Finland’s decision to close the entire eastern border provoked strong reactions in Russia. For example, a spokesman for the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov accused Finland of exaggeration and the Russian Foreign Ministry suspected that Finland was bowing to pressure from the European Union and the United States
Director of the Kantalahti region of Russia Aleksandr Samarin commented the Russian economic newspaper on Wednesday morning According to RBKthat migrants have given up their attempts to cross the Finnish border after Finland announced the closure of all border checkpoints on the eastern border.
Many left the Murmansk region on Wednesday morning.
– Some left in taxis. Many were left waiting for the transport to St. Petersburg organized by the Russian authorities. There were no outbursts of anger, but people seemed very disappointed, Kantalahti director Samarin commented.
According to Samarin, there were about 400 people at the Alakurti checkpoint near the Salla border on Tuesday evening.
“Finland’s decision is strange”
It’s about closing the border reported widely in Russia after Finland’s announcement.
For example, a popular Russian magazine Kommersant and the news agency Ria told that the reason for closing the border is Finland’s concern for national security.
Russian state TV channels news broadcasts claimed on Tuesday that Finland is afraid of a “flood of migrants” and is therefore closing its borders.
– The Russian Foreign Ministry tried to get Finland to its senses by stating that it is not a “flood” if 700 migrants cross the border. Finland closes its borders, even though at the same time more than 370,000 people cross the borders of the EU, The number one channel the news broadcast said, referring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ykköskanava’s broadcast did not elaborate on what kind of border crossers the 370,000 referred to, or where and when so many asylum seekers would have crossed the EU’s borders. The European border security agency Frontex had recorded around 300,000 unauthorized crossings by the end of October this year.
Some Russian state media did not report that Finland’s decision is due to Russia’s hybrid operation and that, according to the Finnish government, the operation was organized.
For example, MK magazine describes in its headline, Finland’s decision to close the border because of asylum seekers as “strange”.
Online media News.ru mentions hybrid operation, but says that Finland has not presented evidence of the involvement of the Russian border guard in the operation.
Also from St. Petersburg, who investigated the movements of border crossers Fontanka claimsthat there is no evidence of Russian border authorities’ involvement in the migrants’ arrival at the border.
According to Fontanka, the background is organized crime. Detailed instructions on how to get to Finland via Russia are distributed on social media, Fontanka writes.
According to the news media, many Syrians, Yemenis and Iraqis have received a 30-day visa for Russia, but when they try to go to Finland, their visas have expired.
According to an Arabic-speaking lawyer interviewed by Fontanka, Russian authorities are meticulous about documents and have even detained women and children for overstaying their visas.
Russia accuses Finland of the “iron curtain”
Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov considered Finland’s decision to close the border checkpoints on the eastern border as regrettable and described the decision as anti-Russian.
According to Peskov, the Russian border guard has followed the instructions, and it has not let people into the border zone who did not have the right documents.
Peskov warned According to Interfax, that Finland’s decision incites tensions on the eastern border. According to the Kremlin spokesman, this is also the case with Poland’s decision to send border officials to help Finland.
– Finland exaggerates its measures to secure border security. Nothing threatens Finland, Peskov said.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Grushko comments that Finland is acting against its own interests.
Speaker of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin claimed that Finland is lowering the iron curtain in the east. According to Volodin, it is primarily the Finns themselves who suffer from it.
– The decision [sulkea raja] will pay the Finns, according to some estimates, up to three billion euros, Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel Delovoi Peterburg magazine by.
Volodin did not specify which estimates he was referring to.
Spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova claimed that behind the decision to close the border is a small group of influential people in the Finnish government.
Zakharova with asylum seekers has nothing to do with closing the border, but the West ruthlessly exploits Finland to build a wall between the West and Russia. In the West, Zaharova meant the EU and the United States.
Also Russian Russia Today claimed referring to expert opinions that Finland would have closed its borders on the orders of the EU and the United States.
People discuss alternative routes
Even Russian war bloggers seized on the news of the border closure. Pro-Kremlin war blogger Semyon Pegov wrote on his Telegram channelthat Finland is a remote village in Europe where tourists don’t visit anyway.
According to Pegov, Finland’s decision does not affect the Russians, because among the Russians, mostly people from St. Petersburg made trips to Finland.
– Issuing tourist visas to Russians was already stopped in September of last year.
– Closing the borders does not affect Russians, but Finno-Russians who have relatives in Russia, Pegov writes.
The announcement of the closure of the last border crossing on Finland’s eastern border sparked discussion on social media as well.
For example, on Facebook now let’s share tips on how to get to Russia from Finland. In the answers, it has been suggested to go through the Narva border crossing in Estonia or to fly to Turkey.
The matter was clarified on 29.11. 5:43 p.m.: Finland has closed all border crossings on the eastern border, but not all border crossings. It’s about closing the border, not the borders.
You can discuss the topic on 30.11. until 23:00.