Russian-speaking residents of Finland prefer to settle in Helsinki and its surroundings
– Who are they, the Russian speakers living in Finland?
– Individual Russians began living in Finland from the early 1700s. A fact that is certainly interesting, but has only historical significance. However, a century later, starting from 1809, when Finland was annexed to Russia, Russian-speaking merchants, nobles, and officials became part of Finland's population. True, it is hardly possible to speak of immigration in this case, since Finland was then part of the Russian Empire.
In 1917, Finland gained independence. From that time, we can speak of several waves of immigration. Firstly, a part of those who emigrated from Russia after the October Revolution settled in Finland. The next wave of immigration consists of persons displaced as a result of World War II.
In 1989, President Mauno Koivisto announced the possibility of repatriation and immigration to Finland for persons with Finnish roots. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the flow of Russian-speaking immigrants from the post-Soviet space to Finland increased.
Currently, Russian speakers are the largest and fastest-growing group among Finland's linguistic minorities, constituting 23% of all foreign language speakers and numbering over 62,000 people. Let me remind you, the entire population of Finland is about 5.5 million. It is interesting to note that Russian-speaking residents of Finland prefer to settle in Helsinki and its surroundings: in the capital region, the number of Russian speakers reaches 28,706 people – more than 45% of all Russian-speaking population of Finland.
– Will the number of Russian speakers in Finland increase? Or, on the contrary, will they gradually become fewer?
– There is a forecast according to which in 2050 there will be as many Russian-speaking residents in Finland as Swedish-speaking ones. Currently, there are over 250,000 of them.
– You said there were several waves of immigration. How closely do their representatives communicate with each other?
– Close communication between the different waves of immigrants is not observed.
– Then can we even talk about an established Russian-speaking community in Finland?
– You see, the Russian-speaking population of Finland is heterogeneous. Nevertheless, the basis for an immigrant's identification with the Russian-speaking diaspora is the Russian language and culture.
Russian-speaking public organizations, of which there are more than 100 throughout Finland, unite people according to various interests. Our umbrella organization, the Finnish Association of Russian-Speaking Societies, includes 35 organizations.
– And how easily do Russian-speaking residents adapt to Finnish society?
– The integration of Russian speakers proceeds in the same manner as the integration of other immigrant groups. Finland has mechanisms such as the State Integration Program for 2012–2015. Culture is also an important component. In general, based on our experience, the main problem of integration is not knowing the Finnish language.
The adaptation process requires certain efforts. This includes learning the language, understanding and accepting the culture and rules of the host country's society, and much more. Nevertheless, adaptation is usually quite successful. Of course, much also depends on the age at which the immigrant arrived in Finland.
Perhaps the biggest problem we face in everyday life is the mutual negative stereotypes that slow down the integration process. For example, Russians in Finland are considered "a relatively lazy people who do not like to follow rules." And Russians think that Finns are "withdrawn, unsociable, and prone to drinking."
– How multicultural can Finnish society be considered overall?
– At the end of 2012, about 267,000 immigrants lived in Finland, that is about 5% of the population. Compared to other EU countries, the percentage of immigrants is not very significant (in Sweden – more than 15%, in Germany – about 20%). Finland adapted very quickly to receiving an increasing number of immigrants. Finnish society can quite be called "multicultural," especially in Helsinki – there, foreign speech is heard from all sides.
– In Russian media, from time to time there are stories about the difficulties faced by Russian-speaking parents in Finland. For example, the question of who the child will stay with after a divorce is usually decided not in favor of the Russian-speaking parent. Another "scare story" is the hasty placement of children in foster families as a result of reports of improper treatment. How much do these stories correspond to the real situation?
– In our opinion, these examples do not reflect the overall picture. The main problem of immigrants is ignorance of Finnish laws on child protection. The second problem is the inability of parents to behave – both with the child protection service and with former spouses. In Finland, both parents have the right to participate in raising children even after divorce. Each situation must be considered individually.
– To what extent do Russian speakers living in Finland influence Finns' attitude towards Russia as a whole?
– What influences this attitude the most is Russia's own policy, which also affects Russian-speaking immigrants in Finland. Naturally, Russian-speaking people living in Finland also influence the creation of the image of a typical Russian person and Russia as a whole. In my opinion, Russians are praised in the workplace, and their work capacity is evaluated positively. The more people get to know Russians, the better they begin to treat them. I believe that Russian speakers living in Finland improve Finns' attitude towards Russia and Russians.
– And how great is the interest in Finland in Russian culture and language?
– Very great. Russian artists come on tour to Finland, radio often broadcasts Russian classical and contemporary music, and television shows Russian films. Interest in the Russian language is also growing. It is studied by the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö. During my meeting with the president, when we discussed the progress of the State Integration Program, at the beginning of the conversation Sauli Niinistö said a few phrases in good Russian.
Russia is an important trading partner for Finland. Business relations also contribute to the popularization of studying the Russian language. It should not be forgotten that Russia is a very important country for the prosperity of Finnish tourism, since almost half of the tourism revenue comes from Russians – about 1.6 billion euros per year. This increases interest in learning Russian as a foreign language. Therefore, the study of the Russian language is increasingly popular among adults, and the opportunities for study are constantly improving.
What is especially important, according to the Constitution of Finland, immigrants have the right to maintain and develop their native language and culture. Therefore, Russian-speaking children have the opportunity to study Russian as a native language in many schools if a sufficient number of interested students gather in the group.