Estonia–Russia border

Fragment of the "Drawing of Russian and Swedish towns" (mid-XVII century) showing the borderline South from Peipus (Source: РГАДА , разр XVI, дело 387)

Livonia and adjacent countries, 1645

Until XIII century no strict borders existed between Baltic, Slavic and Finnic peoples that populated North-Eastern Eurasia. Their mutual relationships relied on the military and dynastic alliances, tributes and religious proselytism, occasionally interrupted by military raids. Major power in the region was Novgorod Republic that encompassed Pskov, Karelia and Izhora that conducted trade i.a. via Estonian lands seeing them as tributaries.[2] Novgorodians established a castle and settlement as far westwards as Yuriev (Tartu) but were unable to maintain its presence in Estonia during the invasion from the West.[3] The present-day borderline between Russia and Estonia may be traced back to the XIII century when the Livonian Crusade halted on the border with Pskovian lands East of Pskovo-Chudskoye or Peipus lake basin, river Narva and minor rivers to the South from the lake. Further campaigns of either sides has not brought any sustainable gains so Denmark, Sweden and Livonian Confederation on the Western side, and Novgorod, Pskov and later Muscovy on the East established fortresses in the strategic points of the borderland which they were able to support.[4][5] Examples are Vastselinna and Narva on Estonian side, Ivangorod, Yamburg and Izborsk on the Russian side. Peace treaties mostly confirmed the basic borderline along the Narva river and the lake,[6] such as Treaty of Teusina (1595) that left Narva township with Sweden. Despite the extensive cross-border trade and mixed populations of the borderlands, the law, language, religion of Russian principalities went a different way compared to their Western neighbors.[7][8] Livonia and Sweden used the border as means of containment of the rising Tsardom, preventing craftsmen and arms supplies from Western Europe from entering Russia.[9]

Russia. Universal atlas of the physical and political geography, statistics and mineralology, by Philipp Van Der Mellen, 1827

During the early XVI century turmoil in Russia, Kingdom of Sweden conquered the whole Novgorodian coastline of the Eastern Baltics and formed Swedish Ingria. Its border with Swedish Estonia went along Narva river leaving Narva township with Ingria.[10] Russian-Livonian border South from the lake was restored. After the Great Northern War Russia regained the lost possessions on the Baltics and built its new capital there, Saint-Petersburg, as well as conquered Swedish Estonia soon turned into an imperial governorate. However, during the two centuries of the Russian rule the Eastern borders of Estonian and Livonian governorates remained mostly intact, as did their semi-autonomous administrative and cultural framework. A notable change was the status of Narva town, briefly excluded from St.Petersburg Governorate during the rule of Paul I. Like Sweden, Russia did not manage to harmonize its possessions East and West of the borderline formed in the late Middle Ages, although migration process went on during two centuries under the Russian Empire: Russian 'old believers' resettled to Eastern Estonia and poor Estonian peasants - to the Western parts of Pskov and St.Petersburg governorates.[11][12][7][13]

After the February Revolution in 1917 the Provisional government of Russia carried out an administrative reform that created the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia where the former Governorate of Estonia and the Estonian-speaking areas of the Governorate of Livonia were merged.[14][15][16] On February 24, 1918 its National Council, the Maapäev, declared the independence of Estonia. It listed the Estonian regions to form the Republic and mentioned that “Final determination of the boundaries of the Republic in the areas bordering on Latvia and Russia will be carried out by plebiscite after the conclusion of the present World War”[17]. Such plebiscite was carried out only in Narva township on 10 December 1917, where the majority voted for Estonian administration.[18] Russian Bolshevik government accepted its results and by decree of 21 December town of Narva was transferred from Russian Republic to the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia.[19]

According to the Peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk of 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and Germany that controlled all the Estonia by that time, Russia relinquished its rights on Estonia, and the border between the Grand Duchy of Livonia and Russia should have followed the Narva river.[20] In late 1918 a war broke out between Soviet Russia and Estonia supported by the White Russian Northwestern Army and the British Navy. By February 1919 Estonians repelled the Red Army back to Russia and in April 1919 the Bolshevik government initiated the peace talks with Estonia.[21] The British government, however, pressed to continue the war and in May and October 1919 Estonian and White Russian troops attempted two major offensives towards Petrograd. As both of them failed, the peace talks continued and the borderline question was brought up on the 8 December 1919. The Estonian party proposed Russian counterpart to cede about 10000 sq.km. from the Petrograd and Pskov Governorates to the East of the pre-war borders. The next day Russians reacted likewise offering Estonia to cede its Northeastern part. During December 1919 the borderline was agreed to go along the actual frontline between the belligerents.

General Map of Estland Province, 1820

As per the Tartu Peace Treaty of 02 February 1920 Estonia gained from Russia a narrow land strip East of Narova river including Ivangorod as well as Pechorsky uyezed with Pechory town and lands Southwest from the Pskovskoye (Est. – Phikva) lake including Pskovian town of Izborsk known since year 862 A.D. The Pechory (Est.- Petseri) County was inhabited predominantly by Russians and Seto, and unlike other regions of Estonia proper its municipal self-governance was subject to veto power by a special officer appointed from Tallinn.[22]

Russia and Estonia agreed to demilitarize the near borderland and the whole lake basin leaving armed only the required border guard. The border trespassing by the local population that appeared split between two states was a common issue, rising concerns of smuggling and spying on both sides. Soviet illegal immigrants who were ethnic Estonians were offered refugee status in Estonia to avoid their expulsion back to the USSR.[23]

Novaya Arsiya village on the bank of Narva, 1936

In 1940 Estonia was annexed by the USSR converting the former national border into administrative demarcation line of Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic and Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of the USSR. According to the Internal Affairs People’s Commissariat decree №867 of 06/12/1940 the Barrage Zone was created along the former borderline to prevent “…intrusion of spies, terrorists and anti-revolutionary elements” into the USSR mainland.[24] Border guards were assigned to allow restricted passage through the borderline only of the persons owning the required permission.

During the Nazi invasion of 1941–1944 the Estonian Republic was turned into Generalbezirk Estland of the Reichskommissariat Ostland. The Russian-Estonian borderline acted as its eastern border with the Nazi military administration area of Leningrad oblast, where ‘racially-clean’ Reichsgau Ingermanland was projected. The latter included Narva town with its vicinity, that was excluded from the Generalbezirk Estland. According to the alternative Nazi Lebensraum designs, instead of establishing a Reichsgau the territory of Estland, renamed to Peipusland, was supposed to be vastly extended eastwards to Volkhov river to allow for Estonians to be resettled there, and Germans to take their place in Estonia.[25]

In 1944 the Nazis were driven out of most of the Eastern Baltics. With a decree of the Soviet parliament of 23 August 1944 major share of the borderland areas earlier ceded to Estonia in 1920 (including Pechory, Izborsk and lands to the East of Narova river) was transferred from Estonian SSR to Russian SFSR. Other Estonian gains of 1920, including Pogranichniy a.k.a. Piirisaar island on the lake were left with Estonia. Township of Narva being on the both parts of the river was split into Western (Narva) and Eastern (Ivangorod) parts, thus replicating the border as it existed in the XVI century.[26]

In 1957 the Soviet parliament authorized a small exchange of territories between two Soviet Republics in the border area South of the lakes, forming the Russian semi-exclave Dubki and famous Estonian Saatse boot.[27] By that time the borders of the Soviet republics became fully transparent and no border control was enforced. Schools for Russian- and Estonian-speaking populations existed on the both sides of the administrative border. Estonian and Russian borderland areas were connected by extensive bus, rail and ferry services.

Traffic at the newly installed customs office in Narva, December 1991

Map of Estonia, CIA, 1999

In 1991 the USSR was dissolved, Estonia restored its independence. The administrative boundary became de-facto national border of Russia and Estonia that required formal recognition, delimitation and establishing of crossing points. During early 1990-ties there were attempts to torment a pro-Estonian sentiment in the Russian borderland, where billboards invited local delegates to the Citizen’s Congress of Estonia and simulated border landmarks placed along 1920 border.[28][29] For Russians living in Pechory district the Estonian immigration authorities offered Estonian citizenship on much more concessionary terms than to most Russians in Estonia. Russia reciprocated with easier naturalization rules for the resident non-citizens living in Estonia.[30] In 1993 a pro-autonomy plebiscite was conducted in Narva, but Estonian court invalidated its results.[31]

Map of Pskov Oblast (Russia)

In 1994 the actual border, dubbed ‘line of control’, was demarcated by the Russian authorities.[32] The border treaty talks have commenced, headed by Vassiliy Svirin and Ludvig Chizhov from the Russian side, and Raul Malk and Jüri Luik from Estonian side. Apart from Russian non-acceptance of Estonian references to 1920 border, the talks were complicated by the different sets of coordinates used by the parties. By 1995 the existing border going mostly along the Soviet administrative boundary was agreed. An exception was the border on the lake going closer to 1920 border, and minor territorial exchanges of 128,6 Ha on the land and 11,4 sq.km on the lake.[33] Inter alia, the notorious Saatse boot was supposed to be exchanged for Marinova and Suursoo landplots in the areas near Meremae and Varska. In 1999 the terms of the Border agreement were finalized and in 2005 it was signed by both parties. However, during the ratification the Estonian side added a preamble referring to the 1920 Treaty making a case for possible territorial dispute, so Russian side refused to ratify it and the agreement was terminated.[34][2][35][36]

In 2014 Foreign ministers of Estonia and Russia signed the new Border Agreement without the disputed preamble.[37][38] Also the treaty of the sea border across Narva bay and Gulf of Finland was agreed. Both agreements were submitted to the parliamentary ratification in Estonia and Russia, however, with little progress because of political reasons.[39] In 2017 Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov commented that Russia will consider ratification once the bilateral relations constructively improve. In 2017-2018 Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) proposed to terminate the 2014 Border agreement referring to the events in the Ukraine.[40] In 2019 speaker of Estonian parliament claimed that the agreement may be ratified only if the borderline follows the terms of 1920 Treaty.[41] As of August 2020, the treaty has not been ratified in either of the countries.[42]