Russians leaving their country for Finland

In Vaalimaa, the border crossing of Finland with Russia – some 190 km east of Helsinki – buses and cars stop at passport and customs controls. They are not Ukrainians, but Russians, and the flow is constant.

Some are eagerly seeking to leave Russia because there is a persistent rumor that President Vladimir Putin’s government may introduce martial law to deal with anti-invasion protests in Ukraine.

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With flights to Europe suspended, the only way to leave the country is to cross the border by car or by train.

We spoke to a young Russian woman who crossed over to the West, one of the lucky ones who held a European Union visa before the sanctions were announced. She felt desperate for what was happening.

“The people in Ukraine are our people, our family,” he said. “We shouldn’t be killing them.” I asked him if he planned to return. “Not while our terrible government is there. It’s very, very sad.”

He assured that the majority of Russians do not want this war, but they risk going to jail if they try to raise their voice against Putin.

In Finland there is great sympathy for people like her, as well as for Ukraine and its inhabitants.

This sympathy, and the fear that Russia might attack other neighbors such as Finland itself, is changing attitudes about Finland’s traditional stance of neutrality.

According to the latest opinion polls, a growing majority of Finns believe it is time for their country to join NATO and gain the protection that membership in the alliance would provide.

A bus on the border between Russia and Finland

Back in Helsinki, the train from St. Petersburg arrives with hundreds of people eager to flee Russia. Most of the cars are full and ticket prices have skyrocketed.

Passengers leaving Russia bring a limited amount of money. The ruble has collapsed and the Russian economy is threatened by sanctions and the exit of many large Western companies.

“Now or never”

Will sanctions against Russian millionaires turn them against President Putin? Actually not impossible, but unlikely force him to end the war in Ukraine.

More worrying for him is the call by the Russian oil giant Lukoil to stop the invasion.

If the major players in the Russian economy turn against him, it will be much more difficult for him to continue without making big changes, such as introducing martial law.

Another young woman who left Russia, in her case to Istanbul, told us on the phone that she was terrified of return to a life like that of the former Soviet Union.

“I am 30 years old, I have not seen the worst… the repressions, the secret police,” he said. “I was afraid that if I didn’t leave right now, I was never going to be able to.”

“On one hand, it feels like this is the time to get out. On the other, there’s a legitimate fear that you won’t be able to see your friends and family for God knows how long, if you ever see them again.”

Under martial law, Putin could do as he pleased, without having to worry about suppressing street protests.

He has already made it clear to French President Emmanuel Macron that will not stop until occupying all of Ukraineand a French official who heard the phone call later said things could get much worse.

How? Well, the nuclear option could be getting closer. It is a terrifying prospect.

It is no wonder that Russians who do not want to be part of the invasion or the problems it is creating in their towns and cities are desperate to leave the country and start a new life abroad.

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Source: Elcomercio