Stronger rubles lead to increased border traffic over Storskog

Kirkenes.Storskog.Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix

Traffic over Norway’s border post Storskog has risen sharply. But this time there are no asylum seekers coming, but Russians doing some border shopping.

“If this keeps up throughout the year in the same way as it has done so far, we will have seen 260,000 trips,” says the operative leader of the police at Storskog, Gøran Johansen Stenseth, to NRK.

He says it is the ruble exchange rate which is the main reason for the increase.

– When there is a rise in the rubel rate, there are more travelers coming to Norway. It’s natural, since they get more for their money, “says Stenseth.

Also the opening of a new and better road can be related to the increase.

Most that cross the border are Russians, but some Norwegians with border certificates are also part of the statistics.

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