The modern Poland–Russia border is a nearly straight-line division between the Republic of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

) and the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(a CIS member)

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administr ...

, a region not connected to the Russian mainland. It is long. The current location and length of the border was decided in the

aftermath of World War II The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...

. In 2004, it became part of the boundary of the European Union and the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

History

The history of the border between Poland and Russia can be traced to the early history of both nations, with one of the earliest notable incidents being the Polish king Boleslaw I's intervention in the Kievan succession crisis, 1018. Following the formation of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

, Poland's eastern border, most of it with the

Tsardom of Muscovy The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I in ...

(later, the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

), stretched from the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

in the north to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

in the south. During the period of

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, which shifted the Russian borders some west, several small Polish statelets such as the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

and the

Congress Kingdom Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It wa ...

shared a border with the Russian Empire. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the new

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

shared a border with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(USSR), shaped during the Polish-Soviet War, and confirmed at the

Treaty of Riga The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet War. ...

at the line

Dzisna Dzisna ( be, Дзісна, russian: Дисна, lt, Dysna, pl, Dzisna) is a town in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus. It is located on the left bank of the Daugava River, near the confluence of Dysna. It has 1,500 inhabitants (2017 estimate) wh ...

Dokshytsy , , image_caption = In the center of town , image_flag = Flag of Dokšycy and Dokšycy Rajon.svg , flag_alt = , image_seal = , seal_alt = , image_shield = Coat of ...

- Słucz-

Korets Korets (, russian: link=no, Корец, , yi, קאריץ ''Koritz'') is a city in Rivne Oblast in Ukraine. The city is located on the Korchyk river, 66 kilometers to the east of Rivne. It is administrative center of Korets Raion. Population: ...

Ostroh Ostroh ( uk, Остро́г; pl, Ostróg) is a historic city located in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine, on the Horyn River. Ostroh is the administrative center of the Ostroh Raion (district). Administratively, Ostroh is incorporated ...

Zbrucz The Zbruch ( uk, Збруч, pl, Zbrucz) is a river in Western Ukraine, a left tributary of the Dniester.Збруч
...

. That border was long. tp://mapy.ziomal.org/mapy/mapy_inne/atlasy/1928_Romer%20-%20Atlas%20Polski%20wspolczesnej,/02.Okladka_przod_b.jpg ''Polska w cyfrach'' n: tp://mapy.ziomal.org/mapy/mapy_inne/atlasy/1928_Romer%20-%20Atlas%20Polski%20wspolczesnej,/ E. Romer ''Atlas Polski wspolczesnej'', 1928/ref> Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the new border (see

territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War II At the end of World War II, Poland underwent major changes to the location of its international border. In 1945, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Oder–Neisse line became its western border, resulting in gaining the Recovered Territories f ...

) was drawn between the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

and the USSR. The new Polish-Soviet border was long at first, and subject to a minor modification in the

1951 Polish–Soviet territorial exchange Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United K ...

, which reduced the border length to .

Modern border

The modern border between Poland and Russia is regulated by a number of legal documents, many of them dating to the times of the

and the

, including the Border Agreement between Poland and the USSR of 16 August 1945.Janusz Szymańskii. Chapter ''Relacje traktatowe z Rosją po przystąpieniu Polski do UE''. In ''PRZYJAZNA GRANICA NIEZBĘDNYM ELEMENTEM WZMACNIANIA STOSUNKÓW SPOŁECZEŃSTW POLSKI I ROSJI'', Wydział Prawa Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku, 2011. Accessed on 11 September 2012

The newly defined Soviet-Polish border included system of various engineered protection facilities up to a few kilometres wide such as ploughed strips of earth and no-man zone. While the actual border line remained unchanged following the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, fall of the Soviet Union, the breakdown of the Soviet Union into a number of

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

transformed the Poland-Soviet Union border into a Poland-Russia, Poland–Lithuania, Poland-Belarus and Poland-Ukraine border. The Poland–Russia borders were confirmed in a Polish-Russian treaty of 1992 (ratified in 1993). The Poland–Russia border is that between Poland and the

Kaliningrad oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administr ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, which is an

, unconnected to the rest of Russia. The border is 232 km long. For most of this length, the Polish side is in the

Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship or Warmia-Masuria Province or Warmia-Mazury Province (in pl, Województwo warmińsko-mazurskie, is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn. The voivodeship has an are ...

; the extreme east is in the

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...

, and the westernmost segment (on the

Vistula Spit The Vistula Spit ( pl, Mierzeja Wiślana; russian: Балтийская коса; german: Frische Nehrung) is an aeolian sand spit, or peninsular stretch of land that separates Vistula Lagoon from Gdańsk Bay, in the Baltic Sea, with its tip sepa ...

) in the

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province (Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The ...

.''Mały Rocznik Statystyczny Polski 2012'', Główny Urząd Statystyczny, 2012. Accessed on 11 September 2012

/ref> 210 km of the border is land and 22 km is sea. The official demarcation of the boundary was finalized March 5, 1957, in the following terms: Powiat gołdapski Granica Polska-Rosja 001

Powiat gołdapski Granica Polska-Rosja 001

When Poland and the European Union, Poland joined the European Union in 2004, this border became one of the borders between the

and the non-EU countries.Tomasz Dubowski. Chapter ''Granica polsko–rosyjska jako granica zewnętrzna Unii Europejskiej''. In ''PRZYJAZNA GRANICA NIEZBĘDNYM ELEMENTEM WZMACNIANIA STOSUNKÓW SPOŁECZEŃSTW POLSKI I ROSJI'', Wydział Prawa Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku, 2011. Accessed on 11 September 2012

It is one of the five borders that Russia shares with the EU (see

Border of the European Union The border of the European Union consists of the land and sea borders that member states of the EU share with foreign states adjacent to the union. Border status and cooperation In 2004 the European Union developed the European Neighbourhood Po ...

). As of 2008, there were three road crossings (Gołdap- Gusev,

Bezledy Bezledy (german: Beisleiden) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Bartoszyce, within Bartoszyce County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It lies approxima ...

Bagrationovsk Bagrationovsk (russian: Багратио́новск; german: Preußisch Eylau; pl, Pruska Iława or '; lt, Ylava or ') is a town and the administrative center of Bagrationovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located close to the borde ...

and Gronowo-

Mamonovo Mamonovo (russian: Мамоново), prior to 1945 known by its German name Heiligenbeil ( pl, Święta Siekierka or ''Świętomiejsce''; lt, Šventpilis; Prussian: ''Swintamīstan''), is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Population figures ...

) and three train crossing (

Braniewo Braniewo () (german: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, la, Brunsberga, Old Prussian: ''Brus'', lt, Prūsa), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of ...

-Mamonovo,

Skandawa Skandawa is a village in northern Poland, in the administrative district of Gmina Barciany, Kętrzyn County, and the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It lies north-west of Barciany, north-north-west of Kętrzyn, and north-east of the regional cap ...

- Zheleznodorozhny and Głomno-Bagrationovsk). In 2010, the largest road crossing up to that point was opened at

Grzechotki Grzechotki (german: Rehfeld) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Braniewo, within Braniewo County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It lies approximatel ...

-Mamonovo. More crossings are being built ( Perły-Krylovo, Piaski-

Baltiysk Baltiysk (russian: Балти́йск; german: Pillau; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; pl, Piława; lt, Piliava; Yiddish: פּילאַווע, ''Pilave'') is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Ru ...

, Rapa- Ozyorsk), as the EU standards require Poland to operate at least seven for that border. In the first quarter of 2012, the Polish-Russian border saw the least traffic out of the borders Poland shares with the non-

countries (the others being the Poland-Ukraine border and the Poland-Belarus border).''Badanie obrotu towarów i usług na zewnętrznej granicy Unii Europejskiej na terenie Polski w I kwartale 2012 roku'', GŁÓWNY URZĄD STATYSTYCZNY URZĄD STATYSTYCZNY W RZESZOWIE, Warszawa-Rzeszów, 23 maja 2012 r.. Accessed 11 September 2011

For that period, a majority of the individuals crossing the borders did so for the explicit purpose of short term (usually under one day) shopping; this was the case with 45% of foreigners entering Poland, and 87% of Poles entering Russia. Compared to traffic on other non-EU Polish borders, a much larger percentage (22% foreigners and 7% Poles) crossed the borders for the purpose of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and

transit Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

(16.5% foreigners). On November 2, 2022,

's Minister of National Defence

Mariusz Błaszczak Mariusz Błaszczak (born 19 September 1969, in Legionowo) is a Polish politician, historian, and local government representative. Since 9 January 2018, Blaszczak has been the Minister of National Defence of Poland. On 22 June 2022 Presiden ...

announces the construction of a barrier along the border with the

n exclave of

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

, as Poland believes that Russia will use the border to illegally transport

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n immigrants to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. This barrier is planned to reach high, and include cameras and motion detectors. The move to construct the barrier came in response to Kaliningrad allowing from 1 October for a far greater level of international flights to its airport.

Border area

Because Kaliningrad Oblast is small, homogeneous and an

within the European Union, in 2011 the whole Oblast was granted the status of

border area The border area is the area immediately adjacent to the border of a country. In addition to the informal definition, a border area may have a legal definition and delineation, both domestically and due to bilateral agreements. Reasons for legal d ...

eligible to

local border traffic Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

rules. In reciprocity, the following Polish administrative districts (

powiat A ''powiat'' (pronounced ; Polish plural: ''powiaty'') is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture ( LAU-1, formerly NUTS-4) in other countries. The term "''powia ...

y) were granted the same status: * in the

: Puck,

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

city and

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Nowy Dwór Gdański Nowy Dwor Gdanski (; ; formerly german: Tiegenhof) is a town in Poland on the Tuja (river), Tuja river in the Żuławy Wiślane region, capital of Nowy Dwór Gdański County, located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, with 10,171 inhabitants (2012). Hist ...

Malbork Malbork; ; * la, Mariaeburgum, ''Mariae castrum'', ''Marianopolis'', ''Civitas Beatae Virginis'' * Kashubian: ''Malbórg'' * Old Prussian: ''Algemin'' is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is the seat of Malbork County and has a ...

* in the

Elbląg Elbląg (; german: Elbing, Old Prussian: ''Elbings'') is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 117,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. ...

city and

Lidzbark Lidzbark (german: Lautenburg) is a town with 8,670 inhabitants in the Warmia-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland. It is located on the Wel river and Lake Lidzbark. The postal code for the entire area is 13-230. The town is popularly referred to as L ...

Bartoszyce Bartoszyce (pronounced , german: Bartenstein, ; lt, Barštynas) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geog ...

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

city and

Kętrzyn Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; german: link=yes, Rastenburg ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), Kętrzyn was previously in Olsztyn Voivodeship (197 ...

Mrągowo Mrągowo (until 1947 pl, Ządźbork ; ) is a resort town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship of northeastern Poland, with 21,889 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Mrągowo County and the seat (though not part of) the Gmina Mrągowo. Th ...

Węgorzewo Węgorzewo (until 1946 pl, Węgobork; german: Angerburg, lt, Ungura) is a tourist town on the Angrapa River in northeastern Poland, within the historical region of Masuria. It is the seat of Węgorzewo County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeshi ...

Giżycko Giżycko (former pl, Lec or ''Łuczany''; ; lt, Leičių pilis) is a town in northeastern Poland with 28,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated between Lake Kisajno and Lake Niegocin in the region of Masuria, and has been within ...

Gołdap Gołdap ( or variant ''Goldapp''; lt, Geldupė, Geldapė, Galdapė) is a town in northeastern Poland, in the region of Masuria, seat of Gołdap County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is located on the Gołdapa River, between the Szeskie ...

Olecko Olecko (former since 1560, colloquially also , since 1928, lt, Alėcka) is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, located in Masuria near Ełk and Suwałki. It is situated at the mouth of the Lega river which flow ...

The border traffic is very high, and additional border crossings are being considered as of 2013.

Border crossings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poland-Russia border Kaliningrad Oblast European Union external borders Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Borders of Poland Borders of Russia International borders

History

Modern border

Border area

Border crossings

See also

References