The Norwegian-Soviet Boundary

Abstract

The Norwegian-Soviet boundary is of unusual interest for several reasons. Its long history involves the territories of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia and has been complicated by the migration of nomadic Lapps1 and by changing Norwegian sovereignty (in relation to Denmark and Sweden), Finnish sovereignty (in relation to Sweden and Russia) and by revolutionary changes in the government of Russia. The boundary was also closely concerned in events at the end of the first World War, in the so-called ”Winter War” between Finland and the Soviet Union (1939—10), in the Nazi occupation of Norway and Finland (1940—44), and the subsequent liberation of northeastern Norway and Finland by Soviet armies late in 1944. The region adjacent to the boundary is significant for other reasons: It contains valuable resources — especially iron ore and nickel; the Pasvik River has potential value for hydro-electric development, and for floating lumber northward toward a region where wood is scarce; there are relatively fertil...