Army, who created the Garrison of Sør-Varanger.[18]

Initially all meetings between the Norwegian and Soviet commissioners and their staff was held at the Storskog–Boris Gleb crossing. The Soviets quickly bought a small cabin to host meetings. If the meeting was initiated by the Soviets, it was held in the premises, while it was held outdoors if initiated by the Norwegians, unless circumstances dictated that it had to be held indoors. This caused the Norwegian authorities to build a conference room on their side of the border, which opened in 1956.[19] Initially meetings between the two commissioners would be called by hoisting a flag or red lamp at the border, and the other country's soldiers would alert the commissioner, who would meet within two hours. Later a telephone connection was installed and the parties agreed on two hours each week day that they were to be available along with an interpreter.[20] Initially the Soviet commissioner was based in Salmijärvi, but later moved to Nikel.[21]

Looking upstream from Elvenes; the bridge and community is in Norway while the river further up is in Russia

The area on both sides of the river saw an increased industrialization, especially Sydvaranger in Norway and Pechenganikel (now, part of MMC Norilsk Nickel) in Russia. This raised the question of utilizing Pasvikelven for hydroelectricity. An agreement was signed in 1957 which would result in the construction of four power stations, the Paatsjoki River Hydroelectric Plants, of which two were owned by each of the countries. All four were built by Norwegian contractors and as the sites were all built on both sides of the border, they required increased flexibility of border crossing procedures. This was further complicated by the workers not having a sense of the border being closed and frequent, innocent transgressions of the border protocols. The power plants opened between 1963 and 1978.[22] Up until the power plants opened the river had been used for log driving from Finland to the sawmill at Elvenes, which was permitted according to the border treaty.[23]

There have been a limited number of illegal crossings of the border. For instance an American in 1947 and a West German in 1964 both received a few weeks in detention and smaller fines. During the summer of 1965 a trial was made whereby Norwegians could visit Boris Gleb without a visa.[3] This was organized by the creation of a separate border checkpoint at Skafferhullet.[24] Although this was intended only for the local population, the 27-year-old American tourist Newcomb Mott chose to cross the border illegally and when he arrived at the border control, he was apprehended. He was tried and sentenced to one and a half years in a labor camp, but was later found dead on a train. This, combined with "vodka traffic" the visa-free crossing created and concerns of recruitment of Soviet spies, made Norwegian authorities terminate the Skafferhullet crossing and the visa-free project later that year.[3]

A Soviet border provocation on 7 June 1968, together with the invasion of Czechoslovakia that year and a general increase in Soviet military activity on the Norwegian border, contributed to a large increase in the funding for the Norwegian military presence on the border.[16] Yet the Russia–Norway border is the only one of Russia's borders where an open war between the two bordering countries has not taken place.[25] (there was a war between the Soviet Union and German controlled Norway which much affected this area)

Proposals for conservation of the Norwegian part of Pasvikdalen was first launched by Carl Schøyen in 1936. An area of 51 square kilometers (20 sq mi) was preserved in 1951 and Øvre Pasvik National Park was created in 1970, with a slightly smaller area.[26] The park was expanded to 119 square kilometers (46 sq mi) in 2003.[27] On 7 December 1971 the two countries signed a protocol regarding protection of the fisheries in Jakobselven and Pasvikelven.[28] In the late 1970s Norway, inspired by Finland, considered replacing the wooden poles with fibreglass as this would make them more durable and reduce maintenance. Two poles were replaced in 1979 and remained at the turn of the millennium. However, the authorities concluded that wooden poles were more suitable and more durable in relation to human contact, as Norway, unlike Russia and Finland, allows people to travel up to the border.[29] In 1989 there were 2,000 border crossings.[30]

Conscripts from Norway's Garrison of Sør-Varanger patrol the border from a border outpost

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused the Norway–Soviet Union border to become the Norway–Russia border. This resulted in a more liberal border crossing policy, which saw the number of crossings increase to 80,000 by 1992. For Norwegian authorities this meant that police and customs authorities would have to be regularly stationed at the border.[30] A large amount of the initial traffic was from Russians who sold crafts and souvenirs at markets and fairs throughout Finnmark. From 1992 Norwegian authorities introduced limitations on the activity, resulting in a reduction in trans-border traffic. However, by 1998 the traffic had nearly hit 100,000.[31]

From 1991 to 1999 (Poland joining NATO), Norway was the only NATO country to share a land border with Russia. This caused a decrease in allied interest in Norway's border issue, leaving Norway more to itself in managing the relationship.[14] Cooperation concerning conservation of nature started in 1990. It was initially a Norwegian proposal to protect the important bird area and lake of Fjærvann, and resulted in a joint Norwegian and Russian Pasvik Nature Reserve.[32] The Russian part was formally established in 1992 and the Norwegian part the following year.[33]

In 2003 a new border station was opened at Borisoglebsk, financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[34] Norway and Russia signed a protocol on 11 July 2007 which established the border through the Varangerfjord out 73 kilometres (45 mi) from land. In 2011 the two countries agreed to replace the wooden markers with poles made of composite materials. This was to reduce the need for maintenance, as the new markers are expected to have a life span up to fifty years, compared to five to ten years for wooden poles. This took place at the same time as a review of the border and creation of new maps along a 2 to 3 kilometres (1.2 to 1.9 mi) wide corridor on both sides of the border line. New maps were completed in 2012.[1]

Work started in 2011 on the Russian side and 2014 on the Norwegian side[35] of the border to upgrade the E105 highway. It was completed in 2017 with a new tunnel and bridge on the Norway side of the border. The driving time between Kirkenes and Murmansk, the regional capital on the Russian side, is now about three hours unless there are delays at the border. The border station at Storskog was upgraded for increased capacity with completion in April 2012.[36] Residents of Sør-Varanger and parts of Pechengsky District can from 29 May 2012 visit the other country without a visa (but they need a permit, a kind of multi-travel visa), on the condition that they do not travel outside a zone 30 to 50 kilometres (19 to 31 mi) from the border.[37] On 29 April 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Norway closed its border to Russian freight.[38] However, Russian fishing vessels are exempt from the sanctions.[39]

The delimitation border

Negotiations on the outside marine border were initiated in 1970. Norway claimed, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Article 15 and the Convention on the High Seas, that the border should follow the equidistance principle, the border being defined by midpoints between the nearest land area or islands, as is normal practice internationally. The Soviet Union claimed, based on a decision by Joseph Stalin from 1926, which was not recognized by any other country than the Soviet Union,[40] that a "sector principle" should apply, such that the border should follow meridian lines. Most of the disputed area was within what would normally be considered Norwegian according to the relevant international treaties. In 1975 the two countries agreed upon a moratorium prohibiting exploration for oil and gas in the disputed area.

In 1978 a temporary agreement regulating fishery in a 60,000 km² (23,000 sq mi) zone, named The Grey Zone in some documents from the same period, was signed, which has since been renewed annually.[41] From the Norwegian side, the agreement was negotiated by Labour Party politician Jens Evensen and his protégé Arne Treholt, who was later exposed as a Soviet spy and convicted of high treason. The agreement was highly controversial in Norway. Many Norwegians believed that Evensen and Treholt gave too many concessions to the Soviet Union, and that they were motivated by Soviet sympathies. The agreement caused consternation in parliament and government, and Evensen had difficulty receiving acceptance from his own government, where many held the opinion that he had exceeded his authority.[42] The opposition criticized him for having accepted less than Norway's rightful claim.[43] Treholt, who was then serving a twenty-year sentence, admitted in 1990 that he had acted as an informer for the Soviet negotiators.[44] The arrest and conviction of Treholt in 1984 and 1985 had a devastating effect on Evensen, who withdrew completely from public life in Norway.[45] In 1989, Evensen compared Treholt to Vidkun Quisling.[46]

Signing of the Russian-Norwegian Treaty on Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean in Murmansk on 15 September 2010

During a meeting in Oslo on 27 April 2010, President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg announced that the territorial dispute in the Barents Sea was settled.[47][48] The agreement is a compromise which divides a disputed area of around 175,000 square kilometers (68,000 sq mi) into two approximately equally sized parts.[41] The agreement was signed on 15 September 2010 in Murmansk by Medvedev and Stoltenberg.[49][50] The Parliament of Norway unanimously approved the treaty on 8 February 2011. The debate lasted only an hour, and all representatives of Norwegian political parties praised the agreement.[51] On 30 March, Russia's State Duma also voted in support of ratification, despite strong opposition from Communist Party representatives. Medvedev signed a law ratifying the treaty on 8 April 2011. The law was titled Federal Law on Ratification of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Norway on Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.[49] After ratification by both countries, there was a 30-day waiting period before it came into force.[52] The treaty entered force on 7 July 2011, ending the 44-year-old border dispute.[53]

The treaty stipulates conditions for fishing cooperation, providing for the retention of the mechanism to jointly regulate fishing in the Barents Sea. The treaty also defines the principles of cooperation in hydrocarbons deposits exploration. A deposit which is crossed by the maritime border may only be exploited as a whole subject to a bilateral agreement.[49][52][54][55][56] The border treaty is economically significant, as it makes possible to conduct geological surveys and hydrocarbons drilling in the formerly disputed area, which is estimated to contain up to 6.8 billion tons of oil and gas.[53] The area is located west of Shtokman, one of the world's largest natural gas fields. According to Anatoly Zolotukhin, vice president of World Petroleum Council, it is "a very prolific area—maybe even more prolific than Shtokman".[53] The Norwegian company Petroleum Geo-Services has been contracted to begin surveying the Norwegian part of the area in 2011.[53] Seismic acquisition in Norway's new maritime zone started on 8 July 2011, and is scheduled to be completed in summer 2012.[57]

In 2022, Vyacheslav Volodin, the leader of the Russian State Duma, stated that Russia should reconsider the agreement due to Norway hindering food supplies to Russian settlements in Svalbard.[58]

In 2015 an Arctic route through the Storskog border crossing was established by migrants to the European Union/European Economic Area. The Arctic route involves fewer border crossings and avoids any dangerous sea crossings. Migrants began to cross the border riding bicycles, as pedestrians are not allowed in the Russian border area, and public transport operators and private car drivers are heavily penalised for transporting passengers who lack official documentation. Between August and October 2015 the number of migrants transiting through Storskog doubled every week.[59]

The loophole was closed in January 2016, when juxtaposed controls were introduced, and a border barrier was erected.[60] An estimated 5,500[61] to 10,800[62] migrants, mostly from Syria, crossed the border riding bicycles.