Helsingin Sanomat has a deep dive on property sales to Russians, which could face further restrictions if government plans come to fruition.
The proposal is to ban Russians who are not permanent residents of Finland from purchasing property in Finland, which would rule out some 20,000 Russian citizens on temporary permits.
At present, property purchases by non-EU citizens must be approved by the Defence Ministry. Last year 751 such transactions went to the ministry for approval, and of those 734 were approved.
HS meets Juri Lebedin, a temporary residence permit holder who recently purchased a house, and had to hurry to get it done before the law changed.
The purchase was complicated by the fact that the seller was in Saint Petersburg and demanded the purchase price — 395,000 euros — be handed over in cash, in Russia. "As Russians do," noted Lebedin.
He was therefore compelled to transfer money in Dubai to an acquaintance who held dollars in Moscow, and then personally deliver the cash from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in several car journeys during August.
HS then asks Finnish Customs if this arrangement is compliant with sanctions, and predictably gets questions as a response: The case would need more investigation to provide a definitive answer, but using an intermediary is not necessarily compliant with the spirit of the sanctions regime.
Lebedin came to Finland via a circuitous route. His biotech business has a presence in Russia, Ukraine and Finland, but his Russian citizenship and critical attitude towards the war make both Russia and Ukraine uncomfortable for him.
That made one solution feel natural and prompted his move from Dubai to Lappeenranta.
"I'm trying to become Finnish," said Lebedin.
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Ukraine support
The papers have extensive coverage of the third anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine, with Tampere daily Aamulehti looking at a rally in the city in support of Kyiv's defiance.
Several Finnish cities held similar rallies, with Finns and Ukrainian emigrés gathering to wave the yellow and blue flag and show their support for the Ukrainian resistance.
Meanwhile in Kyiv, President Alexander Stubb attended a gathering of supportive world leaders and gave a speech that started out detailing the historical reasons for Finns' instinctive and generous support for Ukraine.
Ilta-Sanomat reported that the speech was greeted with spontaneous applause (which is rare among journalists, as IS notes), in part because it also contained a sketch of a roadmap towards peace.
Other speakers had avoided talk of peace, according to IS, so Stubb's contribution stood out.
He had focused on the measures needed to be taken before peace negotiations, to establish the situation and build confidence, rather than promising peace immediately as his American counterpart Donald J Trump has.
That struck a realistic tone, on the same day the US sided with Russia to vote against a UN General Assembly motion censuring Russia for its aggression in Ukraine.
The All Points North podcast explored why an increasing number of foreigners in Finland are engaging with Finnish politics. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Spring on the way?
Ilta-Sanomat has a February favourite: is spring on the way?
The next fortnight could see temperatures hit ten degrees in Finland, according to IS, bringing a warmth most of us have not felt for months.
The first week of March will be warmer than normal, but also quite rainy.
Ahead of that, there will be precipitation this week falling as rain in the south and snow further north. Rain falling on top of snow cover will help it to melt quicker, paving the way for a much less wintery landscape.
There could still be colder days, according to IS, with temperatures dipping quite low — but overall things are relatively mild for the time of year, and set to get even milder.
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