VZCZCXRO7123
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHHE #0408/01 3071144
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031144Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5242
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000408 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINR ECON ELAB SMIG PREL PGOV FI
SUBJECT: FINLAND'S RUSSIAN SPEAKING MINORITY: INVITED BUT 
NOT ALWAYS WELCOME 
 
HELSINKI 00000408  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Finland's Russian-speaking minority is the 
largest immigrant group in the country.  Most 
Russian-speaking immigrants are ethnically Finnish, and have 
come since the 1990s as part of a government program to 
encourage resettlement of ethnic Finns in the Karelia region, 
lost to Russia in the 1940s.  Despite being invited to settle 
in Finland, this community has found integration difficult. 
A common stereotype is one of mafia criminality, but the 
reality is one of often highly-educated people coming because 
of family connections.  The failure of many immigrants to 
learn Finnish creates a barrier to social and economic 
participation, resulting in high unemployment.  Aside from 
ethnic Finns, ethnic Russians are also coming to Finland. 
Finnish officials express some concerns about that extremely 
small population, in particular about trouble from 
disaffected and disconnected youths.  Another concern comes 
from increasing tourism from Russia, and with it the 
irritation of Russians purchasing the famous Finnish country 
cottages.  Though polls show Russian-speakers are among the 
least-liked immigrant groups, Finnish officials and 
representatives of the immigrant community note that tensions 
are generally low and incidents fairly isolated. 
Nevertheless, the government is actively seeking ways to 
integrate this community.  End summary. 
 
Russian-speaking Minority Presence in Finland 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
2.(U) According to FARO (Finnish Association of 
Russian-Speaker Organizations/Finljandskaja Assotsiatsija 
Russkojazychnyh Obshestv) and official Finnish sources, 
Finland's Russian-speaking community is the country's largest 
immigrant group. The community is small but growing: 
numbering approximately 42,000 in 2006, by the end of 2008 
the Finnish population included approximately 50,000 whose 
mother tongue is Russian.  A majority live in the Helsinki 
region; the remainder live in considerably smaller 
populations predominately in the southeast, close to the 
Russian border. 
 
¶3. (U) Almost half of these Russian-speaking immigrants are 
not ethnically Russian.  Many are of Finnish or related 
ethnicity (e.g., Ingric).  Finns and related ethnic groups, 
and their descendants, remained when Finland lost the Karelia 
region to Russia in the Continuation War (1941-1944).  The 
collapse of the Soviet Union presented the Government of 
Finland (GoF) with an opportunity, and in the 1990s it 
adopted a policy to encourage Ingrians and others to settle 
in Finland (many, but not all, spoke Russian). A large wave 
came to Finland in the 1990s; the GoF did not track this 
influx carefully, creating difficulties in measuring the 
Ingric presence in the country.  (NOTE: The GoF has limited 
population statistics based on ethnicity.  After gaining 
Finnish citizenship the GoF no longer lists ethnicity, 
leaving mother tongue as the most useful statistic.  END 
NOTE.) 
 
¶4. (U) After the initial surge of immigrants the GoF 
tightened immigration and citizenship rules.  Despite the 
restrictions, immigration of Russian-speakers remains 
significant.  According to the GoF, the number applying for 
Finnish residence permits coming from Russia and Estonia 
doubled over the last two years, from 5,000 to 10,000. 
Official statistics show that most immigrate to Finland 
because of a spouse (typically a native Finnish husband) or 
other family relationship. Media reports point to the global 
economic slump for the surge in applications. 
 
Social and economic participation proves difficult 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5. (U) Despite family and ethnic connections, native Finns 
often view Russian-speakers in a negative light. 
Russian-speakers report feeling that the media stereotypes 
them as mafia criminals.  Polls show that they are among the 
least-liked groups of immigrants, next to Arabs and Somalis. 
Officials at the Ombudsman for Minorities Office say they 
have received numerous reports of Finnish students bullying 
Russian-speaking students.  Unemployment for this group 
remains higher than the population as a whole. 
 
¶6. (U) The reality often differs significantly from the 
negative perception: Russian-speakers commonly arrive in 
Finland with a good education, and researchers note about 40 
percent have graduated from university or polytechnic 
education, a number higher than the native Finnish 
population.  Academic studies also show that this community 
does not contribute disproportionately to the overall crime 
rate. In fact, from 1997 to 2007, the number of crimes 
involving at least one Russian-speaker has fallen by almost 
1,000 cases even though total criminal cases increased by 
 
HELSINKI 00000408  002.4 OF 002 
 
 
nearly 100,000. 
 
Ethnic Russians in Finland raise concerns 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Russian-speaking minority includes ethnic 
Russians, typically from Russia or Estonia.  Though a small 
community, GoF officials view it with some concern, for while 
it faces the same language barrier as the 
Ingric-Russian-speaking minority, it lacks the ethnic ties. 
For that reason GoF officials view ethnic Russian teenagers 
as the most at-risk of all Russian-speakers and worry that 
they will join groups outside society participating in 
drug-trafficking, nationalistic or racist activities 
(officials express similar concerns about other minority 
groups, like the growing Muslim community). 
 
¶8. (SBU) The number of ethnic Russian residents may be small 
but GoF officials estimate that the number of Russian 
visitors to Finland is significant and rising: roughly 50,000 
Russians are in Finland on any given day.  GoF reports that 
Finland's four diplomatic missions in Russia processed over 
90 percent of the approximately 800,000 annual (mostly 
non-immigrant) visa applications for 2008.  Most Russians 
come for tourism: GoF officials state that only one in six 
Russians come for work (for example, as Russian language 
teachers, special needs assistants at schools, or low-skill 
jobs), and that 30 percent of all tourists are Russian. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Russian visitors have been purchasing hundreds of 
the famous Finnish country cottages.  Though these purchases 
represent approximately one percent of all real estate 
transactions in Finland, they raise the ire of many Finns, 
who complain that Russian law prevents them from purchasing 
homes in the formerly Finnish portion of the Karelia region. 
Concerned about a negative perception of those purchases, a 
FARO representative told Poloff that the purchases do not 
represent a concerted Russian land-grab but the desire for 
relaxation in a relatively crime-free environment. 
 
Movement towards integration 
---------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) GoF officials remain concerned about strong ties to 
Russia that inhibit the community's social participation in 
Finland.  The community looks almost exclusively to 
Russian-based media for information.  Russian interests are 
also reaching directly into Finland: this summer the Russian 
Orthodox Church announced plans to expand in Finland in order 
to cater to the needs of its Russian population. 
 
¶11. (SBU) GoF officials acknowledge that Finland needs to do 
more to increase this community's participation in the larger 
society.  The government plans to increase Russian-language 
school instruction.  YLE, the national broadcaster, currently 
includes Russian language news and programs on its 
multi-lingual YLEMONDO station, and has plans for a 
Russian-language television station.  The City of Helsinki 
has a privately-funded and run Russian-language radio 
station, Radio Sputnik.  GoF officials have spoken to Finnish 
Orthodox Church officials about providing some services in 
Russian. 
 
¶12. (SBU) In a meeting with Embassy staff, a FARO 
representative sought to downplay the GoF's concerns.  She 
differentiated Finland's experience from that of the Baltic 
countries, pointing out that Russian-speakers seek to live in 
Finland and are not like Russian-speakers in former Soviet 
countries who "awoke one morning to find themselves in 
another country."  The representative was optimistic about 
prospects for integration.  Separately, the Ombudsman's 
Office echoed this sentiment, noting that while attitudes are 
slow to change, Finnish employers, particularly in eastern 
Finland, have started to appreciate Russian-speakers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Given Finland's history with Russia it is not 
surprising that the presence - temporary or indefinite - of 
even a small Russian-speaking population would generate some 
tension.  As a result, when one's primary language is 
Russian, possessing ethnic or familial ties to Finland may 
not mitigage or insulate one from negative attention. 
Overall, the concerns surrounding this community appear 
disproportionate to the reality.  The level of tension is 
quite low, and as the population increases the government 
seems to be prudently and actively engaging in integrating 
that community into Finnish society. 
ORECK