Islands in Finnish Archipelago Renamed By Google Maps To Appear To Be Russian

The islands and islets in question all were part of an area that was leased as a military base by the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Nevertheless, even Finnish pundits have agreed that the name change was most probably an “innocent prank”.

A handful of islands in the Gulf of Finland near the Porkkalanniemi peninsula have had their names changed into Russian ones on Google Maps, the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet reported.

Islands which had been renamed included those of Järvö, Träskö and Räfsö. The error was noticed by author and IT expert Petteri Järvinen, who complained of the “Russian occupation names”, as this area used to be leased by the Soviet union in the post-war years.

“I heard about it from another person. I have a lot of people contacting me when they notice oddities like this,” Järvinen told Finland's Swedish-language newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet. “It is very possible that it is an innocent prank,” he added.

Järvinen said he has seen more examples of names changed to Russian, including a parking lot in Helsinki. Admittedly, he was a little surprised, but stressed that it is not unusual for names and facts to be wrong on Google Maps.

Neither the date of the change, nor the reason for it is known. However, it is possible for users to “report an error” in Google Maps, which sometimes leads to “correction wars”, with users who hold opposing historic views submitting pleas for change. Most things indicate that someone reported an error to Google and thus had the names changed to Russian. The islands have since got their real names back.

Järvö, Träskö and Räfsö are all part of the area that was leased as a military base by the Soviet Union during the Second World War, after the Moscow Armistice with Finland in 1944. In 1947, the Paris Peace Treaty reaffirmed the Soviets' right to the area until 1994. Nevertheless, it was returned to Finland as a gesture of goodwill in January 1956. At the height of the naval base operations, 30,000 Soviet troops were stationed in the area along with 10,000 Soviet officials and civilians such as members of officers' families.

Porkkalanniemi - located only 30 kilometers from the Finnish capital, Helsinki, and often referred to by its Swedish name of Porkala udd - used to have great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be able to shoot more than halfway across the Gulf of Finland.

These days, the peninsula houses one of the main bases of the Finnish Navy. Its coasts are also highly popular with birdwatchers during the spring migrations of waterfowl.