
Dutch map of Finnmark (1660), showing the border between Sweden and Russia.
Treaty of Novgorod, signed on
June 3,
1326 in
Novgorod, marked the end of decades of the Norwegian-Novgorodian border skirmishes in the far-northern region called
Finnmark. The terms were an armistice for 40 years. A few years earlier,
Republic of Novgorod had settled its conflict with
Sweden in the
Treaty of Nöteborg.
The treaty did not delineate the border but rather stipulated which part of the
Sami people would pay tribute to Norway and which to Novgorod, creating a kind of buffer zone in between the countries. The treaty remained in effect until the 19th century and was never abrogated by any of the powers. It eventually led into a situation where Sami people were freely exploited, some of them forced to pay taxes to all surrounding powers at the same time, including to the
Birkarls from Swedish Finland.