Partial mobilization: Finland closes its borders to Russians with a tourist visa

Europe 1 with AFP 4:41 p.m., September 29, 2022

Faced with a sharp increase in entries from Russia, Finland will close its borders from midnight Thursday evening (9 p.m. GMT) to Russian citizens with European tourist visas from the Schengen area, the government announced.

The announcement of Moscow's "partial" mobilization for the war in Ukraine, which resulted in a jump in entries into the Nordic country from Russia, "had a significant impact" on the decision, said the minister Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.

The "illegal" annexation referendums in eastern Ukraine and the alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea "have increased concerns", the minister said.

Alignment with the decision taken by Poland and the Baltic States

The Nordic country thus aligns itself de facto with the decision taken at the beginning of September by Poland and the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the four other countries of the European Union bordering Russia.

The measure was under discussion in Finland even before Vladimir Putin's military order, due to the significant passages of Russian holidaymakers during the summer which caused controversy in Finland.

But Helsinki had only announced its forthcoming entry into force on the evening of the announcement of the mobilization in Russia.

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"The decision aims to completely prevent the current situation of Russian tourism in Finland and related transit through the country," Pekka Haavisto told a press conference.

Helsinki acknowledged that its decision could result in an increase in asylum claims and attempts to cross the border illegally.

But exceptions are provided for reasons of fundamental freedoms (family visits, health, work or studies), as well as humanitarian reasons.

Asylum applications assessed on a case-by-case basis

Asked about the case of the many Russians fleeing the mobilization, Interior Minister Krista Mikkonen said that asylum requests would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

"We don't have mobilization as such as a reason for asylum, but each file will be treated individually," she said at a press conference, citing the cases of Russians who can plead that they were forced. to commit war crimes or face disproportionate penalties.

Worried about a possible closure of the border "forever" after Moscow's order to mobilize for the war in Ukraine, a growing number of Russians, many of them of fighting age, are fleeing in recent days via Finland.

Mainly via the Vaalimaa border post, further south.

The number of passages had reached 7,000-8,000 over the weekend and this week, but began to decline on Wednesday.

"I just passed, I don't know how the others will do. It's sad, sad," Andrei Stepanov, a 49-year-old Russian, told AFP of the new Finnish restrictions.

"I feel sorry for the others, they are already almost in prison there (in Russia) Now it will be even worse", explained the man from Samara, a hundred kilometers from the Kazakh border. .

"We are already behind an iron curtain, now the curtain will be even thicker. It's horribly unpleasant," sighs Aleksander Veselov, a sixty-year-old from Saint Petersburg.