UDC

341.24+342.1+94+39

Authors

Karelin Vladimir Anatolyevich
Murmansk Institute of Economics – Branch of Saint-Petersburg University of Management and Economics
7 Khalatina St., Murmansk, 183031, Russian Federation;
e-mail: karelin_vladimir@mail.ru
Zaykov Konstantin Sergeevich
Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov
17 Nab. Severnoy Dviny, Arkhangelsk, 163002, Russian Federation;
e-mail: k.zaikov@narfu.ru

Abstract

The article is devoted to one of the most sensitive issues in the history of Russian-Norwegian border relations of the early 20th century, namely Sami servitudes, or Lapp fishing rights, in Norway. The issue arose after the delimitation of Russian-Norwegian common districts in 1826 and later after the adoption of border regulations stipulated in the additional protocol of 1834. This border delimitation and introduction of cross-border fishing rules destroyed the traditional system of nature management of the Russian Sami living around the Russian-Norwegian frontier and infringed their fishing rights in Norway. The authors explore the emergence and development of this issue both within Russia and in the framework of Russian-Norwegian relations in the early 20th century. The question of Sami easements changed the perception of the border convention of 1826 among the Russian elite and made the central government realize the injustice of the new borders to the residents of the Arkhangelsk province and formed prevailing revisionist opinions among the central authorities, which, however, could not be put into practice in the early 20th century due to the new geopolitical situation in the Arctic region. Norway’s becoming independent in 1905 and its asymmetrical perception of bilateral relations gave rise to excessive politicization of the issue of Sami easements in Norway and a desire to eliminate them. In order to appease the young Norwegian state, Russian central authorities had to give up both the re-delimitation of the border and protection of Sami fishing rights in Norway by selling them. This research is based on archival sources, the majority being used in an academic study for the first time.

Keywords

Paatsjoki River Sami, Sami easements, cross-border fishing, Russian-Norwegian border relations

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