KazPost

Kazakhstan News
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Finns living near border watch Russia warily, recall dark past

Finns living near border watch Russia warily, recall dark past

The once bustling border crossing of Imatra, on Finland's frontier with Russia, now stands idle as the town's inhabitants cast a nervous eye towards their giant eastern neighbour following its invasion of Ukraine.
Imatra, home to 26,000 people, is one of nine land crossing points along Finland's 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic it had welcomed thousands of Russian tourists every week, arriving in Finland for shopping or spa trips or to visit friends and relatives.

Since Moscow launched what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, however, Imatra has become concerned about the risk of less benign arrivals - a worry that has prompted Finland to consider joining NATO, in what would be a major pivot in its security arrangements.

"I am a bit fearful," said 81-year-old Marja-Liisa Kantokivi, who was evacuated to Imatra from the other side of the border when Finland lost about 10% of its territory after an attempted invasion by the Soviet Union in World War Two.

"I live two, three kilometres from here, in the first apartment buildings that you face when coming from their (Russia's) direction," Kantokivi said.

Finland long avoided disagreements with Russia for the sake of friendly relations, but Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday it must be ready for all kinds of responses from Moscow now that Helsinki is weighing joining NATO. She said a decision on NATO membership would be made in the coming weeks.

A top Russian security official and former president, Dmitry Medvedev, said on Thursday that Moscow could deploy nuclear weapons in the Baltic Sea region to restore military balance if NATO admitted Finland and Sweden.

COSTLY

In 2019, before COVID struck, foreign tourists made 1.9 million trips to the Imatra region. Almost all of them were Russians, generating more than 310 million euros in revenues for the region, data from TAK Travel Research Company showed.

"We now lose around one million euros every day because this interaction is lost," Kimmo Jarva, mayor of the region's largest city Lappeenranta, told Reuters, adding they had cut all ties with Russia after the attack on Ukraine.

Several shop windows stand empty in Imatra as public announcements from Svetogorsk bus station on the Russian side of the frontier drift across the deserted, still snow-covered border crossing.

Until 1944 Svetogorsk was known as Enso, heart of Finland's largest industrial region centred on a paper mill that was surrendered to Moscow after World War Two. In the 1970s Finns returned to renovate the mill for the Soviet Union.

The sharp deterioration in relations between Moscow and the West since Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014 prompted some Russians to establish a foothold in Finland.

Anna and Alexander are from Russia's second city of St Petersburg, less than 200 km (124 miles) away, but now live in Imatra. They also own an art gallery in Lappeenranta.

The "pure" nature in Finland "is what gives strength and helps... It is like a temple," Anna told Reuters as she explained their decision to move and described her deep sadness about the war in Ukraine.

While southeast Finland has thousands of Russian-speaking residents, few are now willing to give interviews. Anna and Alex asked not to give their surnames, fearing possible difficulties when they go to Russia.

"In Finland we live as if in paradise," said Alexander.

"When I wake up in the morning and go out for a smoke," he added pensively, "it feels like nothing has changed but in reality the whole world is now different."

Another Imatra resident, Katri, also sounded a cautious note as she recalled her childhood in nearby Estonia when it was part of the Soviet Union before 1991 and had no freedom of speech. She cannot help feeling anxious about living so near the border.

"Maybe people should be prepared for the fact that we might have to leave quickly," she said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

KazPost
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
An Ominous Shift in Warfare: Western Powers Risk War Crimes and Violate International Norms with Cluster Bomb Supply to Ukraine
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
Corruption in the European Parliament - Business as usual
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
Paris Suburb Grapples with Violence as Curfew Imposed: Saint-Denis Residents Express Dismay and Anger
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
×