This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, which brought down the czars and paved the way for the Soviet Union.
Fifteen states broke off from that country in 1991, but Russia remains an undeniable political and economic powerhouse in the region. Its influence spills beyond its frontiers — and it has plenty of those. Russia borders 14 countries, more than any other.
Documentary photographers from the collective TerraProject set out this year to document Russia’s relationship with eight Western neighbors living in its shadow — from border towns to industrial ports — and to explore their unique political, cultural and ecological relationships.
Politically, a border marks off a nation, with all the accompanying symbols and institutions. But culturally and economically, it represents a fusion of cultures, influenced by tradition — and commerce — on both sides. We’ll start with Norway, and make our way south along Russia’s western edge.
The border between Norway, left, and Russia, right | All Norway photographs by Rocco Rorandelli / TerraProject for POLITICO
Construction is underway on Europe’s northernmost cross-border highway, which will connect Kirkenes, Norway to Murmansk, Russia, crossing the mouth of the River Pasvikelva.
Johannes Sorra and Christoffer Kalusen Sundin, at left, patrol the border in Pasvik National Park. The Norwegian-Russian border is the only one in the Schengen Area patrolled by conscripted soldiers, many of whom are ordinary young Norwegians in their late teens. At right, Hildegun, 44, is a member of the Skolt Sámi community in Neiden — one of the few in Norway. Skolt Sámi are Russian Orthodox Sami, considered to be an indigenous people native to the present-day border of Norway, Finland and Russia. Their culture nearly disappeared in the last century, but today a revitalization is taking place. “I didn’t learn the Sami language from my father,” she says. “At the time it was forbidden to speak it. But today I take pride in my roots.”
Orjan Nilson runs a souvenir store at the Storskog border crossing and organizes tours on all-terrain vehicles. Storskog is the only official border crossing between Norway and Russia, and is the northernmost European border post with Russia.
A group of enthusiastic, if not exactly imposing, young conscripts participate in a training exercise along the border.
Three Russian fishermen, at left, pose in front of their ship at the Kirkenes harbor. Their vessel, like many others here, fishes for king crab. Many Russian vessels spend three months at sea during crab season, during which time it can earn as much as $200,000. The crew alternates six hours on, six hours off. At right, Karine Hamsberg, 20, poses at the Svanvik border station. Conscripts patrol the Pasvikelva river, which is shared with Russia, every day, monitoring the transit of both working fisherman and tourists.
King crab traps are offloaded from a Russian ship in the Kirkenes harbor. “The work is hard,” says Mitri, a Russian sailor. “We just do it for the money.”
Katja, 35, is the teacher — singular — at the junior school in Selkie. It’s one of the few villages of its size to boast its own school. Children are placed in mixed-age classes and supplement a classroom education with “labs” conducted by local craftsmen, hunters and fishermen | All Finland photos by Rocco Rorandelli/TerraProject for POLITICO
A border control tower, at left, overlooking a lake shared with Russia and Finland. Control towers popped up after World War II, but today only a few remain. At right, Tero Mustonen poses in front of the Jukajoki river in Kontiolahti. Mustonen wears many hats (in addition to this one): He’s a fisherman, researcher, head of the Selkie village and head of the Snowchange Cooperative, an NGO supporting indigenous rights and the preservation of natural habitats. The river and its fauna were severely damaged by contamination from nearby peat mining. Snowchange started a collaborative land and water project based on the shared knowledge of local fisherman, hunters and scientists.
The Vainikkala train station is the port of entry to Finland and the European Union, meaning all trains from Russia must stop here. In a town of only 400 people, the railyard and Finnish customs are the biggest employers.
The Sissonen family at their dining-room table in Sonkajanranta: Manno, 60 — holding his granddaughter, Alisa — opposite his son, Kauro and Kauro’s wife, Milla Mohonen.
Mika Vilkko, at left, is a border patrol officer at the Vainikkala station. Natalia Tanrainen, a Russian, has lived in Finland for the last 22 years, and now works at a small cafeteria in Vartsila. With a population of 500 people, a full 10 percent are from Russia. New settlers are often women seeking European citizenship through marriage. But before that happens, they have to complete Finnish language classes.
The Salpa Line, a fortified defense built in 1940, was designed to protect Finland from the advancement of tanks from Russia. It’s 225 kilometers long and is made of 350,000 stones weighing around three tons each. Built by 70,000 soldiers, it’s considered the main reason Finland avoided a Russian invasion.
RajaMarker is a wholesale store in Vaalima that is popular with Russians.
Liinkanen Petri at his desk in the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in Kotka. Around 1,000 (of the 50,000 residents here) follow the Orthodox Church. Among them are several Russians who live in the city.
The Narva Hydroelectric Station in Ivangorod, Russia, as seen from Estonia. The Estonian-Russian border, created by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, bisects the dam of the reservoir. The power station itself is entirely on Russian territory. Narva is the third largest city in Estonia, located at the easternmost point of the country. More than 90 percent of Narva’s residents speak Russian, and 82 percent are ethnic Russians | All Estonia photos by Pietro Paolini/TerraProject for POLITICO
One of the last statues of Vladimir Lenin in Estonia stands inside Narva Castle, built by the Danes in 1256.
Hannes and Marco, at left, patrol the border in the Saatse area. The border between Estonia and Russia is called Temporary Control Line, due to the fact that the government doesn’t recognize it and there’s no bilateral agreement. At right, Jaanika Teervalt wears traditional dress for St. George’s Day festivities in the Seto region. Setos are an indigenous ethnic and linguistic minority in southeastern Estonia and northwestern Russia. Most are Orthodox Christians of Estonian nationality.
“Lion” learned the traditional Seto way of constructing a roof. Now he’s working on the Seto cultural center in Varska.
A fisherman in the Narva river that divides Estonia and Russia, in the shadow of the bridge that allows trains to travel between the two countries.
Captain Aleksandr Lupanov, born in Narva, spent 13 years in the army and now volunteers in the National Defense League, a civilian organization training itself to support the military in the case of war. At right, Ritta Nutov poses for a portrait at the Piusa Border Guard’s central office, where she’s worked as a cook since 1999.
Buoys mark the border that passes through Lake Peipus, the largest transborder lake in Europe.
Alfred Dembovskis burns organic materials to prepare his field for a planting of potatoes | All Latvia photos by Pietro Paolini/Terra Project for POLITICO
Inese Volstein, at left, spent many years as an insurance broker at the border. Now she runs the Pededze Museum, which displays elements of Russian culture. In this region of Latvia, 76 percent of the population speaks Russian. At right, Alfons Janukovics, 69, is one of only seven people who currently live in the small village of Deglova along the border. When he retired as a firefighter in Riga and moved to Deglova, it had a population of 470 — most of whom were farmers. That number has dwindled following the closure of the Russian border crossing there.
In 2016, Latvia built a fence along its border in the most vulnerable areas. At the Karsava crossing point, shown here, the government installed 8 kilometers of fencing topped with razor wire.
Jara Miezitis lives with her husband near the border in Ludza. Many years, ago, Jara’s grandfather sold the house to the Soviet Union to use it as a kolkhoz, a form of collective farm. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, her family reclaimed it.
Housing blocks in Kuprava supported workers in one of the largest metallurgical plants in the country, which shut down in 1992. Since the closing of the border crossing, Kuprava has lost two-thirds of its population.
Sandris Buliga, at left, is chief of the Karsava crossing point for the State Border Guard, where he’s worked for 22 years. Now, most activity on the border is related to mining and illegal crossings — many, he says, by Vietnamese people crossing from Russia. Illegal crossings here have increased by more than 50 percent since 2015. At right, Aleksandrs and Anna, dancers wearing traditional dress, wait to perform on Latvian Independence Day in a town at the meeting point of three borders: Latvia, Russia and Belarus.
The Ventė Cape lighthouse sits on the Curonian Lagoon, which straddles Lithuania and Russia’s Kaliningrad. On this day, it is playing host to a surprise birthday party | All Lithuania photos by Simone Donati/TerraProject for POLITICO
The Lithuanian Armed Forces hold training exercises (known as “Lightning Strike 2017”) in Meškučiai. These training sessions are meant to help national forces to carry out joint operations with subordinate units of the interior ministry — and to improve interaction with state civil authorities.
Sun (from left) and Ingrid are high school students in Klaipėda. At right, Mečislovas Radzevičius poses for a portrait in Nida, the first town you come across when entering the country from Kaliningrad through the Curonian Spit peninsula.
Tourists survey the sand dunes in Nida, overlooking the border with Kaliningrad.
Tadas Navickas poses at the Panemune checkpoint, where he’s an officer. At right, Zygimantas Padvilikis, who was on a 25-kilometer walk from Klaipėda to Palanga.
Special guests for the surprise party, perhaps? Swans float in the waters near the Ventė Cape lighthouse.
Empty desks await students in a geography classroom at the secondary school in the village of Chocimsk | All Belarus photos by Michele Borzoni/TerraProject for POLITICO
Palina, left, attends the secondary school in Chocimsk. At right, Sasha Markov, 22, lives in the agricultural village of Rudkovshcina. Called agrodorodok, these are government-built settlements where residents live for free in exchange for work.
A statue of Lenin stands tall as boys ride bikes in the main square of Orsha.
A Belarus State Border guard, left, at the 3 Sisters checkpoint with Ukraine and Russia. At right, Peter Leonidovich, 63, lives in the agricultural village of Lenino, on the border with Russia.
A jauntily painted building in Vietka. Every year the Belarusian government chooses a village to celebrate Dojinki, the harvest festival, and decorates the entire village for the occasion.
Guests take a vape-break outside a wedding party in Gołdap, which borders Russia’s Kaliningrad | All Poland photos by Simone Donati/TerraProject for POLITICO
The pastel-colored housing blocks in Gołdap call to mind a Wes Anderson movie set.
Robert Gwiazdowski, left, is a clerk at an antique shop in Żytkiejmy. At right, a Polish border guard patrols near the Russian border close to Ostre Bardo.
Drivers wait in their cars as documents are checked at the Grzechotki checkpoint before entering Poland.
Chickens roam the yard of a house in Żytkiejmy. It’s the closest home to the border here, which is just a few hundred meters away.
A group of friends from Białystok takes a cycling break in Gołdap, next to brine graduation towers that — under the influence of sun and wind — produce a microclimate with a high content of iodine, bromine, magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium and fluorine.
Vladimir Kolesnikov, 85, is a veteran of World War II, posing here near Vovchansk. At right, Igor and his trusty sidekick in the border village of Gremiach | All Ukraine photos by Michele Borzoni/Terra Project for POLITICO
At the Museum of Partisan Glory in the Spadschansky forest, abandoned busts and statues from the Soviet era.
Masha Merzlikina, left, brings flowers to a Kharkiv monument honoring fallen soldiers on Victory Day. At right, a border guard (and his canine companion) patrols the border near Zhuravlevka.
The border crossing checkpoint at Bachivsk.
A fence divides Ukraine and Russia near Zhuravlevka. In 2014, Ukraine announced that it would build a wall. Only 17 kilometers are currently fenced off, but the country plans to add 330 kilometers to that stretch.