Russia, the largest country in the world by area, has international land borders with fourteen sovereign states[1] as well as 2 narrow maritime boundaries with the United States and Japan. There are also two breakaway states bordering Russia, namely Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The country has an internationally recognized land border running 22,407 kilometres (13,923 mi) in total,[1] and has the second-longest land border of any country in the world, after China (22,457 kilometres (13,954 mi)[2]). The borders of the Russian Federation (formerly the Russian SFSR) were mostly drawn since 1956 (save for minor border changes, e.g., with China), and have remained the same after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in a move that remains internationally unrecognized.
As a transcontinental country in Eurasia, Russia shares borders in both Europe and Asia. Out of the 18 total land borders and maritime boundaries, 12 are in Europe. These countries are Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, North Korea and sea borders with Japan, Turkey and the United States of America
Overview
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Russia shares land borders with 14 countries owing to its large expanse, tied with China in being more than any other state in the world, but there are sea boundaries with two more countries.
Internationally recognized
editApproximately from West to East:
| Country | Land | Sea | More information |
|---|---|---|---|
 Norway |
195.8 km (121.7 mi) | 23.3 km (14.5 mi) | Norway–Russia border |
 Finland |
1,271.8 km (790.3 mi) | 54.0 km (33.6 mi) | Finland–Russia border |
 Estonia |
324.8 km (201.8 mi) | 142.0 km (88.2 mi) | Estonia–Russia border (border treaty not ratified) |
 Latvia |
270.5 km (168.1 mi) | none | Latvia–Russia border |
 Lithuania |
266.0 km (165.3 mi) | 22.4 km (13.9 mi) | Lithuania–Russia border |
 Poland |
204.1 km (126.8 mi) | 32.2 km (20.0 mi) | Poland–Russia border |
 Belarus |
1,239.0 km (769.9 mi) | none | Belarus–Russia border |
 Ukraine |
1,974.04 km (1,226.61 mi) | 321 km (199 mi) | Russia–Ukraine border |
 Georgia |
894 km (556 mi) | none | Georgia–Russia border |
 Azerbaijan |
327.6 km (203.6 mi) | 22.4 km (13.9 mi) | Azerbaijan–Russia border |
 Kazakhstan |
7,512.8 km (4,668.2 mi) | 85.8 km (53.3 mi) | Kazakhstan–Russia border |
 Mongolia |
3,485.0 km (2,165.5 mi) | none | Mongolia–Russia border |
 China |
4,209.3 km (2,615.5 mi) | none | China–Russia border |
 North Korea South Korea |
17.3 km (10.7 mi) | 22.1 km (13.7 mi) | North Korea–Russia border Border claimed by the Republic of Korea |
 Japan (Russian and international claim) |
none | 194.3 km (120.7 mi) | |
| Japan (Japanese claim) |
none | ? | |
 United States |
none | 49.0 km (30.4 mi) | USSR–USA Maritime Boundary Agreement |
Partially recognized
edit| Country | Land | Sea | Notes | More information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Abkhazia |
255.4 km (158.7 mi) | 22.4 km (13.9 mi) | The political status of Abkhazia is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Georgia in 1992, Abkhazia is formally recognised as an independent state by 5 UN member states (two other states previously recognised it but then withdrew their recognition), while the remainder of the international community recognizes it as de jure Georgian territory. Georgia continues to claim the area as its own territory, designating it as Russian-occupied territory. | Abkhazia–Russia border |
 South Ossetia |
70 km (43 mi) | none | South Ossetia's status is disputed. It considers itself to be an independent state, but this is recognised by only a few other countries. The Georgian government and most of the world's other states consider South Ossetia de jure a part of Georgia's territory. | South Ossetia–Russia border |
Border details
editBelow is a list of subjects with both neighbouring regions of Russia with them, and in the neighbouring regions of foreign countries.
Northwestern Federal District
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- Russia
- Finland
- Russia
- Russia
- Russia
Volga Federal District
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Southern Federal District
editNorth Caucasian Federal District
editUral Federal District
editSiberian Federal District
edit- Russia
- Kazakhstan
- China
- Mongolia
- Russia
- Mongolia
- Russia
- Mongolia
- Russia
- Kazakhstan
- Russia
- Mongolia
- China
- Russia
Far Eastern Federal District
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Crimea
editThe status of the Crimea and of the city of Sevastopol is currently under dispute between Russia and Ukraine; Ukraine and the majority of the international community consider the Crimea to be an autonomous republic of Ukraine and Sevastopol to be one of Ukraine's cities with special status, while Russia, on the other hand, considers the Crimea to be a federal subject of Russia and Sevastopol to be one of Russia's three federal cities since the March 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia.[3][4]
In 2022, Russia declared the annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, which remains internationally unrecognized.[5]
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Russia
See also
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Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Russia". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ "China", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 12 October 2022, retrieved 14 October 2022
- ^ Gutterman, Steve (18 March 2014). "Putin signs Crimea treaty, will not seize other Ukraine regions". Reuters.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ "Ukraine crisis: Timeline". BBC News. 13 November 2014.
- ^ "Russia's Federation Council ratifies annexation of four Ukrainian regions". Reuters. 4 October 2022.
External links
edit- Федеральное агентство по обустройству государственной границы Российской Федерации (Росграница)/ The Federal Agency for the Development of the State Border Facilities of the Russian Federation (Rosgranitsa) – official site of the government agency responsible for Russia's international borders
