States bordering Russia. State border of Russia

The Russian Federation is the largest state on the planet. Its area is estimated at millions of square kilometers. Which countries border Russia? And what are the peculiarities of the geopolitical situation of this country? This will be discussed in this article.

Which countries border Russia?

Russia is the leading country on the planet in terms of size. Its area is just over 17 million square kilometers. True, only 146 million people live on such a vast territory, so average density The country's population is small (8.4 people per square kilometer of area). How many countries does Russia border with?

If we take into account all countries, including those partially recognized by the world community (we are talking about Abkhazia and South Ossetia), then Russia is the world leader in the number of neighboring countries. There are 16 of them in total.

Which countries border Russia? These are Norway, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, North Korea, as well as South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia borders on two more countries by sea: Japan and the USA.

Features of the geopolitical situation of modern Russia

Geopolitical models view Russia as major player surrounded by the so-called large spheres (according to Cohen). In the west there is a bloc of NATO countries, which is moving closer and closer to the state borders of the Russian Federation. By the beginning of the 21st century, this bloc had completely extended its influence to the Balkan Peninsula, the Baltic states and Eastern Europe. In the south, Russia borders on another powerful player - China, which has significant military and economic potential.

If we consider the purely economic aspect of the geopolitical situation, then Russia is surrounded on all sides by members of the so-called economic Triad of the planet. These are the European Union in the west (about 20% of global GDP), Japan in the east (9%) and China in the south (18%).

Let us consider in more detail the western, southern and eastern sectors of the Russian state border.

Western borders of Russia

The western border of Russia begins on the shores of the Barents Sea and practically does not encounter natural boundaries along its route. Which countries does Russia border on the west? These are six independent states that were previously part of the USSR, as well as two Scandinavian countries (Norway and Finland).

In the west, the longest section of the border is between the Russian Federation and Ukraine (about 1,300 km), and the shortest is with Norway (200 km). It should be noted that there are no border problems or any territorial claims only between Russia and Belarus in this area. The Crimean Peninsula is the main object of dispute with Ukraine, the Pskov region - with Latvia. Norway also lays claim to part of the Barents Sea that belongs to Russia.

Southern borders of Russia

What countries does Russia border on in the south? These are Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, as well as two unrecognized republics - South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The longest section of the Russian border is with Kazakhstan (almost 7,500 kilometers). This line is very arbitrary and practically does not coincide with natural objects (it runs through desert areas or mountain ranges).

Perhaps the most problematic area for Russia is the section of the border in the North Caucasus. There is a whole set of hot spots associated with the unrecognized formations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Eastern borders of Russia

In the east, Russia borders the DPRK by land, as well as Japan and the United States by sea.

The Russian-Korean border is the shortest - only 18 kilometers. It runs entirely along the Tumannaya River. The countries agreed among themselves on the demarcation and delimitation of water areas in the Sea of Japan.

Russia borders two other states in the east solely by sea. The Russian-American maritime border is considered the longest in the world. It should be recalled that Alaska was once sold by Alexander II to the States for seven million dollars.

Serious territorial claims also remain between Russia and Japan. The object of the dispute is a number of islands of the Kuril chain.

Finally...

Now you know which countries border Russia. These are 16 independent states, as well as two partially recognized republics. Unfortunately, problems with the demarcation of many sections of the Russian state border have not yet been resolved. In addition, many neighboring countries make territorial claims against the Russian Federation.

A few years ago the question “Where is Montenegro?” was almost the most popular on thematic forums. Let's try to give the most detailed answer about this country. The residents here are quite friendly, and it is understandable for Russian-speaking tourists.

Montenegro. Where is this located?

Montenegro is a small country - only 13,812 km², making it the 155th largest in the world. Montenegro is located on the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula, that is, in southeastern Europe. It’s very warm here and just amazingly clean and transparent.

What countries does Montenegro border with?

WITH Italy Montenegro borders - here you can buy Italian shoes and clothes. Tourists with an open Schengen visa can easily travel to Italy from the city of Bar.

Land borders of Montenegro:

— visa-free regime, .
Serbia - usually excursion program not offered to Serbia.
The Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognized state.
— no visa required, excursions offered.
Croatia - included in European Union. You can try to get a visa to Croatia in. That is, without open Schengen visas There’s no way to go to Dubrovnik. If you read it somewhere else, that information is simply outdated.

Montenegro on the map

Of course, the list on the map is far from complete. Read our blog, there is a very good and a large number of articles about .

Visa regime with Montenegro

The country is not a member of the European Union, and entry into its territory is visa-free for residents:

Russian Federation (RF)
Ukraine
Belarus
Latvia
Lithuania
Estonia

Please note that tourists from Russia can stay in the country without obtaining a visa. no more than 90 days(the lines were increased on May 12, 2016; if you find 30 days somewhere, the information is outdated).

For tourists from Ukraine, the length of stay was previously 90 days.

Climate of Montenegro

Beaches and water in Montenegro

Beaches in Montenegro are mostly sand and pebbles or concrete. In or the water will be warmer, and on the coast a little cooler - about +27 °C.

Even if advertising materials promise sandy beaches, you shouldn’t believe them. Real sand is found here only next to. There are beaches with imported sand and pebbles, but by the beginning of August all the sand is washed out into the sea and the beach turns into pebbles.

Cultural attractions

The main cultural attractions of Montenegro are:

- the ancient capital of the country.
- a city called “little Venice”. The architecture here is typically Italian, but of course you won't see any canals. But you can look at the fortress wall, which is second in length after the Great Wall of China.
The grave of Peter Njeguš is located in national park Lovchin. Petar Njeguš, the greatest Lord of Montenegro, was considered the most handsome man on the ground. They say that when he visited the Russian court, the ladies fainted en masse.
- one of the most beautiful corners in the country. After his visit, we associate Montenegro with this place.
- one of the most luxurious. Very rich and famous people vacation here.

Religious sites

- considered one of the most visited monasteries in the world (included in the TOP-3). Pilgrims of all faiths come here: Orthodox, Catholics and Muslims. The relics of St. Basil of Ostrog are kept here.

According to international law state territory is the part of the Earth's surface, including internal and territorial waters, the subsoil beneath them and the airspace over which the power (jurisdiction) of a given applies.

State border is a real line on the ground (territory, water area), defining the limits of the state territory.

The total length of the borders of the Russian Federation is 60 thousand 932 km, of which 22 thousand 125 km are land (including 7616 km along rivers and lakes), 38 thousand 807 km are sea (about 2/3). State boundaries are determined using two procedures - delimitation and demarcation. Delimitation is an agreement between states on the passage of the state border, demarcation— designation of the state border on the ground, securing it with border signs.

Afterwards in Russia there are the following types of borders:

1. Old borders coincide with borders former USSR(inherited from the USSR), most of which are fixed by international treaties (borders with foreign countries - Norway, Finland, Poland, China, Mongolia, North Korea).

2. New borders with neighboring countries:

former administrative ones, formalized as state borders with CIS countries (borders with Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan);
borders with the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania).

According to all international rules, the borders of Russia are defined over 10 thousand km. Russia accounts for more than 2/3 of all external borders of the CIS. Of the CIS countries, Moldova, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan do not have a common border with the Russian Federation. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia lost 40% of its equipped border.

Russia is a unique country, as it has customs and other borders “extended” to the borders of the former USSR. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia and other CIS countries faced an intractable problem. On the one hand, different rates of economic reforms and inconsistency of financial and legislative systems objectively pushed them to close their economic space. On the other hand, when new state borders do not coincide with ethnic and cultural borders, public opinion does not accept the introduction of border restrictions, and most importantly, Russia was not able to quickly develop new borders in engineering and technical terms (1 km of development of the state border requires 1 billion rubles in 1996 prices). The problem of establishing customs points was acute. At the same time, integration processes in the CIS are developing weakly, contrary to global processes. Currently, only a customs union operates (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan).

The northern and eastern borders of Russia are sea (12 nautical miles), the western and southern borders are predominantly land. The large length of Russia's state borders is determined by the size of its territory and the tortuosity of its outlines coastlines seas of the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, washing its shores.

Character land borders in the west and east of the country it is different. Borders drawn in pre-revolutionary Russia most often follow natural boundaries. When expanding the state, its borders had to be clearly fixed. In sparsely populated areas, borders had to be easily recognizable. This was ensured by the clarity of the boundaries themselves: river, mountain range, etc. This character is mainly preserved by the eastern part of the southern border.

The modern western and southwestern borders of Russia arose in a different way. These borders were previously intrastate, that is, they separated individual entities on the territory of the country. These boundaries were often changed arbitrarily, that is, to a large extent these are administrative boundaries. When such intrastate boundaries turned into interstate ones, they turned out to be almost unrelated to natural objects. This is how Russia's borders with Finland and Poland were formed. This applies even more to the boundaries that arose during the collapse Soviet Union.

Western border of Russia

Western border Almost along its entire length it has no clearly defined natural boundaries. The border begins on the Barents Sea coast from the Varangerfjord and runs first along the hilly tundra, then along the Pasvik River valley. In this section, Russia borders with Norway (since 1944) for 200 km (Pechenga - Nikel-Petsamo region). Norway proposes to postpone western border Russia in the Barents Sea to the east and, for its part, take under the jurisdiction of more than 150 thousand km 2 of water area. There is no agreement with Norway on the delimitation of the continental shelf, which is one of the most promising areas of the world in terms of oil and gas reserves. Negotiations on this issue have been ongoing since 1970, the Norwegian side insists on the principle of equal distance of borders from the island possessions of the two countries. The land border is formalized with appropriate documents and demarcated (the first Russian-Norwegian border was established in 1251).

To the south, Russia borders on Finland (1300 km). The border runs along the Manselkä hill (crosses the Lotga, Nota, and Vuoksa rivers), through heavily swamped and lake-covered territory, along the slope of the low Salpouselka ridge, and 160 km southwest of Vyborg it approaches the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. From 1809 to 1917, Finland was part of the Russian Empire. An agreement on the state border was concluded with Finland, and documents on its demarcation were signed. Additionally, it will be necessary to formalize the junction of the maritime borders of Russia, Finland and Estonia. In 1962, the Soviet part of the Saimaa Canal and Maly Vysotsky Island were leased to Finland for a period of 50 years to ensure the transportation of goods from the interior of Finland with the possibility of reloading or storing them.

In the far west, on the shores of the Baltic Sea and its Gulf of Gdansk, the Kaliningrad region is located, which borders Poland (250 km) and Lithuania (300 km). Most of the border of the Kaliningrad region with Lithuania runs along the Neman (Nemunas) River and its tributary, the Sheshupa River. An agreement with Lithuania on border demarcation was signed in 1997, but there are still some disagreements between the countries regarding the drawing of the border in the lake area. Vishtinets, on the Curonian Spit and in the area of Sovetsk. There are no border problems between Russia and Poland.

From the Gulf of Finland the border follows the river. Narva, Chudskoe and Pskov lakes and then mainly along low plains, crosses the Vitebsk (Western Dvina), Smolensk-Moscow uplands (Dnieper, Sozh), the southern spurs of the Central Russian Upland (Desna, Seim, Psel, Vorskla), Donetsk Ridge (Seversky Donets, Oskol) and goes to Taganrog Bay Sea of Azov. Here Russia's neighbors are Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine.

The length of the border with Estonia is more than 400 km. According to the Non-Stat Peace Treaty, Estonia was part of Russia from 1721 to 1917, and was also part of the USSR from 1940 to 1991. Russia unilaterally demarcated its borders. Estonia laid claim to the Pechora district of the Pskov region (1500 km 2) - the former four volosts of the Petserimas district of Estonia, included in the Pskov region in 1944, part of the Kingisepp district of the Leningrad region and Ivangorod. These territories were transferred to Estonia in 1920. On May 18, 2005, the foreign ministers signed an agreement on the border between Russia and Estonia in the Gulf of Finland and Narva Gulf.

The length of the border with Latvia is 250 km. Latvia advocated the return to its jurisdiction of the Pytalovsky and Palkinsky districts of the Pskov region (1600 km 2). In Latvia, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 23, 1944 on the formation of the Pskov region is considered unconstitutional.

The length of the border with Belarus is about 1000 km. There are no border problems between Russia and Belarus.

The length of the border with Ukraine is about 1300 km. Work to establish the state border between Russia and Ukraine is just being carried out, but there are quite serious problems between the countries. In the 1930s The eastern part of Donbass, including the city of Taganrog, was transferred from Ukraine to the RSFSR. The western regions of the Bryansk region (Novozybkov, Starodub, etc.) used to belong to the Chernigov region. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of October 29, 1948, Sevastopol was allocated as an independent administrative and economic center with a special budget and classified as a city of republican subordination. This decree, when the Crimean region was transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954, was not declared invalid and has not been canceled to this day. If the Crimean region was transferred insufficiently constitutionally, then the decision to transfer Sevastopol did not exist at all. The issue of the passage of the state border along the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait is controversial. Russia believes that the Sea of Azov with the Kerch Strait should be considered an internal sea of Russia and Ukraine, while Ukraine insists on its division. The Russian Empire acquired access to the Azov and Black Seas as a result of many years of military operations against Turkey in the 16th-18th centuries. In 1925, at the base of the 11-kilometer Tuzla Spit in the far west of the Taman Peninsula, a shallow channel was dug for the passage of fishing boats. In January 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR changed the border (then administrative) in this place, now transferring the “island” of Tuzla from the Temryuk region of the Krasnodar Territory to the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1971, this “agreed administrative border between the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea” was once again confirmed. As a result, after the declaration of independence of Russia and Ukraine, the only navigable Kerch-Yenikalinsky fairway completely ended up on the territory of Ukraine, as well as approximately 70% of the Azov Sea. Ukraine charges a fee for the passage of Russian ships through the Kerch Strait.

Southern border of Russia

Southern border predominantly land, starts from the Kerch Strait connecting the Azov and Black Sea, passes through the territorial waters of the Black Sea to the Psou River. The land border with Georgia and Azerbaijan begins here. The border runs along the Psou valley, and then mainly along the Main, or Watershed Range of the Greater Caucasus (Mounts Elbrus, Kazbek), passes to the Side Range in the area between the Roki and Kodori passes, then again goes along the Watershed Range to Mount Bazarduzu. Then the border turns north to the Samur River, along the valley of which it reaches the Caspian Sea. Thus, in the Greater Caucasus region, the Russian border is clearly defined by natural boundaries. This is due to the fact that nature limited the possibilities of settlement of the peoples of the Caucasus by its steep, high mountain slopes. The length of the Russian border in the Caucasus is more than 1000 km.

In the North Caucasus, Russia borders Georgia and Azerbaijan. There is a whole bunch of border problems here. The establishment of the state border is primarily related to the resolution of conflicts between Georgia and the “unrecognized entities” - Abkhazia and South Ossetia. During the Great Patriotic War in connection with the deportation of some peoples North Caucasus(Karachais, Balkars, Chechens) their national-territorial formations were liquidated, and the territories were “distributed” among their neighbors, including Georgia. The restoration of previously liquidated entities and changes in borders took place in 1957.

Further, the Russian border passes through the Caspian Sea. Currently, Russian-Iranian agreements on the division of the Caspian Sea are in force. But the new sovereign Caspian states - Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan - demand the division of the Caspian Sea and its shelf, which is exceptionally rich in oil. Azerbaijan, without waiting for the final determination of the status of the Caspian Sea, has already begun to develop its subsoil.

From the coast of the Caspian Sea near the eastern edge of the Volga delta, the longest land border between Russia and Kazakhstan begins. The border runs along the deserts and dry steppes of the Caspian lowland (lake Baskunchak, Elton, the Maly and Bolshoy Uzei rivers, General Syrt, the Ural and Ilek rivers), passes in the area of the junction of Mugodzhar with the Urals, then along the Trans-Ural plateau and the southern steppe part Western Siberia(Barabinskaya lowland, Kulundinskaya plain) and along the Altai mountains.

The border between Russia and Kazakhstan is the longest (over 7,500 km), but is almost not fixed by natural boundaries. For example, along the territory of the Kulundiiskaya Plain at a distance of about 450 km, the border runs from northwest to southeast almost in a straight line, parallel to the direction of the Irtysh flow. Still, about 1,500 km of the border runs along the Maly Uzen (Caspian) and Ural rivers, its left tributary - the Ilek River, along the Tobol and its left tributary - the Uy River (the longest river border with Kazakhstan), as well as along a number of smaller ones tributaries of the Tobol. East End The border with Kazakhstan, passing through Altai (Mount Belukha), is clearly defined. The border runs along the ridges separating the Katun basin from the Bukhtarma basin - the right tributary of the Irtysh (Koksuysky, Kholzunsky, Listvyaga, in small areas - the Katunsky ridge and Southern Altai).

There is a very conventional old “inter-republican” border between Russia and Kazakhstan. The borders of Northern Kazakhstan were proclaimed back in 1922 - various public organizations raised the issue of changing the border between Russia and Kazakhstan, which has not yet been formalized. It was proposed to transfer to Kazakhstan parts of the Russian regions bordering the republic (Astrakhan, Volgograd, Orenburg, Omsk, Kurgan and Altai Territory), on the other hand, we are talking about the transfer to Russia of the northern regions of Kazakhstan (North Kazakhstan, Kokchetav, Tselinograd, Kustanai, East Kazakhstan, Irtysh part of Pavlodar and Semipalatinsk, northern parts of the Ural and Aktobe regions). According to the 1989 population census, about 470 thousand Kazakhs lived in the south of Russia, and more than 4.2 million Russians lived in the northwest, north and northeast of Kazakhstan. Currently, Russia and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement on the delimitation of the state border.

Almost the entire Russian border from Altai to Pacific Ocean passes through the mountain belt. At the junction of the ridge in Southern Altai, Mongolian Altai and Sailyugem there is the Tabyn-Bogdo-Ula mountain junction (4082 m). The borders of three states meet here: Russia, China and Mongolia.

The border with Mongolia runs along the Sailyugem ridge (Western Tannu-Ola, Eastern Tannu-Ola, Sengilen, Eastern Sayan - Mount Munku-Sardyk, 3492 m), the northern edge of the Ubsunur depression, the mountain ranges of Tuva, the Eastern Sayan (Big Sayan) and the ridges Transbaikalia (Dzhidine Kiy, Ermana and a number of others). The length of the borders is about 3000 km. A border agreement and demarcation agreements have been signed between Russia and Mongolia.

The border with China follows the river. Argun (Nerchinsky ridge), Amur (Borschovochny ridge, Amur-Zeyskaya plain, the city of Blagoveshchensk, the Zeya river, the Zeya-Bureya lowland, the Bureya river, the city of Khabarovsk, the Lower Amur lowland), Ussuri and its left tributary - the Sungacha river. More than 80% of the Russian-Chinese border runs along rivers. The state border crosses the northern part of the water area of Lake Khanka (Prikhankai Lowland) and runs along the Pogranichny and Black Mountains ridges. Russia borders China for 4,300 km. The western section of the Russian-Chinese border is delimited, but not demarcated. Only in 1997 was the demarcation of the Russian-Chinese border completed eastern section, several border islands on the river. The Argun and Amur with a total area of 400 km2 were left for “joint economic use”; in 2005, almost all the islands within the rivers’ water areas were demarcated. China's claims to Russian territory (then the territory of the USSR) were declared to their maximum extent in the early 1960s. and covered the entire Far East and Siberia.

In the extreme south, Russia borders North Korea along the river Foggy (Tumynjiang). The length of the border is only 17 km. Along the river valley, the Russian-Korean border reaches the coast of the Sea of Japan south of Posyet Bay. Russia and the DPRK signed an agreement on border demarcation and maritime delimitation.

Eastern border of Russia

Eastern border Russian maritime. The border runs along the Pacific Ocean and its seas - the Japanese. Okhotsky, Beringov. The border with Japan runs along the La Perouse, Kunashirsky, Izmena and Sovetsky straits, which separate the Russian islands of Sakhalin, Kunashir and Tanfilyev (Lesser Kuril Ridge) from the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Japan disputes with Russia the islands of the Lesser Kuril ridge (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai ridge with a total area of 8548.96 km 2), called the “northern territories”. The dispute is about the state territory and waters of the Russian Federation with a total area of 300 thousand km 2, including economic zone islands and seas, rich in fish and seafood, and a shelf zone with oil reserves. In 1855, an agreement was concluded with Japan, according to which the islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge were transferred to Japan. In 1875, all the Kuril Islands passed to Japan. As a result Russo-Japanese War under the Portsmouth Treaty of 1905, Russia ceded South Sakhalin to Japan. In September 1945, after Japan signed the act of unconditional surrender, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island became part of the USSR, but the San Francisco Treaty of 1951, which seized the Kuril Islands from Japan, did not determine their new nationality. According to the Japanese side, the South Kuril Islands have always belonged to Japan and are in no way connected with the 1875 treaty; they are not part of the Kuril chain, but of the Japanese Islands, and therefore are not subject to the San Francisco Treaty.

The border with the United States is located in the Bering Strait, where the Diomede Island group is located, and runs along a narrow (5 km wide) strait between the Russian Ratmanov Island and the American Kruzenshtern Island. Border problems with the US have been resolved. In 1867, the Russian Empire, during the reign of Alexander II, sold Alaska for $7 million. There are certain difficulties in the final establishment of the maritime border between Russia and the United States in the Bering Strait (“Shevardnadze zone”). The Russia-US border is the longest maritime border in the world.

Northern border of Russia

Northern border Russia, like the eastern one, is maritime and passes through the seas of the North Arctic Ocean. The Russian sector of the Arctic is limited by conventional lines running in the west from the Rybachy Peninsula and in the east from Ratmanov Island to North Pole. The meaning of the concept of “polar possessions” is revealed in the Resolution of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and the Council People's Commissars(SNK) of the USSR of April 15, 1926, adopted on the basis of the International Concept on the division of the Arctic into sectors. The Resolution proclaimed “the right of the USSR to all islands and lands in the Arctic sector of the USSR.” There is no talk of any affiliation of the water areas of this sector with Russia. Along the northern coast and islands of the Arctic, Russia owns only its territorial waters.

Russia is a huge state in terms of territory. The boundaries pass both by land and by sea. I would like to remember in detail who borders Russia, because our neighbors are many states.

Length

Russian border guards have a rather difficult job protecting state borders because total length The country's borders (don't be surprised!) are more than 62 thousand kilometers. Note that the land border is shorter than the sea border, amounting to 24,625 km. The sea boundaries respectively stretched for 37,736 km.

Which countries does Russia border by sea?

So, let’s first consider the maritime border of our country, which is protected by the navy from intruders and saboteurs. In the north, the Russian border (with some exceptions) runs entirely through the waters of the Arctic Ocean and touches the Baltic Sea. Who does Russia border on in the north? By Barents Sea you can sail from Arkhangelsk to the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The northern coast of Russia is also washed by the Kara, East Siberian, Chukchi seas, and the Laptev Sea. Navigation along them is very difficult, but this does not create any particular inconvenience in communication between countries, since only a formal border with the North Pole passes here.

The Baltic Sea, although relatively small, provides sea route from Russia to Sweden, Poland, the Baltic countries, Finland.

Maritime eastern border

In the east, unlike the northern borders, the seas do not freeze, so maritime trade with neighbors is very active. Who borders Russia on the Bering, Okhotsk and Japanese seas? Powerful economically developed states: USA and Japan. It is with these partners that maritime trade in this region mainly takes place. The length of the border with Japan is 149 kilometers, and with the United States only 49 kilometers. From the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk you can sail to the port of Sapporo (Hokkaido Island, Japan) through the relatively small La Perouse Strait.

On this section of the border, Russia has a territorial conflict, that is, it is impossible to talk about a complete legally formed border. We are talking about the fate of the Kuril Islands (Japan also claims them). This dispute has been going on since 1945, when the USSR defeated Japan in the Soviet-Japanese War. As such, a peace treaty was not concluded at the end of World War II, so this territorial issue has yet to be resolved.

Western land border of Russia

The states bordering Russia in the west are mainly former Soviet republics. The longest part of the border in this section is Ukrainian. We are talking about 2245 kilometers. On the Russian side, Ukraine is adjacent to the territories of Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Rostov regions, as well as the Krasnodar region. Which regions of Ukraine border on Russia? There are many such regions, namely: Lugansk, Kharkov, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kiev regions. In connection with the well-known events in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, problems have arisen again, because control over the border with the Lugansk region of Ukraine has become more complicated.

The length of the border with Belarus is 2 times less than the Ukrainian section, and amounts to numerically 1239 kilometers. If we specify by region, then from the Russian side you can enter the territory of the union Belarus from the lands of the Bryansk, Tver, Pskov, Smolensk regions.

In the north-west there is a land border with Latvia (270 km) and Estonia (466 km). The uniqueness of this part is that you can get from the Kaliningrad region to the territory of other regions of Russia by land only through the countries of the Schengen zone (the Baltic countries already have a visa-free regime with Europe, since they are members of the EU).

Asia: who borders Russia by land?

Russia's only Asian land neighbors from Asia are states that are huge in size but different in population density: Mongolia and China. It is this part of the land border that is very long, because the junction with the territory of China lasts 4209 km, and with Mongolia - 3485 km.

You can enter China from the following regions of the Russian Federation: Altai Republic, Chita, Amur, Khabarovsk regions, Jewish Autonomous Okrug and Primorsky Territory. If you are traveling to Russia from Mongolia, your route may run through the republics of Altai, Tyva, Buryatia, as well as through the Chita region.

Russia probably has the largest land border with Kazakhstan. This Republic has always been associated with the Asian world, but in Lately This axiom has begun to be questioned because the national football team and club teams of this country take part in European cup tournaments. Therefore, the border with Kazakhstan is most likely European. By the way, the Russian Federation has very close relations with this state economic ties within Customs Union, so the traffic at checkpoints is very active.

But that's not all!

Which countries does Russia border on land in the north? It was said above that the northern part of Russia is mainly cold seas. But there are also land sections of the border with the Scandinavian countries. For example, common area The boundary with Finland is 1325 km, and with Norway - 219 km.

The southern neighbors of the Russian Federation are former components of the USSR: Georgia and Azerbaijan. Protecting the inviolability of Russian territory from encroachment from the lands of these states is problematic due to geographical features mountainous area of the Caucasus.

In this article we looked at who borders Russia. The advantageous geographical position of our country on the world political map is emphasized by two points:

The Russian Federation is located at the junction of two continents: Europe and Asia.
There are common borders with more than 10 states.

The Russian state occupies about 31.5% of total area 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 changed slightly, but the state border, as before, divides it with other countries on water and on land. To have a more complete understanding 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 in both Europe and Asia, occupying the northern part of the first and the eastern regions of the second. Today, the length of the state border is 60.9 thousand kilometers: 38.8 runs along the sea surface, 22.1 on land (of which 7.6 thousand kilometers are along rivers and lakes).

Based on international law, the state territory of the Russian Federation is considered to be that part of the Earth’s surface that is located within this demarcation 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 - securing these boundaries with boundary markers on the ground.

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

old (inherited as an inheritance from the Soviet past);
new.

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

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

Land borders

So, first, let's look at which countries Russia has a land border with. 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 lies on the borders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It is only 17 km. At the same time, the total length of the demarcation line is 39.4 km;
Only the Kaliningrad region borders Lithuania and Poland;
the insignificant 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 swampy tundra. It is here that all the most important power stations of Russian and Norwegian origin are located;
A little further south lies the Russian-Finnish border, which runs through wooded and rocky terrain. For our country, this site is of particular importance because active international trade. It is to the port of Vyborg that cargo is delivered from Finland.

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

Georgia.
Ukraine.
Kazakhstan.
China.
DPRK.
Mongolia.
Belarus.
Azerbaijan.
Poland.
Lithuania.
Norway.
Estonia.
Finland.
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 their citizenship of 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 border automatically ceased to exist.

Territorial disputes

The so-called disputed territories deserve special attention. So, let's say, Estonia lays claim to the right bank of the Narva River, which is located on the territory of Ivangorod. In addition, a certain section of the Pskov region, as well as the Saatse Boot, is also of interest to this state. It is the latter that is the place where Ural bricks are transported to Europe. Once upon a time it was actually planned to transfer this territory to Estonia, but due to the amendments it introduced to the treaty, the Russian side never ratified the document.

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

Most 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 Bolshoy Ussuriysky and Tarabarov.

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

Maritime boundaries

According to the Border Service of the FSB of the Russian Federation, the length of Russia’s land borders is significantly less than the borders that pass by water. In total, 12 countries are maritime neighbors of the Russian Federation. The most important of them are rightfully considered Japan and the United States. Both states are separated from Russian territory by straits.

Thus, the following straits separate us from Japan:

La Perouse;
Treason;
Soviet;
Kunashirsky.

All of them separate Sakhalin and the Southern Kuril Islands from the Japanese island of Hokkaido. The length of this border is 194 kilometers, while the Russian-American border stretches only 49 kilometers.

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

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

Türkiye;
Bulgaria;
Georgia.

Part of the border with the following countries runs along 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);
DPRK (in the Sea of Japan).

Disputed territories

We should not forget that some maritime areas of the Russian Federation still cause territorial disputes to this day. 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 regarding other borders also continue. Until recently, the confrontation with Ukraine regarding the Bosphorus Strait, or more precisely the Tuzla Spit, could be called relevant. The scythe itself is not of particular value. Its role becomes significant only in the light of the construction of the Kerch Bridge. But since Crimea became part of the Russian Federation, this dispute has died down somewhat.

Conclusion

To summarize 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 we should not forget that the territory of most countries, including the Russian Federation, is also a zone of passage of the shortest transit freight 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 communication routes, in particular the construction of gas pipelines, railways and other communications bypassing territories with which certain types of conflicts exist.