Along the shores of the Neiden Fjord, in Norway’s northernmost county Finnmark, Nils Boine* gazes out across the water.
asserted
* → gaze → water
On the horizon, the Neiden River splits around the craggy island of Skogerøya, but lurking beneath its surface is a fisherman’s bounty: hundreds of king crabs.
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bounty → split → crabs
His grandmother was Sea Sámi, from an Indigenous coastal people whose homeland, Sápmi, stretches across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia’s heavily militarised Kola Peninsula.
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homeland → stretch → Peninsula
In Finnmark’s fjords, Sea Sámi families have fished for generations.
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families → fish → generations
But these waters are dissected by more than currents and shoals.
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waters → dissect → currents
Since Norway and Russia fixed their border in 1826, Sámi communities in the region have been divided by a national boundary.
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communities → fix → boundary
Most of the Sámi population lives in Norway, with roughly 2 percent residing in Russia.
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percent → live → Russia
The Sámi have established a cross-border lifestyle, supported by flexible policies, including a Norwegian-Russian agreement allowing visa-free travel for those living within 30km (18.5 miles) of the border.
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Sámi → establish → border
Security, however, has begun to tighten since the onset of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine.
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Security → begin → Ukraine
The West sees Finnmark as part of NATO’s exposed northern flank, as it is directly opposite Russia’s heavily armed Kola Peninsula.
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it → see → Peninsula
The Norwegian border town of Kirkenes has been caught in a spy war with Russia, with multiple Russian operatives having been caught posing as tourists and fishermen while trying to engage in espionage.
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operatives → catch → espionage
Now, border bureaucracy is a daily reality, and reindeer herding, language revitalisation and hunting traditions are increasingly being navigated through permits and regulations, making the wider Arctic infrastructure feel fractured.
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infrastructure → navigate → permits
“I have friends in Russia,” Boine says.
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Boine → have → Russia
“We used to go shopping in Russia, and go there for weekends.”
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We → use → weekends
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, those crossings have stopped — partly as a display of solidarity with Ukraine, and partly due to safety concerns.
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crossings → stop → concerns
“A local person was just arrested in Russia, so people are afraid to cross the border,” Boine explains.
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Boine → arrest → border
“The rumours say that he had some illegal things in his car, but he was arrested, and the [Ministry of] Foreign Affairs in Norway tried to do something, but it’s very difficult, of course, because we don’t have any diplomats in Russia.
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we → say → Russia
He is referring to the reported June arrest of a Kirkenes businessman.
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He → refer → businessman
Lawyer John Christian Elden told the daily newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) that the man was in custody for two months under alleged “possession of weapons or ammunition".
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man → tell → weapons
Some Kirkenes residents were left shaken by the news, as recreational hunting is common in the region.
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hunting → leave → region
They fear accidentally crossing the Russian border with forgotten hunting ammunition that might be left in their cars.
uncertain
that → fear → cars
The number of Russian tourists visiting Norway has also declined, from 250,000 in 2019 to 52,000 last year.
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number → visit → 52,000
“Before, we had Russian guests, but not now,” Boine says.
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Boine → have → guests
Fortunately for his family, who run a tourism company, 80 percent of customers come from Asia or Finland.
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percent → run → Asia
Their business has emerged relatively unscathed, but other companies have not been as lucky.
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companies → emerge → ?
“Shops in the area have lost a lot of income without Russian [tourists],” says Boine.
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Boine → lose → tourists
“Several shops have had to close.”
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shops → have → ?
In a landscape traditionally connected for centuries, the fragmentation of communities is deeply concerning for both the regional economy and Sámi culture.
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fragmentation → connect → economy
For Boine, the war in Ukraine has put his friendships with people in Russia on hold.
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war → put → hold
“They are afraid to do something wrong or write something wrong,” he says quietly.
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he → do → something
“You never know what might happen if they have too close contact,” he says.
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he → know → contact
“I want to be careful.”
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I → want → ?
German Henrik Hoffmann visited Kirkenes in 2021 and fell in love with its landscape and tight-knit community.
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Hoffmann → visit → landscape
Deciding to relocate permanently, the expat co-founded a tourism company, Kirkenes Tours, and began working with Sámi herders and on hiking trails along the Norwegian-Russian border.
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expat → decide → border
“I was nervous the first time,” Hoffmann admits.
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Hoffmann → admit → ?
“I kept checking my maps to make sure I hadn’t accidentally crossed [the border].”
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I → keep → border
Distracted hikers can easily step over the border by mistake, as the frontier is only marked by posts and forest clearings.
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frontier → step → posts
Hoffmann takes tourists along these trails, teaching them about the border’s history and its strict rules, including heavy fines for touching a Russian marker.
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Hoffmann → take → marker
In June 2026, three Swedish tourists were reportedly each fined 8,000 Norwegian kroner ($830) for throwing stones across the border.
uncertain
tourists → fin → border
The terrain looks desolate, peppered with granite rocks and scattered birch trees, but it is well-surveilled.
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it → look → rocks
…and 104 more, not listed.
The Aporia
