Russians constitute the biggest single group of immigrants in both Helsinki, and all of Finland. At the end of 2004 a total of 5,548 Russian citizens lived in Helsinki, which is 19% of the total number of foreign citizens in the city.
Nearly 7,000 people live in Helsinki who speak Russian as their mother tongue.
Migration increased considerably at the beginning of the 1990s after the Soviet Union broke up. Most Russian-speaking immigrants can be divided into three groups. The largest group comprises Ingrians, and others of ethnic Finnish origin.
Another group are the ethnic Russians who have come to Finland for work or for family reasons, mostly from Russia or Estonia.
The smallest group are former Soviet citizens who are neither Russians or Estonians, but whose first language is nevertheless Russian.
Immigration by Russian speakers is expected to increase in the near future.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 17.3.2005
