Why does the eastern border
matter?

The eastern border has been central to everyday life, business and Eastern Finland’s international connections. People crossed it to visit loved ones, work and study, while raw materials and exports moved through it. Its importance concerns both people and regional vitality.

Statistics show the scale of connections. They also help distinguish long-term changes, travel restrictions and the closure of crossing points.

Connections to family, work and education

Cross-border traffic matters beyond tourism. The Border Guard’s 2024 material recognises family ties, work, study, treatment and other essential reasons for travel. Its family provisions mention spouses, parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren. [5, sections 1–10]

Shopping trips alone cannot measure the border’s importance. It also enables family relationships and everyday life across two countries. Traffic statistics cannot tell us how many journeys involved a child seeing a parent or caring for an elderly relative.

Mobility supported regional vitality

According to the baseline data in a 2013 Ministry of Transport and Communications study, road travel between Finland and Russia in 2011 totalled approximately9 300 0009.3 millionpassenger journeys. The study identified Southeast Finland as a key area for border traffic and examined its links to shopping and tourism services. [1, Table 7, p. 29; conclusions, pp. 40–41]

Travel creates demand for shops, accommodation, restaurants and transport. Broken connections therefore also affect businesses’ customer bases and local services.

Traffic figures alone cannot quantify lost turnover, jobs or tax revenue. Regional tourism, spending and business data are also needed. Explore the economic impact figures.

Freight connected industry and markets

According to Customs-based figures presented in Sainio’s 2023 study, Finland exported approximately1 300 0001.3 milliontonnes of goods to Russia by road in 2021. Road imports from Russia amounted to about3 700 0003.7 milliontonnes. The study identifies roundwood and wood chips as a significant part of road imports. [6, p. 1]

The border mattered to transport companies, industrial raw-material supply and exports. Transit through Finnish ports also connected the eastern border to international supply chains. The 2013 study reports that over 90% of the Russian port transit it examined passed through Hamina, Kotka and Kokkola in 2011. [1, p. 33, Table 8]

The end of road traffic does not mean all cross-border freight stopped. Customs reports that Vainikkala remained open for freight trains in 2024: 2,854 loaded containers arrived and 2,854 empty containers departed. Container counts do not show total rail tonnage or cargo value. [2, overview and Tables 1–2]

The Saimaa Canal also connected to the rest of Europe

In 2018, freight through the Saimaa Canal totalled approximately1 300 0001.30 milliontonnes, including approximately1 230 0001.23 milliontonnes in international traffic. This included 543,000 tonnes of imported roundwood and 169,000 tonnes of forest-industry exports. [3, p. 9]

The canal served more than Finnish-Russian trade. The statistics include Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Britain. Saimaa ports exporting goods included Joensuu and Siilinjärvi. [3, Table 4, pp. 15–16; Annex 5, pp. 43–45]

Connections via the eastern border also served Eastern Finland’s trade with other European countries. Canal data illustrates why the border must be considered as part of the entire transport network.

Connections weakened in successive stages

Scheduled air traffic also carried substantial passenger flows before the pandemic. The supplied table’s Russia row rises from 257,970 passengers in 2013 to 587,303 in 2019, then records 31,171 in 2022. [4, Page1_1, C42, O42 and U42]

These figures describe scheduled traffic by country, not Russian tourists or unique people. They show how connections by different transport modes declined at different times.

Not all economic or traffic changes can therefore be attributed to one decision. Reopening a crossing point alone would not restore previous traffic: grounds for travel, trade restrictions and functioning transport links each matter.

What should discussion of the future consider?

Future decisions need evidence on security and impacts on people and regions. These documents highlight family connections, demand for border-region services, industrial transport routes and the Saimaa area’s international accessibility.

The 2013 study was written in a very different setting. Its 2020 and 2030 figures are old forecasts, not observed traffic or current estimates. It explains earlier planning, but future solutions require updated evidence. [1, summary and Table 7]

The border’s importance does not disappear when traffic declines. Understanding what lost connections mean for people, businesses and Eastern Finland’s future becomes even more important.

Sources

References point to the supplied documents. Page numbers refer to printed publication pages; for example, source 1’s page 29 is PDF page 34.

1. Ministry of Transport and Communications (2013). Transport between Finland and Russia in 2020 and 2030. Forecast of economic and transport development. Publications 5/2013. Table 7, p. 29; Table 8, p. 33; conclusions. ISBN 978-952-243-331-2. Permanent identifier ↗.

2. Finnish Customs (25.2.2025). Border traffic statistics 2024. Overview and Table 1 (outbound) and Table 2 (inbound). Total passenger-car and van crossings in 2023: 318,458 + 318,690 = 637,148.

3. Traficom (2019). Saimaa Canal and other lock canal traffic statistics 2018. Traficom statistical publications 15/2019. P. 9, Table 4 and Annex 5. Supplied under the filename Saimaan kanavan vuosijulkaisu 2018.pdf.

4. International scheduled air passengers by country 2013–2024. Supplied Excel file Lennot Kv reittiliikenteen matk maittain 2013-2024.xlsx. Sheet Page1_1, row 42 (Russia); table dated 9.1.2025. The cells do not identify the publisher, and the original publisher has not been verified. Blank 2023–2024 cells are not interpreted as zero.

5. Finnish Border Guard. Restrictions on entry by Russian citizens. Supplied 2024 PDF copy, especially the introduction and special-group sections. Historical guidance, not current travel advice.

6. Sainio, Tuomas (2023). Changes in Finnish-Russian border traffic in 2022 — data analysis of heavy road transport. Bachelor’s thesis, Tampere University. Pp. 1, 7 and 22–26. Road tonnages are Customs data cited by the study, not independently checked original statistics for this page.

7. Ministry for Foreign Affairs (29.9.2022). Finland significantly restricts Russian tourist travel through a government resolution. Supplied as file SUOMIR\~1.PDF, p. 1.