When you talk in terms of sheer land mass, Russia is the largest country in the world and as such, there are many other countries that share a border here. While many of these formed part of the former Soviet Union, there are other neighbours that bring a vast range of cultures to the borderline.
The List
The full list of countries that share a border with Russia is as follows,
China, Finland, North Korea, Norway, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Estonia.
From that list, seven countries formed part of the USSR and as such, there are many similarities between them and Russia.
Russians might also consider Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be countries on their border – both were recognised as independent countries by Russia following its brief 2008 war with Georgia.
Belarus
Belarus is fairly typical of the countries near Russia but perhaps out of all of them, it has largely remained true to its communist roots.
The Belarusian economy is run largely on Communist grounds and for visitors wanting to see a slice of the old Soviet Union, this tends to be the place where they come. Belarus is also typical of many former USSR countries in that its people speak the native language – Belarusian – as well as Russian. Conversely, very little English is spoken across the country.
Latvia
By way of complete contrast, Latvia is perhaps the one country that has opened its doors to embrace western ways.
Sadly for many, Latvia and its capital Riga has become something of a destination for stag and hen parties and as a result, western chain stores and bars have opened up to accommodate this new breed of traveller.
The end product is a curious mix of a party culture set against a backdrop of stark architecture from the communist period. Latvia is indeed a rather odd country these days.
China
It may surprise many people to learn that relations between China and Russia have improved considerably since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The two countries share an immensely large land border and were silently hostile prior to 1991. Since then however, the two have signed a treaty of friendship or, to give it its full title, the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation which was signed in 2001.
This treaty, which was signed by Vladimir Putin and Jiang Zemin outlines a programme of peaceful relations and economic co-operation between the two. For casual observers outside of the countries, this may be an unexpected gesture of goodwill.
Scandinavia
Overall, with the exception of North Korea, relations between Russia and its neighbouring countries are far more peaceful these days and Scandinavia and Finland in particular is a fine example of this period of enlightenment.
Diplomatic relations are good and Finland imports a fair amount of Russian goods. Overall, this is a typical illustration of relations with the countries near Russia at the present time.
While many countries on the Russian border are very similar, others bring a host of different cultures and the good news is that movement across the border is relatively easy these days so there is no better time to go and explore.
