The river boundary between Estonia and Russia remains unsettled amid political tensions
Google Maps and other popular navigation services could unintentionally send travelers into Russian territory, a senior Estonian border official has warned.
Estonia and Russia have long-running disagreements over their border, rooted in the collapse of the Russian Empire and sharpened by the Ukraine conflict.
In recent months, four accidental border crossings have been recorded among people boating near the water boundary, Regina Kukk, head of the Narva border station, told local media. Such violations can lead to fines of up to €600 ($700) and detention lasting several days, she said.
To avoid such problems, Estonia’s Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) recommends using the official Nutimeri navigation app or a dedicated GPS device.
“If you do not want trouble, choose another body of water,” Kukk said. “Of course, we cannot ban people [from taking risks]. For our part, we are doing everything we can to reduce the number of violations.”
A Bolshevik territorial time bomb
Estonia came under Russian rule in the early 18th century, after Sweden ceded large areas to members of the Russian-led coalition that defeated it in the 1700–1721 Northern War. When the Russian Empire collapsed amid World War I and the ensuing revolutionary upheaval, Estonia declared its independence. The Bolshevik government recognized the separation in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu.
Estonia joined the USSR in 1940 in a move Tallinn has condemned as the re-occupation of the country; according to Moscow, the Soviets had deemed it necessary amid the threat posed by Nazi Germany. Russia maintains that the move invalidated the 1920 treaty, while some Estonian politicians continue to dispute that position.
Under the old treaty, parts of what is now Russian territory were assigned to Estonia. An effort to finalize the modern border in 2005 collapsed after Tallinn added a reference to the Treaty of Tartu to the agreement, which Moscow said could create grounds for future territorial claims.
A revised border agreement was signed in 2014, but it was never ratified. In 2022, the nationalist EKRE party proposed withdrawing Estonia’s signature from the document, but the move failed to win parliamentary backing.
Ukraine conflict fuels buoy dispute
Tensions along the roughly 300 km border, a significant part of which runs through the Narva River, intensified in May 2024. The PPA accused Russian border guards of unilaterally removing around half of the 50 buoy markers Estonia had unilaterally placed in the river.
The markers are normally adjusted jointly every spring because the riverbed shifts over time. However, the deterioration of bilateral relations following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict has prevented the usual cooperation.
Then-Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who now serves as the EU’s foreign policy chief, accused Russia of targeting the buoys in order “to create fear and anxiety” in Estonia.
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