The loophole of the Russians in the west

class=”sc-3778e872-0 cKDKQr”>

Vaalimaa would be a place where foxes and hares wish each other goodnight if it weren’t for this border crossing between Finland and Russia. The thick E18, the connection between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, squeezes through austere buildings for border guards and customs. It is the largest border crossing between the two countries.

Things have changed a bit in Vaalimaa since the Russians invaded Ukraine. The first border crossing between Finland and the former Soviet Union, opened in 1958, was notorious for long traffic jams. Hours of waiting were normal, especially due to the meticulous checks on the Russian side. At Christmas 2007 there was even a 50 km long truck convoy.

These days, cars trickle through security, the waiting time on the Finnish side is maybe 15 minutes as everyone in the building is checked. “Since the outbreak of the war and since the restrictions on Russian tourists, we have recorded about 1,500 to 1,800 border crossings during the week and about 2,000 to 2,300 at the weekend. Before the pandemic, that was about three times as many,” says Lieutenant Markus. Haapasaari, from Espoo near Helsinki (24) from the Southeastern Finnish Border Guard.

Many Ukrainian refugees

After the outbreak of the war, the border guards registered many Ukrainian refugees fleeing to the West via this route. But there were also Russians who wanted to escape war and mobilization.

The number of border crossings continued to fall when Finland decided in October 2022 to no longer allow Russian tourists into the country. Since then, only Russian citizens who work, study, maintain their holiday home, visit relatives or have another special permit come to Finland.

Russians on long journeys

With no more flights between Russia and the West, Vaalimaa has become the gateway to Europe for many Russians. “Until now, I flew from my hometown of Moscow to my second home in Berlin by plane via Istanbul,” says Russian-Israeli entrepreneur Alexander Goldmann (63). Now he is driven west by a companion in a Finnish car.

Alexandra Grigorian (35) takes the bus to Helsinki to catch the plane to France. “I’m going to study luxury and fashion management there for a year,” she says. The Russian Kate (35), who moved to Sweden with her husband four months ago because of his work, also travels in the same bus. “The journey is very hard. I’m on the road 24 hours a day,” she says. Elena Goslovskaya (57) knows this route very well by now: “I often visit my daughter, who is studying in Helsinki.

Sergei (47) travels in the other direction with his new wife and her son. He emigrated from Siberia at the age of ten and now has German nationality. “We are on our way to visit my ailing father,” he says. First the ferry, now kilometers of roads: he still has about 13 hours of driving ahead of him. He knows no fear and hardship: “I am a Christian. God guides me.”

None of the travelers interviewed by Blick want to comment on the war and Finland’s entry into NATO, which will now be signed in Brussels on Tuesday. All Goldmann says is: “Life in Moscow has hardly changed – mentally at most.”

Good contact with Russian colleagues

Persons who do not have a visa for Finland will be returned. “When we introduced the restrictions, there were about 700 rejections in October, which was a record,” says Haapasaari. There are now about 120 a day. People are also refused exit in the other direction if the documents are not correct. Finnish border guards politely but firmly reject women with papers. Why? “Discretion. We can’t say anything,” the employees respond.

A total of 140 people work for border control in Vaalimaa, of which about 30 are deployed at the same time. Another 100 employees work at customs. Dogs and drones to detect illegal border crossings are also part of the equipment in Vaalimaa. “We have good contact with our Russian colleagues and can call each other around the clock,” says Haapasaari, who has never been a tourist on the other side of the border. And he adds: “We only talk about issues related to border security.”

The ghost mall

A few years ago, Vaalimaa would become a center for Russian shopping tourists. The Zsar branch opened in 2018, but never got off the ground. In 2022 it filed for bankruptcy after Covid and the outbreak of war. It has since closed and the driveway and parking spaces are covered in snow. The ropes of the empty flagpoles flutter in the wind. Posters and signs from the Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt still adorn the walls and behind closed bars. When will life return here? Investors will likely have to write off their millions forever.

In the north of Vaalimaa, the Finns have started building a border fence. In the medium term, this should secure 200 of the 1,340-kilometre-long common border. Costs: 380 million euros. After the felling of the forest, work is currently underway on the three-kilometre-long test fence at Imatra. Another 70 kilometers must be built by 2025. The new fences will be three meters high and fitted with barbed wire. Neuralgic sites also have night vision cameras, lights, and speakers installed.

As reported by the Finnish Border Guard on request, there is also an expansion of surveillance, control, search and rescue capabilities. To this end, the number of employees will be increased and new surveillance aircraft and patrol boats will be purchased.

Border zone warning

Although the Russian border is only a kilometer past the Vaalimaa border post, the border guard does not allow media to travel to this point. “We did this because there are many requests from journalists who want to drive as close as possible to the border,” says Haapasaari.

However, there is a way to get on public roads a stone’s throw from Russia. Two kilometers south of Vaalimaa is Kurkela. These are a handful of houses and barns that line the Vaalimaanjoki. The first house on the Russian side is on the other side of the 80-meter-long pond formed by the dammed stream. You see a corrugated iron and a wooden facade. What’s in it – unknown.

There’s no one to see. It would be idyllic without the many yellow signs and the information about CCTV in the neighboring forest: “Border zone, entry prohibited without proper permission.” Haapasaari had warned that anyone entering the border area would be swiftly tracked down and punished by Finnish border officials. Whoever continues, will have to deal with the Russians. What happens then? Also unknown. As you know, the Russians have their own laws.

Source: Blick