The Russian Federation is the largest state on the planet by area. It occupies more than 30% of the Eurasian continent.

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The record holder is also in terms of the number of neighboring countries, of which there are 18, taking into account the partially recognized republics. The Russian border passes with other states, both by land and by sea.

Main Terms

The state border is a line that defines the spatial limit of the sovereignty of a particular country.

In fact, it is she who determines the territory of the country, its airspace, bowels and land.

The state border plays a huge role for any country. It is within this line that the laws of a particular state operate, its rights to mining, fishing, etc. are established.

There are two main types of state borders and one additional:

The emergence of state borders occurred along with the emergence of the states themselves.

In the modern world, most states control the crossing of their territories and allow this to be done only through specialized checkpoints.

Only the state borders of some countries can be crossed freely (for example, countries participating in the Schengen Agreement).

The Russian Federation protects them with the help of units of the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia, as well as the RF Armed Forces (air defense and navy units).

Total length

Before dealing with the question of what the land and sea borders of Russia are, it is imperative to determine their total length.

It should be borne in mind that in most sources it is given without taking into account the territories that appeared in Russian Federation after Crimea became part of it in 2014.

According to the Federal Security Service of Russia, the total length, taking into account those that arose after the annexation of Crimea, is 61,667 km, until that moment their length was 60,932 km.

Fact. The length of Russia's borders is greater than the length of the equator.

How much by sea

The total length of Russian maritime borders, taking into account the annexed Crimea, is 39,374 km.

The northern ones completely fall on the seas of the Arctic Ocean. In total, it accounts for 19,724.1 km. Another 16,997.9 km make up the boundaries of the Pacific Ocean.

Comment. It is important to correctly define the maritime boundary. It is located at a distance of 12 nautical miles. The exclusive economic zone is 200 nautical miles.

On this territory, Russia cannot prohibit other countries from free navigation, but has the sole right to engage in fishing, mining, etc.

Navigation on the seas of the Arctic Ocean is a rather difficult task. They are all year round are under drifting ice.

In fact, only nuclear-powered icebreakers are capable of sailing in these waters. With the waters of the Pacific Ocean, the situation with navigation is much simpler.

By land area

Russia's borders directly on land are 14,526.5 km long. But you should know that the land also includes river and lake.

Their length in Russia is another 7775.5 km. The longest land border is the Russian-Kazakhstani one.

With which countries

Russia is not only the largest country with a huge length of borders, it is also the leader in the number of neighboring countries.

In total, the Russian Federation recognizes the existence of borders with 18 states, including 2 partially recognized republics - Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Comment. The world community considers Abkhazia and South Ossetia part of Georgia. Because of this, the state borders of Russia with them are also not recognized.

The Russian Federation considers these regions to be completely separate independent states.

Here is a complete list of states with which the Russian Federation has a state border:

• Norway;
• Finland;
• Estonia;
• Latvia;
• Lithuania;
• Poland;
• Belarus;
• Ukraine;
• Abkhazia;
• Georgia;
• South Ossetia;
• Azerbaijan;
• Kazakhstan;
• Mongolia;
• China (PRC);
• North Korea;
• Japan;

Japan and the United States of America have no land borders with the Russian Federation, but only maritime ones.

From the United States, they pass through the Bering Strait and are only 49 km. The length of the Russian-Japanese is also not great - 194.3 km.

The border between Russia and Kazakhstan is the longest. It stretches for 7598.6 km, and its marine part accounts for only 85.8 km.

Another 1516.7 km is the river Russian-Kazakh border, 60 km is the lake border.

Directly on its land part accounts for 5936.1 km. Russia has the shortest border with North Korea. Its length is only less than 40 km.

A branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway Ulan-Ude - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing crosses the Russian-Mongolian border. Its total length is also quite large and amounts to 3485 km.

The land border with China, which is 4209.3 km long, deserves special attention.

It is directly land only for 650.3 km. And most of the Russian-Chinese passes along the rivers - 3489 km.

Territorial disputes

The Russian Federation is trying to peacefully resolve issues regarding borders with its neighbors, and most of the territorial disputes that arose after the collapse of the USSR and even during its existence have been resolved over the past 28 years. However, such questions cannot be completely avoided.

Russia currently has active territorial disputes with the following countries:

• Japan;
• Ukraine.

The territorial dispute with Japan arose during the existence of Soviet Union, in fact, immediately after the end of the Second World War and the attempts of countries to begin peaceful coexistence.

It concerns exclusively the southern Kuril Islands (in Japan - the "northern territories").

Japan insists on their transfer to her and denies the establishment of the sovereignty of the USSR over them following the results of the Second World War.

The presence of a territorial dispute with Japan led to the fact that the USSR, and later Russia, could not agree with this state on signing a peace treaty.

AT different time many attempts were made to resolve the disputed territorial issue, but all of them did not lead to results.

But negotiations between the states continue and the issue is resolved exclusively within their framework.

The territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine arose quite recently, after the entry of Crimea into the Russian Federation.

The new Ukrainian authorities refused to recognize the referendum held on the peninsula and declared the territory that had passed to Russia "temporarily occupied."

Many Western countries have taken a similar position. As a result, the Russian Federation fell under a variety of sanctions.

The border between Crimea and Ukraine was established by the Russian side unilaterally.

In April 2014, after the accession of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation.

Ukraine, in response, declared a free economic zone in the region and established appropriate customs rules.

Although there was no military conflict over the territorial affiliation of Crimea, relations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine became extremely tense.

The latter made various attempts to destabilize the situation in the region. The world community also practically did not recognize the annexation of Crimea to Russia.

With the following countries, territorial disputes were resolved during negotiations already in history modern Russia:

Latvia	She claimed the territory of the Pytalovsky district of the Pskov region. But under the agreement dated March 27, 2007, he remained part of the Russian Federation
Estonia	This country claimed the territory of the Pechersky district of the Pskov region, as well as Ivangorod. The issue was resolved on February 18, 2014 by signing the relevant agreement indicating the absence of territorial disputes between the countries
PRC	This country received a plot of 337 square kilometers of disputed territories. After that, the issue of border demarcation ended in 2005.
Azerbaijan	The controversial issue concerned the division of the hydroelectric complex on the Samur River. The issue was resolved in 2010 by shifting the border from the right (Russian) bank to the middle of the river

In most cases, the settlement of the issue of disputed territories takes place through negotiations.

All parties, including Russia, are making great efforts to this end. But sometimes such issues are raised again, and all agreements have to be started anew.

Russia has common borders with a number of European countries. Russia (Murmansk region) and Norway have 196 km of borders. The length of the border between Russia (Murmansk region, Karelia, Leningrad region) and Finland is 1340 km. The border line of 294 km separates Estonia and the Leningrad and Pskov regions of Russia. The Russian-Latvian border is 217 km long and separates the Pskov region from the territory of the European Union. Kaliningrad region, located several times, has a 280 km border with Lithuania and 232 km with Poland.

The total length of Russia's borders is, according to the border service, 60,900 km.

Western and southwestern borders.

Russia has 959 km of common border with Belarus. Russia has 1974 km of land and 321 km of maritime common border with Ukraine. With Belarus, the Pskov, Smolensk and Bryansk regions, and with Ukraine - the Bryansk, Belgorod, Voronezh and Rostov regions. Near Caucasus mountains Russia has a 255 km border with Abkhazia, 365 km with Georgia, 70 km with South Ossetia (or 690 km of border with Georgia according to the UN), as well as 390 km of border strip with Azerbaijan. borders with Abkhazia Krasnodar region and Karachay-Cherkessia, with Georgia - Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechen and Dagestan. With South Ossetia North Ossetia. Dagestan borders Azerbaijan.

Estonia, Latvia, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Japan are trying to challenge part of the border territories of Russia.

Southern borders.

The longest border of the Russian Federation is with Kazakhstan - 7512 km. Russian regions bordering Central Asia - Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov, Samara, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk regions, as well as the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic. Russia has 3485 km of border with Mongolia. Mongolia borders Altai, Tuva, Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory. Russia has 4,209 km of border with the People's Republic of China. This border separates the Altai Republic, the Amur Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region, the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories from China. Primorsky Krai also has a 39 km border with North Korea.

Russia has borders of exclusive economic zones with Norway, the USA, Japan, Abkhazia, Ukraine, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, North Korea, Turkey, Poland and Lithuania.

Maritime borders.

Russia borders by sea with 12 countries - the USA, Japan, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and North Korea.

Border length

The length of the Russian borders is more than 60.9 thousand kilometers, which are guarded by approximately 183 thousand border guards. More than 10,000 border troops are stationed on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, operational groups of the Federal Border Service of Russia guard the border of Kyrgyzstan and China, Armenia, Iran and Turkey.

Modern borders of Russia with the former Soviet republics in international legal terms are not fully formalized. For example, the border between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine has not yet been demarcated, although the delimitation of the land border was completed long ago.

Russia borders on 16 states

• The border with Norway is 219.1 kilometers long,
• with Finland - 1325.8 kilometers,
• with Estonia - 466.8 kilometers,
• with Latvia - 270.5 kilometers,
• with Lithuania (border with the Kaliningrad region) - 288.4 kilometers,
• with Poland (border with the Kaliningrad region) - 236.3 kilometers,
• with Belarus - 1239 kilometers,
• with Ukraine - 2245.8 kilometers,
• with Georgia - 897.9 kilometers,
• with Azerbaijan - 350 kilometers,
• with Kazakhstan - 7,598.6 kilometers,
• with China - 4,209.3 kilometers,
• with the DPRK - 39.4 kilometers,
• with Japan - 194.3 kilometers,
• from the USA - 49 kilometers.

Land borders of Russia

On land, Russia borders on 14 states, 8 of which are former Soviet republics.

The length of the land border of Russia

• with Norway is 195.8 kilometers (of which 152.8 kilometers are the border passing along rivers and lakes),
• with Finland - 1271.8 kilometers (180.1 kilometers),
• with Poland (border with the Kaliningrad region) - 204.1 kilometers (0.8 kilometers),
• with Mongolia - 3,485 kilometers,
• with China - 4,209.3 kilometers,
• from the DPRK - 17 kilometers along rivers and lakes,
• with Estonia - 324.8 kilometers (235.3 kilometers),
• with Latvia - 270.5 kilometers (133.3 kilometers),
• with Lithuania (border with the Kaliningrad region) - 266 kilometers (236.1 kilometers),
• with Belarus - 1239 kilometers,
• with Ukraine - 1925.8 kilometers (425.6 kilometers),
• with Georgia - 875.9 kilometers (56.1 kilometers),
• with Azerbaijan - 327.6 kilometers (55.2 kilometers),
• with Kazakhstan - 7,512.8 kilometers (1,576.7 kilometers).

The Kaliningrad region is a semi-enclave: the territory of the state, surrounded on all sides by the land borders of other states and having access to the sea.

Western land borders are not tied to any natural boundaries. In the area from the Baltic to the Sea of ​​Azov, they pass through populated and developed flat areas. Here the border is crossed by railways: St. Petersburg-Tallinn, Moscow-Riga, Moscow-Minsk-Warsaw, Moscow-Kyiv, Moscow-Kharkov.

Russia's southern border with Georgia and Azerbaijan runs along the Caucasus Mountains from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. Railways are laid along the edge of the coast, two highways pass through the central part of the ridge, which are often closed in winter due to snow drifts.

The longest land border - with Kazakhstan - runs along the steppes of the Trans-Volga region, the Southern Urals and southern Siberia. The border is crossed by many railways linking Russia not only with Kazakhstan, but also with the countries Central Asia: Astrakhan-Guryev (further to Turkmenistan), Saratov-Uralsk, Orenburg-Tashkent, Barnaul-Alma-Ata, a small section of the Trans-Siberian Railway Chelyabinsk-Omsk, Central Siberian and South Siberian Railways.

The second longest - the border with China - runs along the channel of the Amur River, its tributary the Ussuri River, the Argun River. It is crossed by the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), built back in 1903, and the Chita-Vladivostok highway, laid through Chinese territory, in order to connect the Far East and Siberia by the shortest route.

The border with Mongolia runs through the mountainous regions of southern Siberia. The Mongolian border is crossed by a branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway - Ulan-Ude-Ulan-Bator-Beijing.

A railroad to Pyongyang passes through the border with the DPRK.

Maritime borders of Russia

By sea, Russia borders on 12 states.

The length of the sea border of Russia

• with Norway is 23.3 kilometers,
• with Finland - 54 kilometers,
• with Estonia - 142 kilometers,
• with Lithuania (border with the Kaliningrad region) - 22.4 kilometers,
• with Poland (border with the Kaliningrad region) - 32.2 kilometers,
• with Ukraine - 320 kilometers,
• with Georgia - 22.4 kilometers,
• with Azerbaijan - 22.4 kilometers,
• with Kazakhstan - 85.8 kilometers,
• with the DPRK - 22.1 kilometers.

Russia has only a sea border with the USA and Japan. These are the narrow straits that separate the South Kuriles from the island of Hokkaido and the island of Ratmanov from the island of Krusenstern. The length of the border with Japan is 194.3 kilometers, with the United States - 49 kilometers.

The longest maritime border (19,724.1 kilometers) runs along the coast of the seas of the Arctic Ocean: the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi. Year-round navigation without icebreakers is possible only off the northern coast of the Kola Peninsula. All northern ports except Murmansk operate only during the short northern navigation: 2-3 months. Therefore, the northern maritime boundary does not have of great importance for connections with other countries.

The second longest maritime border (16,997 kilometers) runs along the coast of the seas Pacific Ocean: Bering, Okhotsk, Japanese. The southeastern coast of Kamchatka goes directly to the ocean. The main ice-free ports are Vladivostok and Nakhodka.

Railways reach the coast only in the south of Primorsky Krai in the area of ​​ports and in the Tatar Strait (Sovetskaya Gavan and Vanino). The coastal territories of the Pacific coast are poorly developed and populated.

The length of the sea coast of the Baltic and Azov-Black Sea basins is small (126.1 kilometers and 389.5 kilometers, respectively), but is used with greater intensity than the coasts of the northern and eastern borders.

In the USSR, large ports were mainly built in the Baltic region. Now Russia can use their capacities only for a fee. The largest sea merchant navy countries - St. Petersburg, in the Gulf of Finland is building new ports and oil terminals.

In the Sea of ​​Azov, the maritime boundary runs from the Taganrog Bay to Kerch Strait, and then along the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. The main ports of the Black Sea coast are Novorossiysk (the largest port in Russia) and Tuapse. The ports of Azov - Yeysk, Taganrog, Azov are shallow and inaccessible to large vessels. In addition, the Azov coast freezes for a short time and navigation here is supported by icebreakers.

maritime border The Caspian Sea is not exactly defined and is estimated by Russian border guards at 580 kilometers.

Border population and cooperation

Representatives of almost 50 nationalities live in the border regions of Russia and neighboring states. Of the 89 subjects of the Russian Federation, 45 represent the border regions of the country. They occupy 76.6 percent of the entire territory of the country. They are home to 31.6 percent of Russia's population. The population of the border regions is 100 thousand people (as of 1993).

Cross-border cooperation is usually understood as a state-public structure, which includes federal departments, state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, bodies local government, activities of the population, public initiatives.

Both the old border regions and the new ones are interested in the development of cross-border cooperation. In the latter, periodically there are problems associated with a sudden break in the established ties between neighboring regions. In some cases, the border "breaks" the resource (water, energy, information, etc.) communications of economic objects (for example, energy dependence Omsk region from Kazakhstan). On the other hand, in the new border regions, the flow of goods is constantly increasing, which can bring many benefits, subject to large investments in the appropriate infrastructure.

Thus, the border regions of the states need joint socio-economic development, the joint use of resource sources, the establishment of an information infrastructure and the restoration of communications between the population.
The basis for the successful development of cross-border cooperation is the good neighborly relations of the parties at the state level, developed the legislative framework(framework agreements on cooperation, legislative regulation of customs rules, the abolition of the practice of double taxation, simplification of the procedure for the movement of goods) and the desire of the regions to participate in the development of cooperation

Problems of cooperation in border areas

Despite the imperfection of the federal legislation of Russia in relation to cross-border cooperation of its regions, at the level of municipal and local self-government, it is, one way or another, carried out in all 45 border regions.

Lack of good neighborly relations with the Baltic countries does not provide an opportunity for the broad development of cross-border cooperation at the regional level, although its need is acutely felt by the population of the border regions.

Today, on the border with Estonia, a simplified procedure for crossing the border is applied for the border population. But from January 1, 2004, Estonia switched to a strict visa regime established by the Schengen Agreement. Latvia abandoned the simplified procedure as early as March 2001.

As far as regional cooperation is concerned, as early as July 1996 in Pylva (Estonia) a Council for Cooperation of Border Regions was established, which included representatives of the Võru and Põlva counties of Estonia, the Aluksne and Balvi regions of Latvia, as well as the Palka, Pechersk and Pskov regions of the Pskov region. The main tasks of the Council are the development of a joint strategy for cross-border cooperation and the implementation of projects to improve infrastructure and security environment. On the territory of the Pskov region there are more than two hundred enterprises with the participation of Estonian and Latvian capital.

Lithuania has introduced visas for Russian citizens transiting through its territory. This decision affects the interests of the inhabitants of the Russian semi-enclave, the Kaliningrad region. Economic problems in the region may also arise due to the introduction of a visa regime by Poland. The authorities of the Kaliningrad region are pinning great hopes on resolving visa issues with the European Framework Convention on Cross-border Cooperation between Territorial Communities and Authorities, which has just been ratified by Russia.

On a contractual basis, the Kaliningrad region cooperates with seven voivodships of Poland, four counties of Lithuania and the district of Bornholm (Denmark).

In 1998, the region joined the multilateral cross-border cooperation within the Euroregion "Baltic", and three of its municipalities- work on the creation of the Euroregion "Saule" (with the participation of Lithuania and Latvia). In the second half of the 1990s, a number of agreements were signed on the line of interregional cooperation between the Kaliningrad region and Klaipeda, Panevezys, Kaunas, and Marijampole districts of Lithuania.

Quite tense relations have been established in the Caucasus region of Russia and Georgia. In 2000, restrictions on movement between Georgia and Russia were introduced, which tangibly hit the residents of both republics of Ossetia. Today, at the regional level, districts North Ossetia established border ties with the Kazbek region of Georgia, since August 2001, their residents can cross the border without issuing visas.

The situation on the Dagestan section of the border is better: in 1998, the efforts of the government of Dagestan lifted restrictions on crossing the state border between Russia and Azerbaijan, which helped to reduce tension and intensify economic ties. In pursuance of the intergovernmental agreement on trade and economic cooperation between Dagestan and Azerbaijan, an industry agreement has been prepared - on cooperation in the agro-industrial complex.

The expansion of cooperation between the neighboring regions of Kazakhstan and Russia is associated with the issues of completing the processes of delimitation and demarcation of borders. For example, the Altai Territory is actively cooperating with China, Mongolia and the Central Asian republics of the CIS (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). Main partners in cross-border cooperation Altai Territory- East Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The volume of foreign trade turnover between Altai and Kazakhstan is about a third of the total foreign trade turnover of the region. As a necessary legal basis for the development of this kind of cross-border cooperation, Russia considers bilateral agreements on cooperation between the administration of the region and the regions of Kazakhstan.

The nature of the border ties between the Russian Federation and Mongolia is determined by the underdevelopment of the western aimags of Mongolia. Trade with Mongolia is dominated by small contracts. A promising direction in Russia's border cooperation with Mongolia is the development of ore deposits explored in the west of the country. In the case of the implementation of direct transport projects, the possible construction of a gas pipeline between Russia and China through Mongolia, the necessary energy and infrastructure conditions will be created for the participation of Siberian regions in the development of raw materials in Mongolia. A stage in the development of relations was the opening in February 2002 of the Consulate General of Mongolia in Kyzyl.

Cross-border cooperation between the regions of Russia and Japan is influenced by the interest of the Japanese side in the islands of the South Kuril chain. In 2000, at the state level, the "Program of Japanese-Russian cooperation in the development of a joint economic activity on the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai.

Former residents of the islands and members of their families - Japanese citizens can visit the islands under a simplified visa regime. For many years there have been visa-free exchanges between the parties. Japanese Foreign Ministry organizes Japanese language courses.

Objective difficulties are connected with the fact that the Japanese do not recognize the islands as Russian. The assistance of the Japanese side in the construction of power plants and clinics can be regarded as an act of good will, and not as cooperation of equal parties.

The most active in the development of cooperation are the northwestern and southeastern directions - the "old" border regions.

Cooperation in the Russian-Finnish border region

Murmansk and Leningrad regions, the Republic of Karelia are participants in cross-border cooperation with the regions of the Finnish side. There are several cooperation programs: the program of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Interreg program and the Northern Dimension. The fundamental documents are the Agreements on the Establishment of Friendly Ties between the Regions and bilateral cooperation plans.

In 1998, at the international seminar "EU external borders - soft borders" in Joensuu (Finland), the government of the Republic of Karelia proposed to create the Euroregion "Karelia". The idea was supported by the leaders of the border regional unions and approved at highest level both states in the same year.

The purpose of the project is to create a new model of cross-border cooperation between the regional unions of Finland and the Republic of Karelia. The task is to remove barriers that exist in cooperation between territories, first of all, to develop communication between residents of adjacent regions.

In the structure of the economy of the Euroregion Karelia, the main industry is the service sector, both in the territory of the Finnish regional unions and in the Republic of Karelia (at least two thirds of the working population are employed in this sector). The second largest sectors are industry and construction, followed by agriculture and forestry.

Weak sides of the Russian part of the region, which can negatively affect cooperation and must certainly be taken into account in close cooperation with the Finnish side, are the raw material orientation of the industry, poor development of communications, local environmental problems and low standard of living.

In October 2000, Karelia adopted the "Program of cross-border cooperation of the Republic of Karelia for 2001-2006".

The Government of Finland approved and sent to the EU the Interreg-III A-Karelia Program in Finland. At the same time, in 2000, the general Action Program for 2001-2006 and the work plan for the next year were approved, according to which 9 priority projects were planned for implementation. Among them are the construction of the International Automobile Checkpoint, the development of scientific cooperation, the development of the border territories of the White Sea Karelia.

In January 2001, the activities of the Euroregion received support from the EU Tacis program - the European Commission allocated 160,000 euros for the Euroregion Karelia project.

There is a simplified visa regime on the Russian-Finnish border.

Cooperation in the Russian-Chinese border region

Cross-border cooperation on the Russian-Chinese section of the border has a long history.

The legal basis for interregional relations is the Agreement signed on November 10, 1997 between the governments of the Russian Federation and the PRC on the principles of cooperation between the constituent entities of Russia and the provinces, autonomous regions and cities of the central subordination of the PRC. The development of cross-border trade is facilitated by significant benefits provided by China to its participants (reduction of import tariff by 50 percent).

In 1992, the State Council of the People's Republic of China declared four cities adjacent to Russia (Manchuria, Heihe, Suifenhe and Hunchun) "cities of border cooperation." Since that time, the Chinese side has been actively raising the issue of joint "free trade zones" on the border near the main checkpoints.

In 1992, a simplified procedure for crossing the Chinese-Russian border was introduced.

At the end of November 1996, Chinese trade complexes on the border were opened, where Russian citizens are delivered with special passes (the lists are compiled by the local administration).

In order to facilitate individual commercial activities of residents of the border regions of Russia, in February 1998, through the exchange of notes, a Russian-Chinese Agreement on the organization of a simplified pass was concluded. Russian citizens in the Chinese parts of shopping malls.

On January 1, 1999, the Regulations on New Rules for the Regulation of Border Trade came into force, in particular, residents of border areas are allowed to import duty-free goods worth three thousand yuan into China (previously - one thousand).

Among the promising projects is the development of cooperation in the field of the timber industry complex, the construction of infrastructure facilities, the construction of pipeline networks for interstate projects, etc.

Cooperation between the border regions of Russia and China is also developing through the programs of UNIDO and UNDP. The most famous is the regional UNDP project for the development of economic cooperation in the Tumen River Basin (Tumen River Area Development Program) with the participation of Russia, China, North Korea, the Republic of Korea and Mongolia. The main areas of cooperation are the development of transport and telecommunications infrastructure.

Last year, the two largest banks of the parties, Vneshtorgbank of Russia and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, entered into an agreement on settlements for border trade between the two countries. The agreement provides for the possibility of conducting bilateral settlements for border trade within one day on the basis of mutually established credit lines.

At the state level, a policy of cultural rapprochement of neighboring countries is being pursued: the General Consulate of the PRC has been opened in Khabarovsk, in secondary and higher educational institutions taught Chinese festivals are held, scientific conferences, bilateral meetings of regional authorities and economic partners.

The main problem of the region is the Russian side's fear of demographic pressure from the Chinese population. The population density of the border areas on the Russian side is extremely low in absolute and relative terms compared to the population density of the Chinese side.

From the history of relations between the border population

Russian-Chinese and Russian-Korean sections of the border.

Economic and economic activity and trade on the border of China and Russian Empire regulated by the following main documents:

• The Aigun Treaty - allowed mutual border trade for citizens of both states living along the Ussuri, Amur and Sungari rivers.
• The Beijing Treaty - allowed free and duty-free barter trade throughout the border line for subjects of Russia and China.
• "Rules for overland trade between Russia and China", signed at the government level in 1862 for 3 years and then confirmed in 1869, established duty-free trade at a distance of 50 miles on both sides of the Russian-Chinese border.
• The Petersburg Treaty of 1881 confirmed all the articles on the "Rules of Russian-Chinese Trade in the Far East", which were recorded in previous agreements.

By the end of the 19th century, land border trade was the main form of economic relations Russian population Far East and Manchuria. She, especially initial period development of the region, played an extremely important role. The first settlers needed the most essential personal and household items. The Cossacks received tobacco, tea, millet, bread from Manchuria, selling, in turn, cloth and fabrics. The Chinese willingly purchased furs, dishes, silver in coins and items.

The trade turnover of the Russian Far East with Manchuria in 1893-1895 amounted to 3 million rubles and was distributed accordingly by regions: Amur - one million rubles, Primorskaya - 1.5-2 million rubles, Transbaikal - no more than 0.1 million rubles.

The free port regime (duty-free trade regime) established in the border zone, along with positive aspects, contributed to the development of smuggling, which Chinese merchants widely used in their activities. The annual smuggling of gold into Manchuria in late XIX century was equal to 100 pounds (which amounted to 1,344 thousand rubles). The cost of smuggling furs and other goods (except gold) was approximately 1.5-2 million rubles. And Chinese vodka khanshin and opium were smuggled into the territory of the Far East from Manchuria. In the Primorsky region, the main import went along the Songhua River. For example, in 1645, 4,000 poods of opium worth up to 800,000 rubles were brought to the Primorsky Region. Alcohol smuggling from the Amur region to China in 1909-1910 was estimated at about 4 million rubles.

In 1913 Russian government extended the Petersburg Treaty (1881) for 10 years, excluding the article providing for duty-free trade within the 50-verst border strip.

In addition to border trade, the Cossacks leased land shares to the Chinese and Koreans. There was a mutual influence of the agricultural cultures of the Chinese, Koreans and Russians. The Cossacks learned to grow soybeans, melons and corn. The Chinese used Cossack mills to grind grain. Another form of cooperation is the hiring of Chinese and Korean agricultural workers in the Cossack farms, especially during the seasonal periods of agricultural work. Relations between owners and workers were good, the poor Chinese willingly used the opportunities to earn money in the Cossack farms. This also formed good neighborly relations on both sides of the border.

The Cossacks living on the border had strong, economically developed military, stanitsa and settlement farms, well-established economic, trade and cultural ties with the population of the adjacent territory, which had a positive effect on the general situation in the Russian-Chinese border area, and on the border itself. Many Ussuri and Amur Cossacks spoke Chinese well.

Good neighborly relations were manifested in the joint celebration of Russian, Orthodox and Chinese holidays. The Chinese came to visit their familiar Cossacks, the Cossacks went to celebrate Chinese New Year. There were no particular problems with visiting acquaintances on the adjacent side, the border in this regard was more conditional, all visits were under the control of the Cossack population and local authorities.

Of course, there were also conflicts at the local level. There are known cases of theft of livestock, hay, use of hayfields by the other side. There were cases of smuggling of alcohol by the Cossacks to the adjacent territory and selling it through their acquaintances. Often disputes arose over fishing on the Ussuri River, Lake Khanka. Conflicts were sorted out by chieftains and stanitsa boards or through the border commissioner of the South Ussuri Territory.

All data on the length of the state border according to the information of the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation.

Overall rating of the material: 5

SIMILAR MATERIALS (BY MARKS):

Northern necklace. On the rivers and lakes of the north-west of Russia

The Russian Federation is a huge country, ranking first in the world in terms of area occupied by the territory. The states bordering Russia are located on all sides of the world, and the border itself reaches almost 61 thousand km.

Border types

The border of a state is a line that delimits its actual area. Territory includes tracts of land, water, underground minerals and airspace located within the country.

In the Russian Federation, there are 3 types of borders: sea, land and lake (river). The sea border is the longest of all, it reaches about 39 thousand km. The land border has a length of 14.5 thousand km, and the lake (river) - 7.7 thousand km.

General information about all states bordering the Russian Federation

With which states does the Federation recognize its neighborhood with 18 countries.

Name of states bordering Russia: South Ossetia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Abkhazia, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, United States of America, Japan, Mongolia, China First-order countries are listed here .

Capitals of states bordering Russia: Tskhinvali, Minsk, Sukhum, Kyiv, Warsaw, Oslo, Helsinki, Tallinn, Vilnius, Riga, Astana, Tbilisi, Baku, Washington, Tokyo, Ulaanbaatar, Beijing, Pyongyang.

South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia are partially recognized, because not all countries of the world have recognized these countries as independent. Russia did this in relation to these states, therefore, approved the neighborhood with them and the borders.

Some states bordering Russia argue about the correctness of these borders. For the most part, disagreements appeared after the end of the existence of the USSR.

Land borders of the Russian Federation

The states bordering Russia by land are located on the Eurasian continent. They also include lake (river). Not all of them are protected today, some of them can be crossed without hindrance, having only a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, which is not always in without fail checked.

States bordering Russia on the mainland: Norway, Finland, Belarus, South Ossetia, Ukraine, the Republic of Abkhazia, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, People's Republic of China, North Korea.
With some of them there is also a border by water.

There are Russian territories that are surrounded on all sides by foreign states. These sites include the Kaliningrad region, Medvezhye-Sankovo ​​and Dubki.

You can travel to the Republic of Belarus without a passport and any border control on any of the possible roads.

Maritime borders of the Russian Federation

What countries borders Russia by sea? The maritime boundary is considered to be a line 22 km or 12 nautical miles from the coast. The territory of the country includes not only 22 km of water, but also all the islands in this sea area.

States bordering Russia by sea: Japan, United States of America, Norway, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Lithuania, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, North Korea. There are only 12 of them. The length of the borders is more than 38 thousand km. Russia has only a maritime border with the USA and Japan; the dividing line with these countries does not pass by land. There are borders with other states both by water and by land.

Settled disputed sections of the border

At all times there have been disputes between countries over territories. Some of the disputing countries have already agreed and are no longer raising the issue. These include: Latvia, Estonia, People's Republic of China and Azerbaijan.

The dispute between the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan occurred over a hydroelectric complex and water intake facilities that belonged to Azerbaijan, but were in fact in Russia. In 2010, the dispute was resolved, and the border was moved to the middle of this hydroelectric complex. Now water resources This hydroelectric complex of the country is used in equal shares.

After the collapse of the USSR, Estonia considered it unfair that the right bank of the Narva River, Ivangorod and the Pechora region remained the property of Russia (Pskov region). In 2014, the countries signed an agreement on the absence of territorial claims. There were no significant changes to the border.

Latvia, as well as Estonia, began to lay claim to one of the districts of the Pskov region - Pytalovsky. The agreement with this state was signed in 2007. The territory remained in the ownership of the Russian Federation, the border did not suffer any changes.

The dispute between China and Russia ended with the demarcation of the border in the center of the Amur, which led to the annexation of part of the disputed territories to the People's Republic of China. The Russian Federation transferred 337 square kilometers to its southern neighbor, including two sites in the region and Tarabarov and one site near Bolshoi Island. The signing of the agreement took place in 2005.

Unsettled disputed sections of the border

Some disputes over the territory are not closed to this day. It is not yet known when the contracts will be signed. Russia has such disputes with Japan and Ukraine.
The disputed territory between Ukraine and the Russian Federation is the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine considers the 2014 referendum illegal and Crimea occupied. The Russian Federation established its border unilaterally, while Ukraine issued a law establishing a free economic zone on the peninsula.

The dispute between Russia and Japan is over the four Kuril Islands. The countries cannot come to a compromise, because both believe that these islands should belong to her. These islands include Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai.

Borders of the exclusive economic zones of the Russian Federation

An exclusive economic zone is a strip of water adjacent to the border of the territorial sea. It cannot be wider than 370 km. In this zone, the country has the right to develop the subsoil, as well as to explore and preserve it, to create artificial structures and use them, to study the water and the bottom.

Other countries have the right to move freely through this territory, build pipelines and otherwise use this water, while they must take into account the laws of the coastal state. Russia has such zones in the Black, Chukchi, Azov, Okhotsk, Japanese, Baltic, Bering and Barents Seas.

The Russian state occupies about 31.5% of the total area of ​​the entire Eurasian continent, located in its northeastern part. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the formal number of neighbors of the Russian Federation has changed slightly, but the state border, as before, shares it with other countries on water and on land. To have a more complete picture of your state, you definitely need to know where the land and sea borders of Russia lie.

general information

A notable feature of the Russian Federation is the fact that it is located both in Europe and in Asia, occupying the northern part of the first and the eastern regions of the second. To date, the length of the state border is 60.9 thousand kilometers: 38.8 passes along the sea surface, 22.1 - on land (including 7.6 thousand kilometers along the river and lake).

Based on the rules international law, the state territory of the Russian Federation is that part of the Earth's surface that is within this dividing line, including subsoil, internal and territorial waters, and airspace.

The limits of the state are determined by two methods:

• delimitation - an agreement between countries on the establishment of borders;
• demarcation - fixing these boundaries with boundary markers on the ground.

After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian territory has two types of borders:

• old (inherited as a legacy from the Soviet past);
• new.

The borders of the states that were once part of the USSR coincide with the old dividing lines. Most of them are sealed by special agreements. New borders today separate the Russian Federation from the Baltic countries and from the Commonwealth Independent States. After the “union of fraternal republics” ceased to exist, the Russian Federation lost about 40% of its borders.

Today, our country borders on other states by water and land. At the same time, the land line of demarcation is more typical for the southern and western regions, but in the east and north, the border is mainly water.

Land borders

So, to begin with, let's consider with which countries Russia has a land border. Today, our state has 14 such neighbors. All of them are active members of the UN. In addition, there are two more territories that are not officially recognized by other members of the world community - South Ossetia and Abkhazia. According to other countries, they still belong to Georgia, and therefore these borders have not received official recognition as Russian.

In addition, do not forget about the following features of the neighborhood:

• the shortest land border with Russia runs along the borders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It is only 17 km. At the same time, the total length of the dividing line is 39.4 km;
• Lithuania and Poland are bordered exclusively by the Kaliningrad region;
• the small enclave of Sankovo-Medvezhye in the Bryansk region is surrounded on all sides by Belarus;
• The most important Russian neighbor is the Norwegian state, the border with which runs along the marshy tundra. It is here that all the most important power stations of Russian and Norwegian origin are located;
• a little to the south, the Russian-Finnish border stretches, which runs through a wooded and rocky area. For our country, this site is of particular importance because there is an active international trade. It is to the Vyborg port that cargo is delivered from Finland.

In general, the list of land borders of Russia looks like this:

1. Georgia.
2. Ukraine.
3. Kazakhstan.
4. China.
5. DPRK.
6. Mongolia.
7. Belarus.
8. Azerbaijan.
9. Poland.
10. Lithuania.
11. Norway.
12. Estonia.
13. Finland.
14. Latvia.

The only free border for the transportation of goods and travel of citizens remains the border with the Belarusian state. Residents of the two countries can cross it only with an internal passport confirming citizenship to the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus.

Before the collapse of the USSR, our state had a border with Iran. But after the recognition of the sovereignty of the North Caucasian republics, such a boundary automatically ceased to exist.

Territorial disputes

The so-called disputed territories deserve special attention. So, let's say, Estonia claims the right bank of the Narva River, which is located on the territory of Ivangorod. In addition, this state is also interested in a certain section of the Pskov region, as well as the Saatse boot. It is the latter that is the place of the crossing of the Ural brick to Europe. Once upon a time, it was really planned to transfer this territory to Estonia, but due to the amendments it made to the treaty, the Russian side did not ratify the document.

Latvia also once put forward its claims to a part of the Pytalovsky district of the Pskov region. But in 2007, an agreement was signed, according to which this piece of territory remained assigned to Russia.

Quite recently the Russian-Chinese border was demarcated. According to the signed agreement, our Chinese neighbors received a small plot of land in the Chita region and two more near the islands of Bolshoi Ussuriysky and Tarabarov.

To this day, the dispute over the island of Tuva between the Russian Federation and China does not fade away. In turn, Russian diplomats refuse to recognize the independence of Taiwan, and therefore there are simply no interstate relations with this territory. And although political scientists do not predict serious problems with the Chinese side in the coming years, some fears (so far at the level of rumors) regarding the division of Siberia are still present.

maritime borders

Between Russia and the United States is the Bering Strait - the border separating Ratmanov Island from Krusenstern Island.

After Crimea became part of Russian territory, we also have neighbors on the Black Sea:

• Turkey;
• Bulgaria;
• Georgia.

Part of the border with the following countries passes through the sea:

• Norway (in the Barents Sea),
• Finland and Estonia (in the Gulf of Finland);
• Lithuania and Poland (in the Baltic Sea);
• Ukraine (in the Black and Azov Seas);
• Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan (in the Caspian Sea);
• North Korea (in the Sea of ​​Japan).

Disputed territories

Do not forget that some offshore areas of the Russian Federation still cause territorial disputes. We are talking about the unresolved fate of the Kuril Islands, which Japan also claims. This confrontation has been going on since the end of World War II, namely since 1945.

Disputes about other borders do not subside. Until recently, the confrontation with Ukraine over the Bosphorus, or rather the Tuzla Spit, could be called relevant. By itself, the scythe is of no particular value. Its role becomes significant only in the light of the construction of the Kerch bridge. But since the entry of Crimea into the Russian Federation, this dispute has somewhat faded.

Conclusion

Summing up all of the above, it should be noted that the clear establishment and observance of state borders is of particular importance in terms of the integrity and security of the state.

But do not forget that the territory of most countries, including the Russian Federation, is also a zone of passage of the shortest transit cargo routes and air routes connecting not only Europe and Asia, but also countries North America with the Eurasian continent. Based on this, the issue of maintaining close economic and political contacts remains important. Such cooperation will avoid the need to search for new ways of communication, in particular the construction of gas pipelines, railways and other communications bypassing territories with which there are certain kinds of conflicts.

State borders of Russia: video