Russians who oppose the war may become collateral victims of the visa ban, writes ‘s Russia correspondent Heikki Heiskanen, who himself is waiting for a visa to Russia in Finland.
– For the first time, I travel to Finland feeling ashamed, as if everyone could see that I am Russian. It’s shameful because my country is at war.
This is what someone who worked as a Finnish translator says Alina about their moods. He recently visited Finland after a long time.
Alina said that before the trip she was even worried about whether she would be let out of Russia.
– Finland is considered an unfriendly country, and I am a translator of an unfriendly language.
Alina’s border crossing went smoothly in the end, and in Finland in August, the war seemed far away. Finns lived their lives, even though the war dominated the news.
I asked three Russians who have recently traveled in Finland. I will not use the real names of the interviewees in this article, because the political atmosphere in Russia is very tense.
– I think it would be stupidity and not very beautiful from the free democratic states of Europe, from Moscow Aleksandr says about the visa ban.
According to Aleksandr, the ban will not lead to the Russians ousting Putin’s regime. Instead, it hits Putin’s critics.
– Those people who are against the regime will end up in prison sooner or later. For example, I can be imprisoned at any moment because I oppose the war and support Ukraine, Aleksandr says.
The question is, to which side demarcate the iron curtain is now rising.
Aleksandr went to Finland this summer to work on a berry farm in Eastern Finland, picking strawberries. It was a way for him to travel. About half of the berry pickers on the farm were from Ukraine.
– Of course, above all, I felt enormous guilt about what my country is doing, Aleksandr says.
Despite the fears, the encounter with the Ukrainians turned out to be friendly.
In the mornings, Ukrainians’ phones received messages about airstrikes – someone’s hometown had always been the target of bombing.
Most of the Ukrainian berry pickers were women, because men of military service age are not allowed to leave the country.
Traveling is a soul hole for Russians who oppose the war, says a student in Finland Kseniya. According to Ksenija, there are more of them than one might imagine, because Russians now do not dare to say in interviews that they are against the war.
– And they travel to Europe, among other things, so that they don’t go crazy, Ksenija says.
– I have many friends who plan to apply for a Finnish visa because they just want to rest – not to buy cheese. Now it is very difficult to live in Russia.
Ksenija has not experienced the Finns’ attitude towards her changed because of the war. The employees of the educational institution have willingly helped in practical matters.
However, according to Ksenija, there is somewhat more suspicion towards Russians than before. When dealing in banks, Ksenija felt that Russians were not very happy to be taken as clients.
The visa ban would play into Vladimir Putin’s pocketKsenija thinks.
– It gives those who are still considering their position a reason to group together in support of the current government.
Alina is saddened by the loss of cultural and scientific connections. In Russia, he no longer likes to say that he is a Finnish translator, but prefers to study the Mansi or Udmurt language.
Even during the pandemic, the cooperation between the universities was close and there was enough translation work. Now they are gone.
Alina considers it a big blow that Finnish universities have severed their relationship with Russian universities and FILI, which supports the export of Finnish literature, has stopped grants to Russia.
In any case, little Finnish literature is published in Russia, so the small brave publishing houses that have bought the rights to Finnish books suffer from the decision.
The EU needs to think carefully about what kind of message does it send on the visa issue: Is there a danger that Russians will feel that they are being subjected to collective punishment? Is it beneficial to maintain personal relationships between nations?
For Alina, who worked as a translator, it was very important to hear from Finnish friends and acquaintances that they do not consider her an enemy.
– When you have personal contacts, you don’t believe the propaganda that all Russians want war or that all Finns hate Russians.
For Aleksandr, picking berries in Finland meant making friends with Ukrainians. He dreams of returning to Finland next year as well.
– When we said goodbye, I said that I hoped that next year there would already be peace. The Ukrainians said they hoped for the same.
What thoughts did the story evoke? You can discuss the topic until Tuesday evening, August 16, until 11 p.m.