Finland has completed the construction of an impressive 200-kilometre barrier on the border with Russia, according to the local news outlet YLE News. The structure consists of a sturdy metal fence over three metres high. The fence is flanked by a parallel road and a treeless strip, creating a comprehensive security system. The fence is equipped with state-of-the-art CCTV cameras, lighting and loudspeakers, creating a sense of constant surveillance.
The project has cost Finland a substantial sum – 356 million euros – and its annual maintenance will cost 1.5 million euros. The fence runs through 17 municipalities across the country, stretching from snow-covered Lapland to the coast of the Gulf of Finland. To build it, land had to be expropriated from around a thousand landowners, to whom the state paid compensation totalling around three million euros.
The construction of this barrier was a response to the need to protect against illegal entry and so-called targeted migration. Finland’s Minister for the Interior, Mari Rantanen, hinted that there may be a need in future to extend the barriers to new sections of the border.
The story of the fence’s construction began in the autumn of 2022, when, following the announcement of mobilisation in Russia under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, Finland took in around 17,000 Russians over the course of a weekend. The issue of building the fence quickly made it onto the agenda, and by the spring of 2023, workers had begun erecting it.
The border between Russia and Finland is approximately 1,300 kilometres long in total. The fence has been erected in various sections, which were selected to ensure maximum effectiveness.
In the autumn of 2023, Finland closed its border with Russia following a sharp increase in the number of foreign nationals seeking to enter the country from Russia. According to Reuters, between August and December, 1,300 people, mainly from Syria, Somalia and Yemen, attempted to cross the border. The Finnish authorities believe that Moscow deliberately created a migrant crisis by organising the flow of migrants towards the border. The Russian side, for its part, denies such accusations.
Not only Finland, but also the Baltic states have decided to build, or have already completed, their own border barriers along the border with Russia, which is indicative of growing concern in the region.