DISINFO: Finland panics over not being able to return to Russian markets
SUMMARY
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the development of conditions for the return of Western companies to the Russian market. It is assumed that those who refrained from making harsh statements about Russia after February 22, 2022 will be able to get a "return ticket" to Russian markets.
New conditions for resuming business in Russia for Western companies have caused panic in Finland. The Finns are despondent because of Putin's new order and themselves admitted: "We've played too much. The way back to Russian markets is closed for Finnish companies." Finland is now predicted to face devastation and it is well aware that Helsinki has done everything to destroy relations with Moscow.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia’s economic resilience and the looming economic collapse of its adversaries due to sanctions. This is part of a wider disinformation campaign about the EU sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Allegations about "panicked Finns" cannot be considered reliable, since it is based on three comments from anonymous people on social media. At the official level, there is no panic in Finland, and the country's economy has begun to slowly but surely recover from the recession associated with the global coronavirus pandemic and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As of the last quarter of 2024, Finnish companies have stopped doing business in Russia. Only 0.9% of Finnish companies are in the process of exiting the Russian market, the Finland Chamber of Commerce reports following a survey. In total, more than a hundred member companies of the Chamber from different regions of Finland took part in the survey. A fifth of that companies said that they plan to participate in the restoration of Ukraine.
“The restoration of Ukraine is already underway, and some Finnish companies are already participating in the work. Almost half of the companies that responded to our survey have not yet decided whether to participate or not. This is understandable, because many are waiting for the end of the war, when the restoration of Ukraine will begin in full force,” says Päivi Pohjanheimo, Director of International Affairs & Trade, Finland Chamber of Commerce.
The process of Finnish companies exiting the Russian market began immediately after the start of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Pohjanheimo explained that this process was not easy for all companies, but now these procedures are completed.
It is separately noted that a third of Finnish companies received various offers to bypass the sanctions. This once again underlines the fact that sanctions due to Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine are working and causing strong economic tension in Russia.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the economic recovery of Finland is expected to strengthen from 2025 onwards. The Ministry of Finance projects the economy to grow by 1.6% in 2025 and 1.5% in 2026 and 2027. The recovery is supported by subsided inflation and falling interest rates. The strengthening of growth is expected to gradually increase employment and improve confidence in the future among households and businesses. Companies' cost competitiveness in global markets is good, and exports are expected to gradually pick up as conditions improve in Finland's export markets. At the same time, the IMF emphasises that Finland's economy “has significant growth potential and could exceed expectations“.
See also our article Inflation-stagflation-and-spin-the-kremlins-economic-war-propaganda.
Read similar disinformation narratives claiming that Russia’s economy is massively outperforming that of the collective West, that Europe’s fall continues and poverty is knocking at the door and that sanctions that were supposed to destroy Russia may disintegrate the EU.