{"id":12794,"date":"2026-10-31T13:37:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T13:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12794"},"modified":"2026-10-31T13:37:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T13:37:53","slug":"on-the-norway-russia-border-the-sami-people-face-a-growing-divide-border-disputes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12794","title":{"rendered":"On the Norway-Russia border, the S\u00e1mi people face a growing divide | Border Disputes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Along the shores of the Neiden Fjord, in Norway\u2019s northernmost county Finnmark, Nils Boine* gazes out across the water. On the horizon, the Neiden River splits around the craggy island of Skoger\u00f8ya, but lurking beneath its surface is a fisherman\u2019s bounty: hundreds of king crabs.<\/p>\n

His grandmother was Sea S\u00e1mi, from an Indigenous coastal people whose homeland, S\u00e1pmi, stretches across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia\u2019s heavily militarised Kola Peninsula. In Finnmark\u2019s fjords, Sea S\u00e1mi families have fished for generations. But these waters are dissected by more than currents and shoals. Since Norway and Russia fixed their border in 1826, S\u00e1mi communities in the region have been divided by a national boundary.<\/p>\n

Two hundred years later, this Arctic community is a combination of S\u00e1mi, Norwegians, Finns, Ukrainians, Russians, and international seasonal workers. Most of the S\u00e1mi population lives in Norway, with roughly 2 percent residing in Russia.<\/p>\n

The S\u00e1mi have established a cross-border lifestyle, supported by flexible policies, including a Norwegian-Russian agreement allowing visa-free travel<\/a> for those living within 30km (18.5 miles) of the border.<\/p>\n

Security, however, has begun to tighten since the onset of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine. The West sees Finnmark as part of NATO\u2019s exposed northern flank, as it is directly opposite Russia\u2019s heavily armed Kola Peninsula. The Norwegian border town of Kirkenes has been caught in a spy war<\/a> with Russia, with multiple Russian operatives having been caught posing as tourists and fishermen while trying to engage in espionage.<\/p>\n

Now, border bureaucracy is a daily reality, and reindeer herding, language revitalisation and hunting traditions are increasingly being navigated through permits and regulations, making the wider Arctic infrastructure feel fractured.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have friends in Russia,\u201d Boine says. \u201cWe used to go shopping in Russia, and go there for weekends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, those crossings have stopped \u2014 partly as a display of solidarity with Ukraine, and partly due to safety concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cA local person was just arrested in Russia, so people are afraid to cross the border,\u201d Boine explains. \u201cThe rumours say that he had some illegal things in his car, but he was arrested, and the [Ministry of] Foreign Affairs in Norway tried to do something, but it\u2019s very difficult, of course, because we don\u2019t have any diplomats in Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is referring to the reported June arrest<\/a> of a Kirkenes businessman. Lawyer John Christian Elden told the daily newspaper Verdens Gang<\/a> (VG) that the man was in custody for two months under alleged \u201cpossession of weapons or ammunition”. Some Kirkenes residents were left shaken by the news, as recreational hunting is common in the region. They fear accidentally crossing the Russian border with forgotten hunting ammunition that might be left in their cars.<\/p>\n

The number of Russian tourists visiting Norway has also declined<\/a>, from 250,000 in 2019 to 52,000 last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore, we had Russian guests, but not now,\u201d Boine says. Fortunately for his family, who run a tourism company, 80 percent of customers come from Asia or Finland. Their business has emerged relatively unscathed, but other companies have not been as lucky.<\/p>\n

\u201cShops in the area have lost a lot of income without Russian [tourists],\u201d says Boine. \u201cSeveral shops have had to close.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a landscape traditionally connected for centuries, the fragmentation of communities is deeply concerning for both the regional economy and S\u00e1mi culture. Cross-border connections are deeply rooted in the regional psyche.<\/p>\n

For Boine, the war in Ukraine has put his friendships with people in Russia on hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are afraid to do something wrong or write something wrong,\u201d he says quietly. \u201cYou never know what might happen if they have too close contact,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Along the shores of the Neiden Fjord, in Norway\u2019s northernmost county Finnmark, Nils Boine* gazes out across the water. On the horizon, the Neiden River splits around the craggy island of Skoger\u00f8ya, but lurking beneath its surface is a fisherman\u2019s bounty: hundreds of king crabs. His grandmother was Sea S\u00e1mi, from an Indigenous coastal people…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t