Narva/Ivangorod

There is not much difference between Narva and Ivangorod, except for the fact that Narva is the third biggest city in Estonia, which is part of European Union, while Ivangorod is just a rural area in Leningradskaya oblast in Russia. In Soviet times they operated as a single town (even thought Ivangorod was oficially also a seperate town then) but today Ivangorod sinks into recession and survives only thanks to transit and contrabanda of alcohol and cigarettes. The first photos are from Narva, while the last six photos are from Ivangorod.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Lenin in Narva

In the Russian populated Narva, the city in Estonia near the border with Russia, Lenin has not been destroyed or vandalized like in many other Baltic cities, but only displaced. In the early 1990s from the central city square it moved to the nearby touristic Narva fortress, which makes it perhaps the best placed monument of Lenin in the Baltics.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Valka/Valga

Valka and Valga are twin towns that were separated by the Latvian and Estonian border until 2007 when both countries joined Schengen zone. Before it was almost like East/West Berlin. But even now both cities run independent life, except for the fact that people from Valka very often cross the border to shop in Valga because in Estonia VAT is lower than in Latvia.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus