The Barents Region is a name given, by political ambition to establish international cooperation after the fall of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, to the land along the coast of the Barents Sea

Barents Sea

The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...

, from Nordland

Nordland

is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...

 in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 to the Kola Peninsula

Kola Peninsula

The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...

 in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and beyond all the way to the Ural Mountains

Ural Mountains

The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...

 and Novaya Zemlya

Novaya Zemlya

Novaya Zemlya , also known in Dutch as Nova Zembla and in Norwegian as , is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the north of Russia and the extreme northeast of Europe, the easternmost point of Europe lying at Cape Flissingsky on the northern island...

, and south to the Gulf of Bothnia

Gulf of Bothnia

The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...

 of the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 and the great lakes Ladoga

Lake Ladoga

Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...

 and Onega

Lake Onega

Lake Onega is a lake in the north-west European part of Russia, located on the territory of Republic of Karelia, Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast. It belongs to the basin of Baltic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and is the second largest lake in Europe after Lake Ladoga...

. Among the projects is the Barents Road from Bodø

Bodø

is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...

 in Norway through Haparanda

Haparanda

Haparanda is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 4,778 inhabitants in 2005. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland...

 in Sweden and Finland to Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

 in Russia. One concrete sign of the increased communication within the region is the establishment in 2006 of an IKEA

IKEA

IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...

 warehouse in Haparanda, targeting customers 500 km away in Murmansk and northern Norway. The region has six million inhabitants on 1.75 million km², with three quarters of both belonging to Russia.

The regional cooperation was formally opened on January 11, 1993, initiated by Norway under foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg

Thorvald Stoltenberg

Thorvald Stoltenberg is a former Norwegian politician. His ancestors stem from Northern Germany and emigrated to Norway in the 17th century. He served as Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs in two Labour governments.From 1989 to 1990 he was appointed Norwegian Ambassador to the UN...

. It includes the administrative regions Nordland

Nordland

is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...

, Troms

Troms

or Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...

, Finnmark

Finnmark

or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...

 in Norway, Västerbotten County

Västerbotten County

Västerbotten County is a county or län in the north of Sweden. It borders the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the Gulf of Bothnia.- Provinces :...

, Norrbotten County

Norrbotten County

Norrbotten County is the northernmost county or län of Sweden. It borders Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf of Bothnia to the southeast. It also borders the counties of Nordland and Troms in Norway to the northwest, and Lapland Province in Finland to the northeast.The name...

 in Sweden, Lapland Province, Northern Ostrobothnia

Northern Ostrobothnia

Northern Ostrobothnia is a region of Finland. It borders to the regions Lapland, Kainuu, Northern Savonia, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia.- Municipalities :Main article: Municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia...

, Kainuu

Kainuu

Kainuu is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Northern Ostrobothnia, North Karelia and Northern Savonia. In the east it also borders Russia. Kainuu is known in the ancient Norse sagas as Kvenland....

 in Finland, and Murmansk Oblast

Murmansk Oblast

Murmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the northwestern part of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Murmansk.-Geography:...

, Arkhangelsk Oblast

Arkhangelsk Oblast

Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....

, Komi Republic

Komi Republic

The Komi Republic is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain...

, Republic of Karelia

Republic of Karelia

The Republic of Karelia is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is located in the northwestern part of Russia, taking intervening position between the basins of White and Baltic seas...

, Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a federal subject of Russia .It has an area of 176,700 km2 and population of 42,628 as of the preliminary results of the 2010 Census , 21,296 of whom live in Naryan-Mar, the administrative center.-Geography and ecology:The arctic ecology of this...

 in Russia. The four countries take turns at chairing the cooperation. Norway's participation is coordinated from a the Norwegian Barents Secretariat

Norwegian Barents Secretariat

The Norwegian Barents Secretariat aims at developing the Norwegian-Russian relations in the north by promoting and funding Norwegian-Russian cooperation projects. On behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Secretariat grant funds to bilateral Norwegian-Russian cooperation projects...

 in Kirkenes

Kirkenes

is a town in the municipality of Sør-Varanger in the county of Finnmark in the far northeast of Norway...

. Sweden's and Finland's participation is administrated from the county administrations in Umeå

Umeå

- Transport :The road infrastructure in Umeå is well-developed, with two European highways passing through the city. About 4 km from the city centre is the Umeå City Airport...

 (Västerbotten) and Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...

 (Lapland). In January 2008 there was established an International Barents Secretariat which is to provide technical support for the multilateral coordinated activities within the framework of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and the Barents Regional Council. This Secretariat is located in Kirkenes in the same building as the Norwegian Barents Secretariat

Norwegian Barents Secretariat

The Norwegian Barents Secretariat aims at developing the Norwegian-Russian relations in the north by promoting and funding Norwegian-Russian cooperation projects. On behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Secretariat grant funds to bilateral Norwegian-Russian cooperation projects...

.

See also

• Lapland (region)
  Lapland (region)
  Lapland is a region in northern Fennoscandia, largely within the Arctic Circle. It streches across Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula . On the North it is bounded by the Barents Sea, on the West by the Norwegian Sea and on the East by the White Sea...
  
  
• Sápmi (area)
• Northern Dimension
  Northern Dimension
  The Northern dimension is an initiative in the European Union regarding the cross-border and external policies covering Nordic countries, Baltic states and Russia...
  
  
• Thule
  Thule
  Thule Greek: Θούλη, Thoulē), also spelled Thula, Thila, or Thyïlea, is, in classical European literature and maps, a region in the far north. Though often considered to be an island in antiquity, modern interpretations of what was meant by Thule often identify it as Norway. Other interpretations...
  
  
• Circumpolar arctic
• Pomors
  Pomors
  Pomors or Pomory are Russian settlers and their descendants on the White Sea coast. It is also term of self-identification for the descendants of Russian, primarily Novgorod, settlers of Pomorye , living on the White Sea coasts and the territory whose southern border lies on a watershed which...
  
  

External links

• BEAC.st The Barents Euro-Arctic Council's official web-site.
• Barents.no The Norwegian Barents Secretariat
  Norwegian Barents Secretariat
  The Norwegian Barents Secretariat aims at developing the Norwegian-Russian relations in the north by promoting and funding Norwegian-Russian cooperation projects. On behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Secretariat grant funds to bilateral Norwegian-Russian cooperation projects...
  
  's official web-site.
• BarentsObserver.com News about the Barents Region presented in English and Russian.
• hibiny.ru Info server, Murmansk region
• Barents Information Service (Finnish, Norwegian, Russian and Swedish cooperative project to build a portal for the Barents region. Funded by the European Union Kolartic Interreg program.)
• Barents Road, official website
• Barents.com Developing the Barents Region
• Northern Experiments, Book on the Barents Region