Russia has announced that it will close its border opposite Narva, after which it will not be possible to cross it by car.
Specializing in document forgery detection Tarmo Hütt A busy weekend awaits the Estonian border guard at the Narva border crossing. Russia has announced that it will close its own crossing in Ivangorod to vehicle traffic from February 1st, i.e. next Thursday.
The reason for the continuous closure until the end of 2025 has been announced as the border station’s repair work.
Minister of the Interior of Estonia Lauri Läänemets tells STT that the reason sounds implausible to say the least. Russia, which puts all its money into the war in Ukraine, would in this situation begin to thoroughly renovate the border post on the border against the EU.
After Finland’s closed eastern border, Narva has been the closest border crossing point for Finnish citizens traveling to Russia or those living in Finland with a residence permit. According to Hütti, the border closure in the north has been seen and felt in Narva.
– I just checked the statistics concerning them, according to which from the beginning of January to this day we have had 10,000 border crossings. It’s a really big increase, Hütt told STT in Narva last Wednesday.
Before the border closure, people crossing from Finland were registered in Narva maybe around 200 per month, Hütt estimates.
In addition to Finns, people living in Sweden and Norway who have previously traveled to Russia across Finland’s eastern border have also come to Narva.
Cross the border bridge in the future, maybe on foot
If the Narva/Ivangorod crossing point is really closed to vehicles, the next closest crossing points for motorists coming from Finland are Koidula and Luhamaa located in the southeast corner of Estonia.
When STT visited the border, several crowded buses crossed the bridge. In the future, passengers have to get off the vehicle at the border and walk with their luggage a few hundred meters to another bus waiting on the other side of the bridge.
Changes regarding the border crossing on the Russian side are monitored from Estonia and our own actions are adapted to it without asking the other side of the Narvajoi about the reasons.
Undocumented persons are immediately turned away from the border
Estonia has repeatedly warned that its eastern border could also be closed if, like in Finland, large numbers of asylum seekers arrive at the crossing points. However, this has not happened, why?
According to Interior Minister Läänemets, there are two reasons: first of all, Estonia does not allow anyone who does not have the right to pass through the Russian checkpoint due to a missing visa or passport to cross its own border line. That is, they will be turned back before they even reach the Estonian side.
Even if they state that they are applying for asylum?
– They have not announced such a thing, Läänemets acknowledges.
On the Narva border bridge, you can see how this is physically possible. The first checkpoint of the Estonian border guards is practically right on the border line. Hütt, who has often visited the Vaalimaa border station, says he understands that a similar practice is not possible there.
According to Läänemets, another reason for the different situations is apparently that Russia seems to be testing Finland and not Estonia at the moment. Possibly the reason is precisely the Estonian practice of turning right at the border line.
The Minister of the Interior also hints at a certain difference in attitude: in Estonia, third-country nationals who have legally arrived in Russia are always treated as migrants or tourists, not as refugees entitled to international protection.