The international border between

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

is long and runs approximately north to south, mostly through

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

forests and sparsely populated

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

s. It does not follow any natural landmarks, such as mountains or rivers. It is also an

external border of the European Union The border of the European Union consists of the land borders that member states of the EU share with non-EU states adjacent to the union. The EU shares land borders with 21 countries and 3 dependencies. List The lengths of the borders the Eu ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. It is patrolled by the

Finnish Border Guard The Finnish Border Guard (FBG, ; ) is the agency responsible for enforcing the security of Finland's borders. Duties Main duties of the Finnish Border Guard: * Protecting the land borders and territorial waters of Finland from unauthorised e ...

and the Border Guard Service of Russia, who also enforce border zones extending, respectively, up to on the Finnish side and at least on the Russian side. A permit is required for entry to these border zones. Electronic surveillance on the Finnish side is concentrated most heavily on the southernmost 200 kilometers (125 miles). In addition, the Finnish Border Guard conducts irregularly scheduled dog patrols multiple times daily to catch illegal entries into the border zone. In the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

region, Russia maintains its 500-year-old border patrol, with plans to upgrade

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-era technologies to reduce costs and improve efficiency by 2020. The border can be crossed only at official checkpoints, and at least one visa is required for most people. Major border checkpoints are found in

Vaalimaa Vaalimaa () is a village in the Virolahti municipality and a border crossing point between Finland and Russia. The border crossing station was opened in 1958 as a first road traffic crossing point between Finland and Soviet Union. With over 2 ...

and

Nuijamaa Nuijamaa (; literally translated the " club land") is a former municipality in the province of South Karelia in Finland. The municipality had inhabitants and an area of 136 km² in 1988. Nuijamaa was a Finnish-speaking municipality. Nuijam ...

, where customs services on both sides inspect and levy fees on imported goods. In an attempt to curb a sudden increase in

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...

entering Finland via Russia, all border crossings were closed in late 2023. The northern endpoint of the border between

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, Finland, and Russia forms a

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

marked by

Treriksrøysa Treriksrøysa () is a cairn which marks the tripoint where the borders between Norway, Finland, and Russia meet. The site is on a hill called Muotkavaara, in the Pasvikdalen valley, west of the Pasvikelva river and southwest of Nyrud just we ...

, a stone cairn near

Muotkavaara , ;, or , , or ) is a hill in Sápmi, Lapland at the boundary between Finland, Norway, and Russia. It is the second northernmost international tripoint in the world; the Three-Country Cairn, tripoint of Finland, Norway and Sweden is further to ...

(). On the south, the boundary is on the shore of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

, in which there is a

maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...

between the respective

territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

, terminating in a narrow strip of

international waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...

between Finnish and

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

territorial waters.

History

Sweden–Russia border

The first treaty concerning the border was signed in Nöteborg in 1323 between

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(to which Finland belonged) and the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

. The Treaty of Teusina in 1595 moved the border eastward. As a result of the

Ingrian War The Ingrian War () was a conflict fought between the Swedish Empire and the Tsardom of Russia which lasted between 1610 and 1617. It can be seen as part of Russia's Time of Troubles, and is mainly remembered for the attempt to put a Swedish duk ...

and the resulting

Treaty of Stolbovo The Treaty of Stolbovo (; ) was a peace treaty that ended the Ingrian War (), which had been fought between the Swedish Empire and the Russian Tsardom between 1610 and 1617. History After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from ...

(1617), Sweden gained a large tract of land through the acquisition of the Nöteborg fortress, Kexholm and its large province, southwest Karelia and the province of

Ingria Ingria (; ; ; ) is a historical region including, and adjacent to, what is now the city of Saint Petersburg in northwestern Russia. The region lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian ...

. The

Treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad, or the Treaty of Uusikaupunki, was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on in the then Swedish town of Nystad (, in th ...

in 1721 and the

Treaty of Åbo The Treaty of Åbo, or the Treaty of Turku, was a peace treaty signed between the Russian Empire and Sweden in Åbo (Turku) on in the end of the Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743. History By the end of the war, the Imperial Russian Army had ...

in 1743 moved the border westward. Generally, the native populations on both sides of the border were ethnically Finnish. However, the border region was marked by religious differences, with the Russian side being predominantly Orthodox, while the Swedish side was initially

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and later,

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. After the peace of Stolbovo in 1617, the Orthodox population faced persecution and many fled to the Russian side or converted to Lutheranism. The displaced population was largely replaced by immigrants from Finland, most of whom were

Savonians Savonians (; ), or Savo Finns, are a subgroup (''heimo'') of Finns who live in the areas of the historical province of Savonia. History Savonians are descendants of Tavastian and Karelian peasants who, during the Middle Ages, had settled ...

who spoke Finnish instead of the closely related Karelian.

Border between Grand Duchy of Finland and Russian Empire

After the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

, the

Treaty of Fredrikshamn The Treaty of Fredrikshamn, or the Treaty of Hamina, was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 September 1809. The treaty concluded the Finnish War and was signed in the Finnish town of Fredrikshamn ( Hamina). Russia ...

transferred Finland from Sweden to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

with the establishment of the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, an autonomous state ruled by the Russian Czars. In 1812, the Finnish–Russian border reverted to its pre-1721 location, granting the Grand Duchy of Finland so-called " Old Finland" territories previously held by Sweden.

Finland–Soviet-Russia border

In the period following Finland's declaration of full independence in 1917, during the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

and

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, Finnish activists often crossed the border into Soviet territory in order to fight in the " heimosodat" wars surrounding Finnish ethnic self-determination and possible annexation into Finland. This ended in 1920 when the Russian–Finnish Treaty of Tartu in 1920 defined Finland as an independent country and established the border between the two countries. Despite this, Finnish fighters took part in the East Karelian uprising and Soviet–Finnish conflict of 1921–22. In 1922, the Finnish government closed the border to volunteers and food and munitions shipments.

Changes to borders with World War II

In 1939, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

invaded Finland in the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, leading to the signing of the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

the following year. The treaty had Finland cede several border areas to the USSR. The naval border was established in 1940 and more accurately defined in 1965. In 1940 and 1941, the Soviet Union rented

Hanko Peninsula The Hanko Peninsula (; ) is the southernmost point of mainland Finland. The soil is a sandy moraine, the last tip of the Salpausselkä ridge, and vegetation consists mainly of pine and low shrubs. The peninsula is known for its beautiful archip ...

as a

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

, thereby creating an additional border crossing leading to the exclave. After the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

(1941–44), the land border was demarcated in the Treaty of Paris (1947). As a result, approximately half of Finnish Karelia (including Finland's fourth-largest city

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

), parts of

Salla Salla, known as Kuolajärvi until 1936, is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The nearby settlement of Sallatunturi is ...

, and all of Petsamo were ceded to the Soviet Union. The new border cut through what was previously Finnish territory, severing many rail lines and isolating many Karelian towns from Finland. The Soviet Union demanded the territories be emptied, and Finns were subsequently evacuated from the area and resettled in Finland. The areas that they left were then settled by Soviet immigrants. In the

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modi ...

signed in 1944 between Finland, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, a small peninsula towards the Gulf of Finland, Porkkala, was rented to the Soviet Union as a military base. This created in effect a southern border crossing to the Soviet

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

. Border crossings were in and . In 1947, Finnish trains were allowed to pass through the base, but the passenger car windows were blinded and the

locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...

replaced while crossing through. Porkkala was returned to the Finnish government in 1956.

Soviet–Finnish border during the Cold War

During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the border constituted part of the perimeter of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

. Crossing the border was not possible for much of its length. Only a very limited number of border crossing points existed, and the Soviet government permitted only escorted trips to select cities; border zones were off limits to tourists.Timo Laine. Torakoita ja panssarivaunuja - Silminnäkijänä hajoavassa neuvostoimperiumissa. Tammi, Helsinki, 2014. There was little contact between cities that were relatively close to each other on opposite sides of the border, such as

Imatra Imatra is a city in Finland, located in the southeastern interior of the country. Imatra is located in the region of South Karelia, on Saima, Lake Saimaa and the River Vuoksi. The population of Imatra is approximately , while the Imatra sub-regi ...

and

Svetogorsk Svetogorsk (, ) is an industrial town in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus, on the Vuoksi River. It is located from the border with Finland, from the Finnish town of Imatra, and from St. Pe ...

. The Soviet side maintained extensive electronic systems and patrols to prevent illegal crossings. Soviet border

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

began at a great distance from the actual border, and was as extensive as elsewhere along the Iron Curtain. The first surveillance systems were installed in railway stations in cities, where the ''

militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...

'' monitored potentially suspicious traffic. The border zone began at from the border. A special permit was required for entry, and the first line of control was equipped with electronic alarms. At , there was a raked sand strip (to detect footprints) and a thin alarmed

tripwire A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to a device for detecting or reacting to physical movement. Military applications Such tripwires may be attached to one or more mines⁠especially fragme ...

. At , there was a tall barbed wire fence, with a top that curved inwards towards their own territory to prevent Soviet citizens from leaving. The fence had an electronic alarm system. However, it was not protected underground and tunnelling under it was possible. At the international border, there was a border vista. On the Finnish side, there was a border zone where entry was allowed only with a permit. In Northern Finland, there was a reindeer fence intended to stop crossing by privately owned

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

, but this was not designed as an obstacle to persons. Since Finland was a

neutral country A neutral country is a sovereign state, state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, Collective Sec ...

for most of the Cold War, they did not protect illegal border crossers and instead returned them to the Soviet authorities if captured. As a result, illegal border crossers had to arrive in a third country, for example Sweden, in order to defect to the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

. Both states verified the inviolability of borders and territorial integrity in the first

Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism ...

in 1975.

Infrastructure

The Finnish side has a border zone, where entry is legal only with a permit. It is 50 m at its narrowest and 3 km at its widest on land, varying in width according to terrain features. It is up to 4 km at sea. In Virmajärvi in

Ilomantsi Ilomantsi (, ) is municipality and a village of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The easternmost point of Finland ...

, it is delineated so that the easternmost point in Finnish territory is accessible without permit. The zone is marked in terrain with yellow signs, yellow straps or yellow painted rings around the trunk of a tree, and in waters, with buoys, signs and placards. The zone is not always uninhabited; inhabitants obtain permanent permits. Entering the border zone without permit is an offence punished with fines. In minor cases, foreigners are deported without punishment. Roads pass through the border zone to the border, and leaving the road is not permitted. Although there are fences near major border crossings, the Finnish side is mostly not fenced. It is marked by a border vista and two or three boundary markers. The Finnish side has blue and white striped poles, tall enough to be visible in deep snow, displaying a Finnish coat of arms. Russians have a corresponding pole in red and green. A short white pole marks the actual border. In 2023, Finland began constructing a Finland–Russia border barrier at the southernmost part of the border. Little reliable information is available on the status of the infrastructure on the Russian side after the Cold War. However, it is known that the border zone is much deeper on the Russian side, and that patrolling against genuinely unpermitted traffic is efficient.

Traffic

In 2011, Finland issued the most Schengen visas to Russians out of all the countries in the Schengen area. In 2015, 9.1 million individuals crossed the border, half of which went through

and

. Traffic across the border was interrupted during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2023, Finland stopped issuing new tourist visas to Russians due to the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, and downgraded their travel advisory for Russia to "avoid all travel". New Finnish visas can only be issued for travelers in certain categories, such as people with family in Finland or people who currently reside or work in Finland. As a result, border traffic has not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, though it still remains significant. By July 2023, there had been 973,337 border crossings, most of which occurred over land borders. Most people crossing the border had multiple-entry visas issued before 2019 or Schengen visas issued by other member states. Entering Finland via

still remains legal, as Norway does not restrict tourist visas. On September 16, 2023, Finland banned vehicles with Russian license plates from entering their territory, in accordance with a decision by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

November 2023 border closures

Amid the worsening of relations between the two countries, on November 16, 2023, the

Finnish Government The Finnish Government (; ; ) is the executive branch and cabinet of Finland, which directs the politics of Finland and is the main source of legislation proposed to the Parliament. The Government has collective ministerial responsibility an ...

announced the closure of four border crossings in the south-east (Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala), effective November 18, 2023. One week later, they announced the further closure of all other crossings (namely, Kuusamo, Salla and Vartius), effective November 24, 2023. The one exception was Raja‑Jooseppi, located in the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

, through which

could still cross. Additionally, on November 23,

Frontex The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, commonly known as Frontex (from French ''frontières extérieures'', "external borders"), is an agency of the European Union headquartered in Warsaw, Poland. In coordination with the border and coast gu ...

announced that the EU would help Finland secure its eastern border by deploying more personnel. Only five days after the closure of Kuusamo, Salla and Vartius, the last remaining crossing, Raja-Jooseppi, was temporarily closed for a period of two weeks. The closures, which apply to all traffic, including Finnish citizens, will last until April 14, 2024. Initially, they were slated to reopen on February 11, 2024, but on February 8, the Finnish government announced an extension. The Finnish government said the measures were taken to curb the influx of illegal entries into the country, which they claim is being "aided and encouraged" by Russia. The Finnish government has also accused Russia of deliberately using refugees as weapons as part of its

hybrid warfare Hybrid warfare was defined by Frank Hoffman in 2007 as the emerging simultaneous use of multiple types of warfare by flexible and sophisticated adversaries who understand that successful conflict requires a variety of forms designed to fit the goa ...

strategy.

Incidents

On 26 November 1939, the Soviet Union carried out a

false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrep ...

attack on Finland, shelling the village of Mainila, located on the Soviet side of the Finland–Russia border, and then accusing Finland of being the aggressor. The Soviets used this as a

pretext A pretext (: ''pretextual'') is an excuse to do something or say something that is not accurate. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication. Pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or r ...

to instigate the

, which began four days later on November 30. On 27 December 2015, Finland blocked access to people crossing the border by

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

at and

. According to the Finnish Border Guard, this measure was to limit illegal immigration and ensure safety on slippery roads. The Finnish Border Guard stated that organized traffickers were making their clients cross the border by bike in order to avoid being captured on the Finnish side and prosecuted for organizing illegal immigration, which is a felony in Finnish law. In response to the prohibition, asylum seekers started to cross the border by car, often using dilapidated cars purchased in Russia. On 23 January 2016, Finnish Foreign Minister

Timo Soini Timo Juhani Soini (born 30 May 1962) is a Finnish politician who is the co-founder and former leader of the Finns Party. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Finland), Minister of Foreig ...

, member of the

Finns Party The Finns Party ( , PS; , Sannf), formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The party achieved its electoral breakthro ...

, visited the

border crossing, where he talked about

human smuggling People smuggling (also called human smuggling), under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, ...

across the border and claimed that there was "probably" an entity on the Russian side that was organizing the inflow of immigrants. Furthermore, a representative of the

noted that the influx of immigrants was causing disturbances for Finns driving to the Russian side to purchase petrol, as the border was being held up by lengthy immigration proceedings. In March 2016, Finland and Russia temporarily closed the Raja-Jooseppi and Salla border crossings to third country nationals. Only Finnish, Russian and Belarusian citizens were allowed to use these crossings for a period of six months. The measure was later removed. Finland began constructing a

border barrier A border barrier, border fence or border wall is a separation barrier that runs along or near an international border. Such barriers are typically constructed for border control purposes such as curbing illegal immigration, human trafficking, a ...

in 2023 due to the

. Russia introduced a bill on 21 May 2024, aiming to redefine its maritime boundaries in the Baltic Sea. The proposed changes would expand its territorial waters by altering the maritime borders it shares with Finland and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, effective from January 2025. Initially published on the official website of the Registry of Laws, the text of the bill was later taken down.

List of border checkpoints

Vartius (closed), 5 Niirala (closed), 6 Parikkala (closed), 7 Imatra (closed), 8 Nuijamaa (closed), 9 Vainikkala (only railway use), 10

(closed) Regular border checkpoints, ordered from north to south, are as follows: * / Lotta (road 91 / P11 / 47А-059) *

(road 82) * (road 866 / A136) * Vartius (road 89) *Vartius (– Kostomuksha railway, freight only) *Niirala ( Tohmajärvi) / Vyartsilya (road 9 / A130) *

(road 62 / A124) *

(road 13 / A127) *

(

Saimaa Canal The Saimaa Canal (; ; ) is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 (Old Style: 26 August 1856). It was overhauled and wi ...

) * Vainikkala ( Riihimäki – Saint Petersburg Railway, passenger and freight trains, the only rail crossing used in 2015) *

/ Torfyanovka (road E18 / 7 / M10) In addition, there are provisional border crossing points: * Haapovaara * Inari * Karttimo * Kurvinen * Leminaho * Parikkala * Ruhovaara * Imatra railway crossing point (Imatra–Kamennogorsk railway, freight only)

Passport stamps

The following are Finnish ink passport stamps issued at the Finnish–Russian border. Image:Imatra_passport_entry_stamp.jpg, Passport entry stamp from the Finnish border checkpoint at

Image:Imatra passport exit stamp.jpg, Passport exit stamp from the Finnish border checkpoint at

Image:Nuijamaa_passport_stamp.jpg, Passport entry stamp from the Finnish border checkpoint at

Image:Vaalimaa_passport_stamp.jpg, Passport exit stamp from the Finnish border checkpoint at

Image:Vaalimaapassportstamp.jpg, Passport exit stamp (old style) from the Finnish border checkpoint at

Image:Finland exit stamp (rail).jpg, Passport exit stamp issued on the train in Vainikkala Image:Finland vainikkala train passport stamp old2013 new2014.JPG, Passport entry stamp (new and old styles) issued on the train in Vainikkala

References

External links

*
The Finnish Border Guard, Border Surveillance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finnish-Russian border European Union external borders

Borders of Russia International borders