Finland to Further Tighten Entry for Russians, as Collapse of Bilateral Ties Bites

The Finnish economy has been hit by a technical recession and a surge in inflation — a development in which the deliberate freezing of ties with the nation's third-largest trade partner has played a role.

The Finnish government has announced plans to further tighten entry restrictions for Russian nationals.

The Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy was said to have concluded earlier this week that "travel by Russian citizens may be harmful to Finland’s international relations," which is why "non-essential travel" should be tightened further.

In response to the conflict in Ukraine, Finland has significantly limited the issuing of visas to Russian citizens since last September.

According to Foreign Ministry Director General of Consular Services Jussi Tanner, there are plans to limit the entry of Russians on business trips, decrease the number of visas issued to Russians seeking to take school entrance exams, and further limit the entry of Russian nationals who own property in Finland (who are currently allowed to perform necessary maintenance work).

Economic Rift and Self-Inflicted Pain

Finland, Russia's immediate neighbor that shares a 1,300-kilometer border and which was once part of the Russian Empire, has had a vivid economic relationship with Moscow since the Soviet era, ideological differences notwithstanding. However, in recent years, once lively ties came to a freeze, not only harming the country's sizeable Russian diaspora, but robbing it of income and leaving a gaping hole in the Finnish economy — a situation the planned business restrictions definitely won't remedy,

The relations have changed markedly since the start of Moscow's special operation in Ukraine, as Helsinki has joined NATO and taken part in numerous EU rounds of sanctions against Russia, which have resulted in formerly vibrant cross-border economic activity grinding to a halt. The restrictions on tourism and business have particularly hit Eastern Finland, which has welcomed Russians for decades, with numerous border communities relying on Russian spenders for profits.

In 2021, a year before the massive EU sanctions designed to cripple Russian economy took shape, Finland sent 5.4 percent of its total exports to Russia and received nearly 12 percent of its imports from Russia. Furthermore, Russia played an important role in some of Finland's key sectors, such as the paper industry and energy supplies. Its notable absence from the Finnish market has already propelled Finnish fuel prices to all-European highs.

Despite having its trade share curtailed since the 2014 Maidan coup and Crimea's reunification with Russia, which Finland condemned, Moscow has consistently ranked among Finland's foremost bilateral trade partners, trailing only Germany and Sweden.

Furthermore, in 2020, Russian parent firms had 20 subsidiaries in Finland with combined net sales of 3.2 billion euros ($3.5 billion). Finland, for its part, had 295 subsidiaries in Russia with combined net sales of 6.5 billion euros ($7 billion).

The disruption of ties couldn't go unnoticed and has already contributed to Finland's economy plunging into recession, with an unclear outlook. While the full impact of Finland's self-maiming policy is yet to show, the planned restrictions, coupled with a largely symbolic border fence, will only exacerbate the situation further.