Estonian–Russian territorial dispute

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Estonia and Russia have long disputed their border. After the Soviet Union collapsed, Estonia hoped to regain about 2,000 square kilometers of land annexed in 1945. This land, with a Russian-speaking majority, had been part of the borders agreed in the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty between Estonia and Soviet Russia. The Russian government under Boris Yeltsin later said the Soviet acts were not Russia’s responsibility.

Estonia’s borders were originally drawn by the 1920 treaty. During World War II, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union, then briefly by Nazi Germany, and finally re-occupied by the Soviet Union until 1991. After Estonia became independent again, negotiators reached a border framework in 1996 that largely kept the boundary near the Stalin-era line, with some small changes. A land border treaty and a maritime delimitation treaty were initialed in 1999 and signed in 2005, but Russia later said it would not participate in those border treaties.

Negotiations were reopened in 2012, and a new treaty was signed in 2014. Ratification has been pending in both countries, with some Estonian lawmakers opposing it, arguing it contradicts the 1920 treaty and that Soviet-era decisions should not stand. A political party in Estonia has urged claims to areas in the east, including Petseri and Jaanilinn.

In 2024, Russia removed buoys from the Narva River and pressed for ratification of the 2014 treaty, which Estonia rejected. As of 2025, Estonia continues to regard Petseri and Jaanilinn as part of Estonia, and views the border as a temporary control line.