Finnish-Russian border

The Finnish–Russian border is the roughly north/south international border between the Republic of Finland (EU member) and the Russian Federation (CIS). Some 1,340 km (833 miles) long, it runs mostly through uninhabited taiga forests and sparsely populated rural areas, not following any particular natural feature or river. It is also part of the external border of both the political and economic union; European Union (EU) and the loose confederation; Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Border crossings are controlled and patrolled by the Finnish Border Guard and Border Guard Service of Russia, who also enforce border zones (0.1–3 km on the Finnish side, at least 7.5 km of Border Security Zone on the Russian side). Entry to a border zone requires a permit. The electronic surveillance on the Finnish side is concentrated most heavily on the "southernmost 200 kilometers" and is constantly growing in sophistication. The Finnish Border Guard conducts "regularly irregular" K9 patrols to catch anyone venturing into the border zone. Russia maintains its 500-year-old border patrol in the arctic region as elsewhere and plans to upgrade Soviet border technologies to both save on cost and to fully maximize the efficiency of the Border Service by the year 2020. But Lieutenant-General Vladimir Streltsov, deputy head of the Russian border service, noted that electronic surveillance will never replace the human element.

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 and Nuijamaa (), where customs services on both sides inspect and levy fees on imported goods.

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Wikipedia