Borders of Finland

History


The history of the Finland can be categorized into three phases. The first phase being the one where Finland was part of Russia. This period is seen as dark times, as chaotic. The second phase is the phase where Finland became a nation state project, became known as ‘järvi-Suomi’, where Finland portrayed itself as the Lakeland, a process which is sometimes called Finlandization. The present times are seen as the mature stage of Finland, where it has normative power and a really Western identity. A boundary is more than a separating line. It can have many different meanings and is often perceived in different ways, even at the same side of the border. In this article a boundary will be understood as a set of practices and discourses. This boundary is not limited to the border itself, but finds its way into society and reproduces itself. It is constructed by power and is governed mainly by states. But they transcend different spatial scales, ranging from the local to the global.

Borders of Finland may refer to:

The border between Norway and Finland is 736 kilometers (457 mi) long. It is a land and river border between two tripoints. The western tripoint is marked by Treriksroset, a stone cairn where both countries border Sweden. The eastern tripoint is marked by Treriksroysa, a stone cairn where both countries border Russia. The border was defined in a treaty from 1751, which also included the Swedish-Norwegian border. In the period 1738-1751 there were field investigations and negotiations on the border, although the Finnish part needed less negotiation. Cairns were erected after that with the last one at Nesseby in 1766. A treaty in 1816 with Russia which possessed Finland, defined the easternmost part of the border. Between 1920-1944, the Petsamo area belonged to Finland, so the Finland–Norway border extended along the present Norway–Russia border to the ocean. The 1751 treaty also granted the Sami people the right to cross the border freely including their reindeer, as they always had done. In 1852, the border Norway–Finland/Russia was closed, causing trouble for the Sami, who needed the Finnish forests for reindeer winter grazing. The Finland–Norway border is open as both countries are part of the Schengen Area. It is legal to cross the border anywhere if no customs declaration or passport check is needed. There is an 8-meter (26 ft) wide clear-cut zone along the land border. Almost half of the border follows the rivers Anarjohka and Tana. [1]

A The year of 1917 was an important one in the establishment of a border between Finland and Russia. Before that time, Finland was part of Sweden and did not have a real border with Russia. There was a customs border, but this border was very open. After 1917 Finland created an own foreign policy and shifted attention to the West and the United States. This shift can be observed in the exports. Before 1917 almost one third of the exports went to Russia, this figure dropped significantly to 5% maximum in the years thereafter. And the border was not only created in economic terms. Russia became more and more portrayed as the ‘other’. Relations hardened and before the Second World War Russians were almost seen as barbarians by the Finnish people. For over 70 years the border was practically closed. This time was a time of dividing practices, where the border more and more became a problem. Three months after the start of the World War Two Russia invaded Finland without a declaration of war, because Finland refused to give parts of its territory to Russia. However, the Finnish resistance held much longer than was expected and hostilities were ceased in March 1940. The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed and Finland ceded a little more than 10% of its pre-war territory to Russia. After the signing of the treaty, the conflict was not over and there still were hostilities, especially in the area of Eastern Karelia. However, the border that was drawn was confirmed in the Treaty of Paris in 1947. In negotiations after the Winter War, the main Soviet demand was that the Finns cede small parcels of territory, including a naval base on the Gulf of Finland that the Soviets wanted to help them protect Leningrad. In exchange, the Soviets offered to cede to Finland about 8,800 square kilometers of Karelia along the Finnish border, or about twice the amount of land to be ceded by Finland. [2] In 1992 both countries signed the ‘neighboring area cooperation’ agreement. This agreement led to the promotion of cross border cooperation schemes. Also the amount of border crossing points increased. A new phenomenon resulting from this is Russian tourists crossing the Finnish border. Before 1991, no more than 9.000 Russian visitors crossed the border, but in 1996 this figure already was over 170.000. This number today is even larger and continues to grow. [3]

Resurgent Sweden and Russia clashed a number of times during the ensuing centuries and most of the battles were fought on Finnish soil. The Treaty of Teusina, concluded in 1595, ended a bloody guerrilla war between the two countries (known as the Long Wrath) that had been raging for 25 years. Under the Treaty, the northern section of Finland’s eastern border made a great leap eastwards, reaching the Arctic Ocean. Those drawing the new border recognized the fact that Finnish tribes had already spread towards the east. The next redrawing came two decades later. Russia had been weakened by succession disputes and Sweden managed to occupy large areas of Russia located to the southeast of Finland, which were ceded to it in the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617. As a result of its territorial gains, Sweden became one of the largest countries in Europe. For Karelians living in the areas now under Swedish rule, the redrawing of the border meant major changes. [4] The Finnish–Swedish border was created in 1809 by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn, as Sweden ceded Finland over to Russia. The course of the border was described in the fifth article of the treaty, without great detail. The borders were agreed to be the Sea of Aland, the Gulf of Bothnia, and the rivers Tornionjoki and Muonionjoki. Islands in the sea belonged to whichever country was the nearest to them. At the mouth of the Torniojoki river, the Pirkkio island, the harbor of Roytta and the city of Tornio were agreed to belong to Russia. Along the rivers, the border was agreed to run along the deepest part of the river. The border ran up the Muonionjoki river and past Kilpisjarvi to Norway. The course of the border was amended in 1810 and small changes were later made. It has caused sovereignty islands, which lie in one country but whose owners live in the other. The island of Market was decided to be split in two parts in a topographical description made in 1811. The border was decided to run through the geographical center of the island in the Treaty of Aland in 1921 and in the treaty of continental plates in 1972. The Market lighthouse, built in 1885 by Finland and operated by them, was left on the Swedish side. In 1981, the border on the island was modified into a curve to get the lighthouse on the Finnish side.


References

  1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland%E2%80%93Norway_border
  2. ↑ http://motherearthtravel.com/history/finland/history-6.htm
  3. ↑ https://criticalgeography.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/the-border-between-finland-and-russia/
  4. ↑ https://finland.fi/life-society/tracing-finlands-eastern-border/


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