Less traffic at northern border between Finland and Russia
Finnish Border Guard reports a 1% slip in traffic between Murmansk region and Lapland in second quarter.
It is less traffic over Salla that counts for the drop, down 7,5% compared with the same period in 2016. At Raja-Jooseppi, the northernmost checkpoint on the road between Ivalo and Murmansk, traffic was up 12,5% in second quarter.
51.944 border-crossings were counted at the two checkpoints in period from April 1 to June 30, Finnish Border Guard reports. 79% of all crossings at Raja-Jooseppi were made by Russians, while at Salla, 54% were Russians and 45% Finnish citizens.
While border traffic is down between Finland and Russia, the Norwegian, Russian border traffic is so far this year up 16 percent, a police official at Storskog checkpoints tells in an e-mail to the Barents Observer. Over 21.000 border crossings were counted between Murmansk and Norway in June.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: VIDEO: Do mobility devices in the Arctic need a rethink?, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Two French kayakers illegally cross Finnish border into Russia, Yle News
Norway: Russia, Norway border traffic up 18%, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Sweden faces criticism over border controls, Radio Sweden
Russia: Migrants still try to make it from Russia to Norway, The Independent Barents Observer
United States: Alaskans in Cessna 172 make goodwill flight to Russia, Alaska Dispatch News
