was put on them again, making the need for a successor of the Fur Seal Convention
ever more necessary. We will turn to this successor below.
6.3.2 The 1922 Regimes Between Finland and the Soviet Union
The year 1922 was an important year for bilateral relations between Finland and
Russia (the Soviet Union).
6 We must remember that Finland only gained independence in 1917 while in 1922 the Soviet Union was established. A key treaty in this
regard was the Treaty of Tartu
7 of 1920, the post World War I peace treaty between
Finland and Russia, manifesting the borders between of both countries, which would
last until the Second World War, and which would tighten bilateral cooperation. On
the one hand, the borders of Finland and Russia of that time differ from the
contemporary borders in that sense as the Arctic region of Petsamo—now part of
Russia—was part of Finland, which therefore had access to the Arctic Ocean. On the
other hand, Lake Ladoga in the South saw the border between both countries, but
now belongs fully to Russia. After all, the borders of Finland at that time
corresponded to those of the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire.
The Treaty of Tartu established that both countries were to give unrestricted
access to their respective waterways. This means that also the waters of the Petsamo
region, the Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean), as well as Lake Ladoga saw Russian and
Finnish fishers actively fishing in the other country’s hegemonic waters. The seal
hunts were equally subject to this agreement. In the Barents Sea, seal hunts had been
going on for several hundred years, particularly as part of the so-called Pomor Trade,
a trade that had been established in the seventeenth century along the northernmost
coasts of Norway, Finland and north-western Russia. The indigenous Sámi were
main providers for marine resources within the trade system. But also within the
White Sea, Norwegian and Russian hunts for seal provided important produce for
the Pomor Trade, which followed local and regional needs, making it resilient
towards political and economic turmoil. However, upon the turn of the nineteenth
to twentieth centuries, the Pomor Trade had already declined significantly and was
almost non-existent anymore. Nevertheless, the spirit of cooperation also pervaded
the Finnish-Russian agreements that would regulate fishing and sealing.
The first 1922 agreement was the Agreement between Finland and Russia on
Fishing and Sealing Operations in the Territorial Waters of both Countries in the
Northern Arctic Ocean.
8 The agreement followed the spirit of the Treaty of Tartu and
enabled access to fishing and sealing grounds for both Finnish and Russian citizens.
6 Sellheim (2016a).
7 Peace Treaty between the Republic of Finland and the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic,
14 October 1920.
8 Suomen ja Venäjän välinen sopimus kalastuksen ja hylkeenpyynnin harjoittamisesta molempien
maiden aluevesillä Pohjoisella Jäämerellä [Agreement between Finland and Russia on fishing and
sealing operations in the waters of both countries in the Northern Arctic Ocean], 21 October 1922.
6.3 The First Half of the Twentieth Century
133
ever more necessary. We will turn to this successor below.
6.3.2 The 1922 Regimes Between Finland and the Soviet Union
The year 1922 was an important year for bilateral relations between Finland and
Russia (the Soviet Union).
6 We must remember that Finland only gained independence in 1917 while in 1922 the Soviet Union was established. A key treaty in this
regard was the Treaty of Tartu
7 of 1920, the post World War I peace treaty between
Finland and Russia, manifesting the borders between of both countries, which would
last until the Second World War, and which would tighten bilateral cooperation. On
the one hand, the borders of Finland and Russia of that time differ from the
contemporary borders in that sense as the Arctic region of Petsamo—now part of
Russia—was part of Finland, which therefore had access to the Arctic Ocean. On the
other hand, Lake Ladoga in the South saw the border between both countries, but
now belongs fully to Russia. After all, the borders of Finland at that time
corresponded to those of the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire.
The Treaty of Tartu established that both countries were to give unrestricted
access to their respective waterways. This means that also the waters of the Petsamo
region, the Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean), as well as Lake Ladoga saw Russian and
Finnish fishers actively fishing in the other country’s hegemonic waters. The seal
hunts were equally subject to this agreement. In the Barents Sea, seal hunts had been
going on for several hundred years, particularly as part of the so-called Pomor Trade,
a trade that had been established in the seventeenth century along the northernmost
coasts of Norway, Finland and north-western Russia. The indigenous Sámi were
main providers for marine resources within the trade system. But also within the
White Sea, Norwegian and Russian hunts for seal provided important produce for
the Pomor Trade, which followed local and regional needs, making it resilient
towards political and economic turmoil. However, upon the turn of the nineteenth
to twentieth centuries, the Pomor Trade had already declined significantly and was
almost non-existent anymore. Nevertheless, the spirit of cooperation also pervaded
the Finnish-Russian agreements that would regulate fishing and sealing.
The first 1922 agreement was the Agreement between Finland and Russia on
Fishing and Sealing Operations in the Territorial Waters of both Countries in the
Northern Arctic Ocean.
8 The agreement followed the spirit of the Treaty of Tartu and
enabled access to fishing and sealing grounds for both Finnish and Russian citizens.
6 Sellheim (2016a).
7 Peace Treaty between the Republic of Finland and the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic,
14 October 1920.
8 Suomen ja Venäjän välinen sopimus kalastuksen ja hylkeenpyynnin harjoittamisesta molempien
maiden aluevesillä Pohjoisella Jäämerellä [Agreement between Finland and Russia on fishing and
sealing operations in the waters of both countries in the Northern Arctic Ocean], 21 October 1922.
6.3 The First Half of the Twentieth Century
133