Finland has completed construction of a fence along its Russian border. Officials hope it will stop “instrumentalized immigration” and prevent a potential Russian invasion.

When historically neutral Finland joined NATO in April 2023, it effectively doubled the alliance’s shared border with Russia. Finland shares an approximately 833-mile (1,340-kilometer) border with Russia and, until recently, it was largely unfenced and lacked other physical barriers such as walls or wires.

It was one of the most heavily monitored and strictly managed borders in Europe, with electronic surveillance and highly trained patrols on both sides.

Now, this month, there is a true demarcation, as Finnish officials announced that the country had completed a project to install a border fence that began three years ago. 

“I think it’s good that at some point we assess whether more of this is needed. What we particularly need is EU funding for eastern member states so that projects like this can be financed,” Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen told reporters while speaking at a news conference near the Nuijamaa border in the country’s southeast.

Why Finland Decided to Build a Fence on Its Russian Border

Finland was a self-governing Russian territory (officially, an autonomous grand duchy) from 1809 to until 1917, when it declared independence from the Russian Empire.

The country kept its border open—but guarded—for more than a century.

Finland, along with neighboring Sweden, remained neutral throughout the Cold War; both nations sought to join NATO after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

Later in 2022, Finnish officials decided to build the border fence. Finland closed its border with Russia in 2023.

A year later, Finland accused Russia of “instrumentalized migration,” which it described as the “deliberate pushing of large numbers of asylum seekers to a border checkpoint as a hybrid warfare tactic.” It passed a law allowing border guards to block asylum seekers from entering the country. The law was originally enacted for one year, but Finnish officials keep extending it.

“In this situation, every state must take care of its own security and the inviolability of its borders,” Rantanen said recently.

About the Finnish Border Fence

Construction of the Finnish border fence began as a pilot project near Imatra, northwest of the Russian city of St. Petersburg, in April 2023.

The fence does not cover the entirety of the border.

“The longest sections of the fence are located in the southeast of Finland, totalling some 140 kilometres,” according to the Finnish broadcasting company Yle. “There is also about 35 kilometres of fence in the North Karelia region, while additional sections of about 25 kilometres stretch across Kainuu and into Finnish Lapland.

The parts of the Finnish border that are not fenced have large bodies of water, swampland, dense forest, or other natural features that make a fence unnecessary and expensive.

Landmines and Dragon’s Teeth Protect Other Borders with Russia

Similar fences have been installed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland on their borders with Russia or Belarus to counter the flow of migrant crossings and attempt to block a Russian invasion.

The three Baltic States, which were all previously unwilling Soviet republics until they fully restored their respective independence in 1991, have also gone far beyond just a border fence.

A year ago, Lithuania began to build anti-tank “dragon’s teeth” along the frontier of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and the border with Belarus. It is part of a string of militarized positions throughout Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, which include anti-tank ditches, barbed wire, and even a strip of land where anti-vehicle and anti-personnel landmines could be laid if a military threat is perceived.

In February, Estonia also procured approximately 600 modular bunkers that are being installed along the Russian border. The hardened structures were meant to fortify the ongoing efforts to install “delay-rated” fences designed to resist forced entry.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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