The Norway–Russia border barrier is an international

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 ...

built by

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 ...

on the

Norway–Russia border The border between Norway and Russia consists of a land border between Sør-Varanger Municipality, Norway, and Pechengsky District, Russia, and a marine border in the Varangerfjord. It further consists of a border between the two countrie ...

. Construction of the barrier began in September 2016 and took a few months. The intent of the project was to prevent the smuggling and illegal crossing of migrants from the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, mainly from Syria, who have used

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 ...

as a route of entry into Norway (and thus into 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 ...

's passport-free

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

Background

In 2016, 5,500 asylum-seekers illegally entered Norway from Russia. Because it is illegal to drive from Russia to Norway without proper legal permission, and crossing on foot is prohibited, the migrants make the crossing on bicycles. At the end of September 2016, it was discovered that some foundations have to be moved, since the border treaty says that there shall be no built object within from the border on each side, and some foundations were built up to too close to the border.

Barrier

The barrier is located at the Storskog border crossing. It is built of steel and stands long and high. The fence includes a gate for the road traffic, built so people cannot walk through it when it is closed.

Juxtaposed border control

An agreement is in place that the Russian border control do not allow people to cross the border if they do not have proper visas into Norway. This means that they cannot apply for asylum since they never reach Norway. In doubtful cases, Norwegian border police are allowed to see the passports while the bearer has to wait in the Russian station. This is the background for the barrier, preventing people from escaping the station and running to Norway.

Incidents

On 15 August 2017, a Syrian citizen ran through the Russian border control and tried to climb over the fence. Russian Border Guards stopped him.Syrer prøvde å klatre over piggtrådgjerde inn til Norge
/ref> In July 2017 two persons were arrested by Russian guards for trying to pass the border outside the station.

Old barrier

There exists an older barrier at the old border control site at Skafferhullet near the Pasvik river 4 km west of Storskog and only accessible for authorised traffic. It was probably built around 1960 when the road was used for construction of the Borisoglebsky hydroelectric station, or in connection with the Skafferhullet controversy in 1965 when Soviet Union opened a taxfree shop there which made Norway close the border. This border crossing was passable for general public before 1940 and again in 1965. Furthermore, there are fences around the Pasvik River hydroelectric stations, of which some are located on the border. These fences are not considered to be border fences, but private installation fences.

Russian barrier

There is a fence along the entire Russian border to Norway and Finland, built by the Soviet Union. It is located one or a few kilometres from the border, and has automatic alarms detecting if someone climbs over it. There is a simple gravel road along both entire borders, permitted only for border guards and other authorised people, enabling quick response if an alarm goes off. The gravel road along the fence is covered by sand in order to get foot prints to trace trespassers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norway-Russia border barrier Border barriers constructed during the European migrant crisis Norway–Russia border 2016 in Norway 2016 in Russia 2016 establishments in Norway