Russian immigrants ease problem of net population loss in Eastern Finland

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Immigrants from Russia are taking an increasingly prominent demographic role in dwindling communities in Eastern Finland. Although the proportion of Russian-born residents is still small - up to two percent in some places - it has developed into an important factor in net migration statistics.
     
As more working age Finns in the area move to larger cities, and with death rates among the ageing population on the rise, immigration is seen to be the only positive counterforce to the depopulation trend.
      In many communities along the eastern border, the impact of the Russian presence of both Russian immigrants and visitors is becoming increasingly obvious; the Russian language is increasingly heard in shops and seen in bilingual advertising, and cars with Russian licence plates can be seen everywhere.
     
More than two thirds of Finland’s immigrants are Russians, or originate in the countries of the former Soviet Union. In Eastern Finland, they comprise 90% of the immigrant population.
      In addition to immigrants, Eastern Finland gets many Russian tourists from across the border, who either spend their holidays on the Finnish side, or simply drop in for shopping on day trips. Some Russian residents spend longer periods of time as house guests of relatives who have emigrated.
      Some Russian businessmen have bought cottages in Finland, which they use as second homes, and in the summer, many seasonal workers come to the area to earn extra money picking strawberries.
     
     
     
     
A more extensive set of stories on the topic of Russian immigration to Eastern Finland will appear among our weekly articles next week.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Lack of potential migrants in remote areas marks new phase in internal migration (24.2.2005)
  Finland´s internal migration evens out and becomes more balanced (9.2.2005)
  Estonian immigrants are better off in Finland than those from Russia (14.10.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat