As Russia becomes increasingly isolated after the Ukrainian invasion, leaving the country is a challenge. Flights have been blocked from many western countries, and the few that are still able to take off are now dramatically more expensive than they were just a few days ago.
In this way, trains to Finland will remain one of the few routes out of the country, and Helsingin Sanomat meni on Monday evening to Helsinki Central Station to meet the Allegro service from St. Petersburg.
The high-speed line has two trains in each direction since they were restarted last year due to Covid restrictions, and passenger numbers fell to pre-pandemic levels.
Only Russian or Finnish citizens are allowed on the trains due to a rule set by Russia. But there were still plenty of passengers on Monday for the HS interview.
One Dutch-Russian couple met again in Helsinki before their trip to the Netherlands and Alyonnathe fleeing Russian, explained that the train was his only route out of the country.
Others had similar stories of joy getting out and going out of grief, but they were largely horrified by the war ordered by the Russian president. Vladimir Putin.
VR told the newspaper that they would continue to operate trains to Russia for the time being and that the decision to stop it is not theirs alone.
Finnair’s irritation
Russia’s isolation has had a huge impact on many Western companies, and Finnair is one of those now climbing to re-evaluate its strategy.
Evening paper asked consultant Jorma Mäntynen from his analysis of the situation.
"This has not been seen before," said Mäntynen. "Trade and communication relations between different continents have deteriorated significantly. In that sense, it is quite catastrophic."
He says that Finnair is having difficulties because its strategy offers a connection between Europe and Asia – by flying over Russia. That “shortcut” promise is no longer valid, and an alternative route through the Middle East is an expensive solution for Helsinki residents.
The problem with Finnair and the rest of us is that they do not know how long this situation will continue and therefore cannot plan for the future.
The airline has so far canceled flights to Japan, China and Korea this week and flights to Russia until 28 May.
The company declined to comment to Iltalehti. managing director Topi Manner had stated in a statement on Monday that some of the company ‘s routes would be financially unprofitable if they had to fly a longer route, but the company understands the urgency of the situation in Ukraine and the need for sanctions.
Tampere Kiev Solidarity
Tampere-lehti Aamulehti is a image gallery and video from the city’s “Kiev Park,” where people have lit candles and gathered to show solidarity with the Ukrainian capital.
The park was established in the Kaleva area as part of the Tampere – Kiev twinning municipality in 1954.
AL also has some positive consequences from the crisis, as the Finnish hockey capital sees the return of some of their favorite players.
Marko Anttila returns to Ilves at the end of the Finnish season after his club Jokerit announced that it would not survive the playoffs in the Russian KHL.
Their city rival Tappara signed up Otto Leskinen and Veli-Matti Savinainen for the rest of the season.
The city is scheduled to host the World Cup in May, but as expected at the IIHF announced on Monday night that Russian and Belarusian teams are not allowed to compete there.
Source: The Nordic Page