Where Russia Meets the EU. Across the Divide in the Karelian Borderlands

Since Finland became a member in 1995, the European Union has bordered on the Russian Federation. This border, which is more than 1200 kilometres long, runs from the Baltic coast almost to the Barents Sea in the high north. The border is characterized by a clear-cut political, economic and cultural division, and most of its adjacent regions are very sparsely-populated.