North Karelia's landscape of lakes, forests and summer houses hides a largely invisible boundary where Finland and Russia meet at the EU's easternmost continental point. The 1,336km frontier has been marked by sparse striped fibreglass posts and monitored by Finnish and Russian border guards. Recent geopolitical shifts, NATO relevance and Russia's actions in Ukraine have intensified security concerns and changed the local mood. Finnish leadership has underscored historical wartime experience and the need for strengthened measures. Local authorities and border guards are increasingly treating the frontier as a significant security and geopolitical challenge.
Among the serene lakes, thick forest and summer houses of North Karelia's border zone, the line between Finland and Russia is almost invisible. Walking along the border path in Meriinaho, part of the Finnish border guard station of Ilomantsi, we are closer to St Petersburg than to Helsinki. This is the most easterly point of the continental European Union. Every now and then a discreet pair of matching striped fibreglass posts pop up from the blueberry patches on either side of the frontier.
We might come from a small country but we have a long border with Russia, over 800 miles. And we of course have our own historical experience with Russia, from world war two, the winter war and the war of continuation. We found a solution in 1944 and I'm sure that we will be able to find a solution in 2025.
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