The Saatse Boot

I have to confess that I was a little bit nervous and also thrilled when I drove through this piece of Russian land.  And, admittedly, I waited until a car was coming out of this boot, towards me, so I felt safe not being trapped there.

The Saatse Boot sits at the border between Estonia and Russia, is Russian territory and protrudes into Estonia. You can cross this boot on the road No 178, and when you do that, you will for a length of about 1 km crossing through Russian territory, without any formalities. You can only do this by car - pedestrians are not allowed- and you are not allowed to stop.

The Saatse boot itself is very unassuming, you cross a forest, and you won’t see any Russian traces except the border markers.

A few km further away you can also cross Russia again by a length of 30m. Around this triangular protrusion however a bypass is available, such that the people of the Estonian village of Lutepää that is situated between these 2 Russian spots can avoid Russia - should need arise.

If you want to know more about this boot and its history, google will guide you.