Finland’s City of Imatra Playing Ukrainian Anthem for Russian Tourists as a Protest Against War
The city of Imatra is famous for its natural attractions, mainly rapids, and registers a high number of tourists from Russia each year.
However, after taking into account the ongoing war in Ukraine, the city started playing the national anthem of Ukraine at the end of July, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
According to France 24, Russian tourists were not happy about this. A Russian tourist who visited the rapids with his family said that playing the Ukrainian anthem is bad for the Russians who love Finland. In addition, he pointed out that the Finnish government at its citizens must understand that not all Russians support the war and Putin.
The same source revealed that the Ukrainian national anthem is also being played every evening above the city hall of Lappeenranta. Commenting on this, the Mayor of Lappeenranta, Kimmo Jarva, said that they want to express their strong support for Ukraine as well as condemn the war.
Taking into account the recent developments, several countries decided to impose restrictions on Russians. A recent poll has shown that 58 per cent of citizens of Finland are in favour of restricting the issuance of visas to Russians.
The Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs has already presented a plan to limit tourist visas for citizens of Russia. Nonetheless, the authorities are yet to come out with an official statement on the matter.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland is being used by Russians as a transit country to reach other European destinations. The increase in the number of border crossings was especially felt after Russia lifted COVID-19 restrictions. From July 15 until early August, weekly border traffic between Russia and Finland increased by around 40 per cent.
In contrast to Finland, Estonia has already decided to stop issuing visas to Russians. The Estonian authorities announced last week that starting from August 18, the country will no longer issue visas to Russians.
In addition, the Estonian authorities pointed out that Russians who already hold a valid visa issued by Estonia will not be permitted entry to the country.
The government of Denmark is also considering a similar measure. According to Danish local media, the country’s authorities want to reduce the number of tourist visas issued to Russians.
