ABSTRACT
This chapter contributes to the understanding of EU's external borders and their regulatory mechanisms in international mobility. It addresses mobility or immobility in a particular space of Finnish and Russian Karelia. After a general section on the historical and current cross-border contacts in the Finnish-Russian border region, the chapter examines the results of a survey carried out in North Karelia. The chapter presents a micro perspective on cross-border processes, and emphasizes the role of local actors in everyday life in the border areas. The historical bordering and the image of the Finnish-Russian border are important in relation to cross-border mobility. The situation on the Finnish-Russian border has changed radically since the liberalization of the border regime in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The travelling behaviour of men and women may be different due to the fact that cars are currently the only mode of transportation.
