Finland and Russia are old enemies, we cannot deny that. Fortunately, countries have nowadays other kinds of ties to each other. Now, many grassroots organisations are working together across the border. Oulanka National Park in Finland and Paanajärvi National Park in Russia have cooperated since the establishment of Paanajärvi NP in 1992. The National Parks are physically connected across the border by extensive taiga and a river that runs from Oulanka to Paanajärvi. They are also connected by shared history. For centuries the border between Finland and Russia in Paanajärvi area has shifted alternately eastward and westward. Before World War II, Paanajärvi belonged almost entirely to Finland. In the western end of Lake Paanajärvi, there was the busiest village of the region that was also the hub of tourism. Then the war started and wiped away the settlements. Paanajärvi area became wilderness where nature took back old pastures and fields. In recent years, Oulanka and Paanajärvi NPs have emphasised not just a shared nature but also a shared history and culture in order to remember the past – not with a grudge but with fondness and a learning spirit. When we officially opened the reconstructed buildings in Paanajärvi, we had with us two gentlemen, Mr. Eero Manninen and Mr. Pauli Hietala, that had lived in Paanajärvi area before the war. They were overjoyed that they could visit once again their old stomping grounds and reminisce of the old days with a hint of melancholy but without bitterness. We took Mr. Manninen also to see his parents’ grave that remained on the Russian side after the war. This was the last time he had a chance to see them. The gentlemen could have been bitter but they were not and gave us all an example how not to forget but to forgive. Nowadays cooperation between the NPs is very strong. The NPs support visits of schoolchildren to neighbouring country in order to teach them the meaning of cooperation and to give them a chance to learn about nature and life across the border. To maintain peace in the world today we need to forge relationships with our neighbours and transboundary cooperation is one great way to do that.