Immigration and tourism from Russia boost economy and population of Eastern Finland

The proximity of the Russian border is having an increasing impact on life in the eastern and southeastern parts of Finland. It is visible and audible in many ways in the everyday life of border communities, and is gradually also being felt in statistics. Although the number of Russian residents is still small, about two percent at the most, the trend can already be felt in municipal net migration figures. Perttu Vartiainen, the Rector of the University of Joensuu, and Professor of Social Geography, has done research on migration trends. He predicts that in areas which have been losing net population, the relative impact of the Russians will be strong in the coming years. "When net emigration and mortality are high, immigration is the only positive counterforce. The proportion of Finns will decline, and that of people linked with the Russian language or culture in one way or another will increase." Two thirds of immigrants living in Finland are from Russia or the former Soviet Union, and 90% of all immigrants living in Eastern Finland are Russians. About 4,000 Russian citizens live in South and North Karelia, in addition to many others who speak Russian as their mother tongue. However, the "Russians" are by no means a uniform group of people. Many of those who speak Russian are not Russian citizens. "If we speak of those moving to Finland from the area of the former Soviet Union, the group will include Estonians citizens, some of whom are Russians and Ingrian Finns", Vartiainen points out.