By Olha Chepil | 2025-03-03

KYIV -- The Finnish government has submitted a bill to parliament that would restrict real estate purchases by Russians citing the threat to national security.

The text of the bill submitted February 6 does not name Russia but instead targets any country that is waging a war of conquest and that may imperil Finland's national security.

But these restrictions specifically target Russians, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen confirmed.

Russia poses a security threat in Europe, and ill-intentioned property ownership can exert hostile influence, he said.

"[Foreign real estate acquisitions] can target the Finnish economy, infrastructure, businesses and security of supply or Finland's capacity to provide security for its population," Häkkänen said in a statement published on the Finnish Defense Ministry website February 6.

"We made this bill because we want to restrict all possible risks to the security of people in Finland," reads the statement.

Russia is 'main danger'

The new law, if enacted, is expected to give Finnish authorities more ability to scrutinize each Russian attempt to buy real estate.

"In these cases, a real estate purchase will be possible only with approval from the Finnish Ministry of Defense," said Alexander Boyko, a practicing realtor and member of the Union of Real Estate Specialists of Ukraine. "I assume this bill will reduce the number of requests from Russians to purchase real estate."

However, the ban will not apply to permanent residence permit holders in Finland or those holding a similar Finnish permit for third-country nationals.

The Finnish real estate market will not experience significant changes, because the main buyers are currently Europeans and local residents, said Boyko.

"But difficulties in selling may arise for Russian citizens who already own real estate in Finland, because the circle of potential buyers will narrow," he told Kontur. "Overall, this law is more about security than about economics."

Relations between Finland and neighboring Russia have worsened since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, prompting Helsinki to join NATO.

After the start of the war, Finland's politicians and public became increasingly concerned about security issues related to real estate purchases by Russians.

"The Finns are prohibiting Russians from buying real estate to prevent them, say, from buying an apartment near a military garrison and surreptitiously taking pictures of everything. Or from buying some strategic factory," Galina Sergeyeva, a journalist for the Finnish state broadcaster Yle, told Kontur.

In 2020, Russian oligarch Igor Kesayev, who was suspected of having ties to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and weapon production, and who has been subject to European Union (EU) sanctions since 2022, bought the entire island of Kotasaari 100km from the Finnish-Russian border, Sergeyeva recalled.

"The Finns are doing everything to protect themselves, because Russia is their main danger," she said.

Russian narratives everywhere

There are about 60,000 Ukrainians in Finland because of the war, but they are outnumbered by the roughly 100,000 to 300,000 Russians in that country, said Sergeyeva.

For the most part, these Russians have already gained Finnish citizenship, learned the language and are assimilated. Accordingly, they are not included in head counts of migrants in Finland.

"It's very noticeable. For example, in one study [in September 2022], one-fifth of local Russian speakers support the war," said Sergeyeva. "This is a very large number. Among Finns, nobody supports the war at all, and it's surprising to me that people have lived here for many years and still continue to love [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."

Many organizations in Finland, including the Russian Club Vantaa and Russian-Speakers of Finland, support the Russian narratives, she said.

The main hazard they pose is that they not only unite Russians but try to entice Ukrainians to join them, said Sergeyeva.

They take Finnish government money meant to support Ukrainian refugees, "but they can't even openly condemn the war or at least call the war a war," said Sergeyeva.

Since December 2023 Finland has closed all crossings along its 1,340km-long shared border with Russia.

"Russian-Finns organized this Alexander Society here, which conducts protests against the border closure. And many Russian speakers are also trying to prove that they shouldn't be restricted," said Sergeyeva.

An example for others

Finland is the first country in the EU to potentially impose such real estate restrictions on Russians, analysts say. The Finnish parliament plans to vote on the bill this spring.

"Steps like those in Finland can set a certain precedent," Ihor Reiterovych, director of political and legal programs at the Ukrainian Center for Social Development, told Kontur. "They will show that this can, in fact, be done, and there is no point in being afraid of anything."

"If there is a question of national security, all other principles must take a back seat."

Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland have already considered barring Russian and Belarusian citizens from buying land, he said. Other countries are trying to limit Russia in other ways.

"Britain did similar things. It seized some of the property of Russian oligarchs if there was evidence that they were connected with the Russian government, with the military-industrial complex," said Reiterovych. "Each country can make such decisions for itself and implement them."

In addition to the new laws, Finland recently announced large-scale exercises on its border with Russia, which will last from February 24 to March 7. The maneuvers will take place amid growing tensions in the region and tighter security measures.