The History of the Northern Frontier Delimitation (1822–1826) in the Light of the Russian and European Historiography: the Interpretation and Perceptual Problems

The article presents a historiographical review of the Russian and European studies on the delimitation history of the Northern Frontier of Russia and Sweden-Norway in the period from 1822 to 1826, gives the complex reconstruction of the decision-making process in the final stage of the delimitation project of the Russian-Norwegian border of 1825–1826. The belief in the existence of a long-term Norway strategy to expand to the East is dominated in the Russian historiography. Russian historians politicise the evaluation of the 1826 Delimitation Convention as well as their predecessors in the early 20th century, who considered the results of the delimitation as unfair. At the same time Norway traditionally treats the Delimitation Convention as a fair act of institutionalizing of the boundaries of the once common ownership. The reconstruction of the final stage of the negotiations between Saint Petersburg and Sweden-Norway in 1826, presented by the author, shows the key role of the Russian emperors in the decision-making process. Alexander I, guided by the "Neighbourhood Policy" with respect to Sweden-Norway, formulated the contradictory and unclear instructions to V.E. Galyamin, the Head of the Russian delegation of the joint demarcation commission. This predetermined the contradictory nature of the delimitation project prepared in 1825. Nicholas I inherited the border issue after his brother’s death, decided to follow the "Neighbourhood Policy" and made territorial concessions in favor of the united kingdoms, despite the much-criticised Galyamin – Spork project in the General Staff