The State Duma questioned the reaction of the Finnish authorities to the protests

The Finnish authorities will probably not pay attention to the rallies in cities in support of the opening of borders with Russia. This was reported on December 15 by Svetlana Zhurova, first deputy chairman of the State Duma (Duma) Committee on International Affairs.

"Unfortunately, I think they will not react. But at least there is an understanding that all this is not unanimously perceived positively, there are still people who are trying to come out and say their position," Zhurova said in a conversation with "Lenta.ru".

According to her, the opening of borders with the Russian Federation is a matter of "kinship and cultural relations" that bind the bordering states. The parliamentarian believes that if the citizens of the Scandinavian state cross the border with the Russian Federation, it does not mean that they do not treat Russia favorably.

According to the Duma deputy, people in any case continue to communicate, and the impossibility to cross the border, obviously, causes them discontent.

Earlier in the day, the organization of Russian-speaking residents of Finland "Alexander Society" held rallies in several cities of the country for the opening of checkpoints (checkpoints) on the border between the Scandinavian state and Russia.

On November 30, a demonstration demanding the opening of the border with Russia was held by the organization "Free Movement" and a number of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In their opinion, the closed border endangers people seeking asylum, while Finnish politicians' words that open checkpoints threaten the country's security, criminalize refugees and increase racism.

The Russian-speaking "Alexander Society" announced its rallies for the opening of the border with Russia on November 29. The organization pointed out that the authorities of the Scandinavian country are not trying to fix the "humanitarian disaster." At the same time, the chairman of the Commission on Foreign Affairs of the Parliament of Finland Kimmo Kiljunen decided to resign because of his words about opening the border with the Russian Federation. The official spoke on this topic at a meeting with representatives of the "Alexander Society", and Kiljunen's colleagues criticized him.

Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen recalled on November 13 that the country closed checkpoints on the border with Russia allegedly after the emergence of the threat of a migration crisis. The newspaper Ilta-Sanomat on November 5 reported that the Finnish authorities may open one checkpoint in the winter as an experiment.

In November 2023, Finland closed all checkpoints on the border with Russia under the pretext of the influx of migrants from third countries. At the time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow was ready to work with Helsinki to resolve the situation.