According to a report from WNP, Moscow residents going to plots in the southern lake district of the country, cover more than 3,500 km, EU Helpers reports.

In order to facilitate the travel process, citizens of Russia addressed a petition to Finland’s President, Sauli Niinisto, urging for the easing of border restrictions, which also affect Russian citizens who have had summer plots in their neighbouring country, Finland, for many years. The petition was signed by a large number of Russians.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led EU countries to impose harsh sanctions as a response.

Last month, Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs further extended the travel restrictions for Russians.

The decision was confirmed through a statement published by the Ministry on July 6, which stressed that the restrictions have also been tightened for business travellers, property owners, and students, among others.

It aims to regulate further the movement of persons included in these categories.

“The non-essential travel of Russian citizens to Finland and through Finland to the rest of the Schengen area will continue to be restricted for the time being. At the same time, restrictions are tightened for business travellers, property owners, and students,” the Ministry pointed out in a statement.

The decision means that business travellers will be banned from using Finland as a transit country, meaning that their travel would be limited to Finland.

At the same time, property owners will also need a valid basis for their presence in the country. Besides, authorities also noted that stricter rules would also be applied to Russian citizens planning to apply for a visa.

In June this year, the Finnish government announced that it would further tighten entry restrictions on Russian travellers to make it impossible for passengers to use loopholes in the current restrictions.

On June 27, the President of Finland and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed the travel process of Russian citizens to Finland and through Finland to other Schengen Zone countries.

“The President and the Ministerial Committee noted that Russian citizens’ travel may still harm Finland’s international relations. The restrictions on non-essential travel should therefore be kept in place and tightened to prevent breaches,” the statement provided by the Prime Minister’s Office noted.

The same emphasised that travel restrictions introduced on Russians on September 29, 2022, would soon be renewed.