A Fluid Iron Curtain. Norwegian–Soviet Hydropower Cooperation in the Pasvik Valley, 1955–1965

The Pasvik River shapes the greater part of the border between Russia and Norway. This
body of water was a site of Norwegian–Soviet energy cooperation from the 1950s until
the late 1970s. Norwegian firms constructed four hydropower stations in a strategically
sensitive area. Drawing on Soviet and Norwegian archival materials, this study analysed
the heterogeneous interests and negotiation processes that resulted in long-term hydropower cooperation.
The powerhouses were designed to produce both electrical and political energies for
transfer across the border. These infrastructural projects fit into the contemporary
narrative of peaceful coexistence and prompted a firm cooperation between the two
countries. Norwegian workers built power plants on Soviet soil, thereby legitimizing
the Norwegian social democrats’ policy of rapprochement. The Soviet government and
media portrayed the construction as physical proof of good neighbourly relations. Not
only state actors but also members of the Norwegian–Soviet Friendship Society aimed to
appropriate the powerhouses for their specific goals. They worked to soften the border
regime between the two countries, thus initiating a locally limited visa-free entry zone.
However, this project was short-lived because Norwegian–Soviet cooperation at the border was restricted to the realm of energy production.