Guess Who Just Moved In?! Finnish Map Gives Kazakhstan & Belarus To Russia

Finnish tour operator Venajan Matkat has published maps in its promotional material which alter Russia's borders, placing areas of Kazakhstan and Belarus in Russian territory.

A tour operator in Finland has produced a series of maps of Russia in its promotional holiday leaflets which show Russia's borders stretching beyond their recognized limits, into the territory of Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Venajan Matkat, meaning 'Russian Tours,' sought to assure prospective holidaymakers theirs was not a conscious effort to misrepresent Russian territory to Finnish tourists:

"The map has been in our collection for a long time, and none of our clients, nor our staff have noticed the mistakes," said Venajan Matkat spokesperson Outi Alava.

The maps don't carry any political meaning and are just "badly drawn," said Alava, who explained that a worker at the agency put together the maps "from some materials they had to hand out," and rushed the printing work.

#Suomi-#Venäjä-Seura markkinoi Suur-Venäjän matkoja vuodesta toiseen — "Onpas nolo lapsus" | #turpo #maantiede | pic.twitter.com/KIOAaXbhKa

— Kerkko Paananen (@kerkko) August 27, 2015

The company gave reassurances that those Finnish tourists who are lacking in geographical awareness, are nonetheless unlikely to be led astray by the shaky cartography:

"Circulation of the paper leaflets has already finished, and we are not going to print new versions," said the spokesperson.

The company has already ordered that the map on its website be changed in order to reflect the reality of Russia's tourist attractions, which include the Crimea, the Golden Mountains of Altai, and Lake Baikal, and not disappoint any Finns who expected to find Astana on the itinerary of their Russian tour.