Russia announces substantial expansion of border zone in Karelia

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Russia is expanding its zone from the current five kilometres to about 30 kilometres from the next spring. At the same time, the movement of foreign citizens in the area will be subject to a permit, for example in some parts of the Karelian Isthmus.
      A permit to enter the country will be granted by the Border Guard Service of Russia, a branch of the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB).
      The area northeast of Vyborg across the isthmus to the coast of Lake Ladoga would be included in the border zone, except for the city of Vyborg itself.
     
The reason for the change is said to be that Russia wants to expand the operative range of its Border Guard Service.
      At the meetings with Russian border officials, the Finnish authorities have been told that the permit process would be made simple for travellers. However, the information received is open to various interpretations.
     
The reform will increase bureaucracy, particularly for the Finns travelling to the ceded areas of Karelia that were formerly in Finnish hands. Travel across the border continues to be brisk, with tourism mixed with those crossing to take advantage of the price-gap for items such as gasoline. Presumably, this traffic will be hit by a more extensive interpretation of the border zone.
      "This is a serious impediment to tourism, as the turnaround time for permit processing is said to be one month", notes Jarmo Eskelinen from Travel Agency Futurist, which organises tours to Russia.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Eco-tourism seen as key to future of north shore of Lake Ladoga (16.8.2005)
  Poll: Fewer Finns want Karelia back (22.8.2005)
  Adventurous spirit required to navigate back roads of Russian Karelia (16.8.2005)

Links:
  Karelia (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat