More than half of respondents want the country to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens
More than half of Finns want their country to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens, a poll by Finland’s state broadcaster Yle has shown.
Some 58% of respondents favour such a move, 24% are against, and 18% are undecided, according to the study, published on Thursday,
The poll, in which a thousand Finns were questioned in early August, also revealed that most of those in favor of banning Russian tourists were men aged between 50 and 64.
Russia and Finland share a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border, with the Nordic nation being a popular destination for Russians, for holidays and shopping.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, some 20,000 people crossed into Finland from Russia on a daily basis. Visitor numbers plummeted due to Covid-related travel restrictions in 2020, but have been on the rise since both countries lifted the curbs in mid-July this year.
Serveral Finnish lawmakers have called for a tightening of visa rules for Russians in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.
READ MORE: Finland can’t stop Russians from getting visas – media
Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto is expected to discuss the visa issue with the government on Thursday, according to the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper.
RT (Russia Today) is a state-owned news organization funded by the Russian government. The information provided by this news source is being included by the Libertarian Hub not as an endorsement of the Russian government, but rather because it is being actively censored by Big Tech, Western governments and the corporate press. During times of conflict it is imperative that we have access to both sides of the story so we can form our own opinions, even if both sides are spewing their own propaganda. The censorship of RT, despite likely being a propaganda outfit for the Russian government, reduces our ability to hear one side of the conflict. For that reason, the Libertarian Hub will temporarily republish the RSS feed from RT. Visit https://rt.com