“I want to see my grandmother”: Russian-speaking residents of Finland demand the opening of a checkpoint at the border

A wave of protests is sweeping across Finland. Russians living in Suomi are holding rallies demanding the opening of a checkpoint on the Russian-Finnish border. On November 25, protests took place in Helsinki and the country’s second largest city, Tampere. Participants of the action told MK about the painful issue.

“The rally was attended mainly by Russian-speaking citizens who live, study or work in Tampere,” says our compatriot Oleg. — A local Muslim deputy came to support us. Those gathered brought posters that read: “Open the borders,” “I want to see my grandmother,” “All people should have equal rights,” “Observe the constitution.” One of the speakers recalled that in Finland there is an Ombudsman for Discrimination that you can contact.

As our interlocutor says, the meeting was agreed upon. The police sat nearby in the car, silently watching what was happening. There were no provocations or arrests.

— Were there Finns?

— By and large, many of them are indifferent to the problems of Russians and those who visit Russia. Many Finns from border areas used to go to Russia for gasoline, firewood, cigarettes, and chocolates. They will grumble about the closure of border crossings, but they will not come out to protest shoulder to shoulder with us. It is very important for us to see our loved ones who live in Russia, to take care of elderly and sick parents.

Let us remind you that from November 18, the checkpoints “Vaalimaa” (Torfyanovka), “Nuyamaa” (Brusnichnoe), “Imatra” (Svetogorsk), which are located in the Leningrad region, are closed, as well as the checkpoint “Niirala” (Vyartsilya) in North Karelia. Since November 25, three more border crossings in the Murmansk region and Karelia have ceased operation.

“We cannot now cross the south-eastern border; the Finnish government has deprived us of this opportunity. New Year and Christmas were ahead, many had plans to go visit relatives, grandchildren wanted to see their grandparents, they had prepared gifts.

On the border with Russia, since November 25, only one, the northernmost checkpoint “Raia-Jooseppi” has remained open (on the Russian side “Lotta” in the Kola district, Murmansk region).

— From Helsinki to this border crossing is 1,170 kilometers. Then you only have to drive 250 kilometers to Murmansk. And then 1340 kilometers to St. Petersburg. It’s unlikely that anyone I know would dare to make such a huge detour. At the same time, the checkpoint operates only four hours a day, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

About 100 thousand people live in Finland who speak Russian. Many moved to Suomi 15, 20 years ago.

“The government insists that it wants to protect the country from the uncontrolled influx of Middle Eastern migrants who travel through Russia to Finland,” says another of our compatriots, Alexey. “And what’s surprising is that it was the eastern border, the one with Russia, that came into focus. From there, according to the authorities, comes a “national threat.” While the bulk of illegal immigrants from Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Pakistan, and Egypt come to Finland from neighboring Sweden. From there, the government, of course, does not see a threat.

As Alexey says, it’s all about Russophobia, which turns into paranoia.

“They constantly talk about the “Russian threat” from TV screens; politicians see “Russian spies” everywhere. Prices for everything are creeping up, but for some reason they blame Russia for this. By closing border crossings, the authorities say that this is a temporary measure, but at the same time we hear that additional restrictions may be introduced. To the point that the eastern border may be closed altogether.