page_title: Norway–Russia border
section_title: Closing the border (1940s)
hierarchical_section_title: Norway–Russia border / History / Closing the border (1940s)
caption_attribution_description: GSV (44 of 46)
context_page_description: The border between Norway and Russia consists of a 195.7-kilometer land border between Sør-Varanger, Norway, and Pechengsky District, Russia, and a 23.2-kilometer marine border in the Varangerfjord. It further consists of a border between the two countries' exclusive economic zones in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Between 1944 and 1991 the border was between Norway and the Soviet Union. There is a single border crossing, on E105, located at Storskog in Norway and Borisoglebsky in Russia. The Norwegian side is patrolled by the Garrison of Sør-Varanger and is under the jurisdiction of the Norwegian Border Commissioner, while the Russian side is patrolled by the Border Guard Service of Russia. Two-thirds of the border follows two rivers, the Pasvikelva and Jakobselva.
  The border was defined as a march in a treaty in 1326 and separated which parts of the Sami could be taxed by Norway and Russia. The border line was defined by a treaty in 1826 and essentially remains the same border today. In 1920 Petsamo was ceded to Finland and the border became part of the Finland–Norway border. Petsamo was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1944 and the Norway–Soviet Union border was established.
context_section_description: The Moscow Armistice of 1944 and the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 ceded Petsamo and other Finnish areas to the USSR. 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.
  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. 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. 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. 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.
  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. 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. 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. 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).
caption: Norwegian border outpost in March
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