On April 11, the Finnish Parliament unanimously approved the governmentʼs proposal and banned Russians from buying real estate in the country due to a threat to national security.
The parliamentʼs decision is reported by the state broadcaster Yle.
This idea emerged in the country in September last year. At that time, it was explained that the document would not explicitly name the states, but the law would apply to citizens of a country that "violated the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of another state and may threaten the security of Finland".
Yle notes that currently only Russians cannot buy real estate in Finland, but in the future the ban will be extended to citizens of all countries that are waging wars of aggression and may pose a threat to Finlandʼs national security.
The worsening security situation prompted the government to pass the law. The Ministry of Defense had previously emphasized that Russia poses a long-term threat to security in Europe, and real estate is one of the tools of hostile influence.
In addition, the country is preparing a bill to strengthen the means of interference with property that has already been acquired.
For years, Finland has been troubled by suspicious properties — some of which had fortifications with helipads, unprofitable hotels owned by Russians, and real estate near critical infrastructure.
Last June, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in an interview with Bloomberg News that such facilities “could be used to cause harm, or perhaps as a springboard for a broader operation”.
This is not the only such action by the Finnish authorities regarding its own national security. Last July, the countryʼs parliament passed a law allowing border guards to return asylum seekers to Russia. In this way, the country is fighting the Kremlinʼs attempt to undermine the countryʼs national security by migration along the 1,300-kilometer border between the countries. Among NATO countries, this is the longest land border with Russia.
What is happening on the Russian-Finnish border?
In recent years, Finland has been preparing for Russia to send large numbers of asylum seekers to the border, as the Russians did at the Finnish border during the 2015 migration crisis.
In November 2023, border guards reported that an unusually large number of people without entry documents were trying to enter Finland through checkpoints on the southeastern border. On November 15, the Finnish Prime Minister stated that Russia was helping illegal migrants, including citizens of the Russian Federation, the Middle East, and Africa, enter the country. Due to this surge in illegal migration, Finland decided to close border checkpoints on the border with Russia.
In April 2024, Finland extended the closure of these crossing points indefinitely.
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