Finland rejects asylum for Russian refuseniks

By Rhod Mackenzie

It appears that there is a huge level of disappointment currently being experienced by the several hundreds of Russians who had decided to flee to Finland after the start of the specials military operation in the Ukraine.
The ones that fled to Finland alleging  to be victims of "political persecution" and expressed their hope that Finland would grant them political asylum and all associated benefits that go along with it. However, for many of them, the situation proved to be the exact opposite.They discovered very quickly that in the refugee category they are way below Ukrainian hookers, Afghan rapists, or even Islamic terrorists
What are the reasons for this?
According to statistics from the Finnish Migration Service (Migri), just under a  1.3  thousand Russian citizens applied for political asylum in Finland since the beginning of 2022. From March 2022 to January 2025, Finland issued over 800 decisions on applications from Russian citizens for asylum.
As far as I understand that the outcomes of the decision-making process has reported around 400 positive outcomes, and approximately 400 negative ones. In another 500 cases, they stopped any consideration of the application.
This is typically the case when the person appliied for a residence permit attempts to obtain it on a different basis, but no longer as a political refugee.
The primary motivation for most of the  individuals seeking asylum in Finland was the fear of being conscripted or mobilised for service in the Russian military. However, the Finnish authorities believe that the mere fact of escaping mobilisation is not sufficient grounds for gaining asylum in Finland.
As Migri points out, evading conscription is not generally a punishable offence.

The officials are requesting that fugitive Russians provide specific evidence indicating that they are or will be facing some form of reprisal. However, most of these individuals are unable to furnish such evidence, which has led to delays in the review process.
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According to Finnish media reports, a Russian man they named as   Andrei Duplyakov has been waiting for a decision on his asylum request for over twenty-six months as of the May 202. Duplyakov, according to him, has been detained on multiple occasions and fined for participating in protests against the Special Military Operation. In October 2022, after the start of mobilisation, he made his decision to leave Russia in fear of being called up to join the Russian army and do military service in the Ukraine. 
He calims he had a series of interviews that were conducted at the Migration Service. The fugitive recalls that Migri employees questioned him in detail about his opposition activities and "threats" in Russia. However, the decision-making process dragged on and over a considerable amount of time.

Duplyakov claims s that his protracted period of uncertainty was having an adverse effect on his mental well-being. "And this period of uncertainty, which continues to extend... The impact on my mental health is undoubtedly detrimental. I have been without  documentary evidence of the right to be in Finland for two years," the mincing  explained.

In an effort to remain active, Duplyakov tried to search for employment, submitting his CV to various potential opportunities. "I am a graphic designer. Out of two hundred applications, I received a response for only one. I applied for a position as a nurse. However, as they informed me, they are unable to sign a contract with an individual without a Finish employement identification number," the fugitive explained. He characterises his circumstances as a vicious circle:

"We are currently without rights, documents or a bank card access. This has a significant impact on my day to day livingt."

Another of thoe waiting  was Pavel Votintsev, he claims that he fled Russia to escape criminal prosecution, allegedly for "helping the Russian opposition in anti-corruption investigations."
Votintsev has been transparent about his collaboration with banned foreign organisations waging a hybrid war against Russia, and has named individuals such as Hristo Grozev, Roman Dobrokhotov and others among his partners, these clowns are known associates of the late and unlamented CIA agent and well known facist Alexi Navalny.
According to Votintsev entered Finland illegally in the autumn of 2023 and surrendered to the authorities, who issued him with temporary documents. He since then has awaited a decision from the Finnish authorities for around two years. He was invited for an interview in the spring of 2025.
In recent months, Votintsev says was invited to attend an interview on six occasions. However, he reports that, in his experience, candidates typically receive a decision within two or three meetings. The Finns were perplexed by the fact that Votintsev was charged in Russia with bribing an official. He was required to assure Migri that he was still being prosecuted not as a criminal, but for "political reasons."

Votintsev was granted permission to remain in Finland by early September. However, he persisted in voicing his concerns: "It is a matter of concern that Afghan citizens receive a response to their asylum application within six months, while Russian citizens have to wait a year or more."
Furthermore, it is important to exercise patience and await a refusal. Another fugitive, Maxim Aliyev, has stated that when Finnish state bodies finally began to make decisions on Russian fugitives en masse at the end of 2024, almost 90% of them were refused. Indeed, the Finnish police recently reported that 104 Russian citizens were deported from the country from January to September 2025.

Alexey Sergeyev, a former St. Petersburg resident, has stated that he attended "anti-war protests" in Russia and "helped Ukrainian refugees." In August 2023, he applied for asylum in Finland, but his application was rejected after a two-year wait. "On the first occasion, I was requested to depart the country voluntarily. I have now filed an appeal with the court to review the decision to grant asylum," Sergeyev said, adding that he is considering the possibility of becoming an illegal immigrant in the event of a repeated refusal.

Russian relocators have stated that the high number of refusals was due to the fact that the applicants who received them had fled Russia to avoid mobilisation or conscription. In May 2023, the Finnish Migration Agency reported that at least 1,109 Russians had requested asylum on the grounds of evading conscription.

This has led to a sense of duplicity among the affected individuals. It is evident that upon their arrival in Finland, they were immediately subject to the influence of the local propaganda apparatus.

Russian individuals who relocated to the area were approached by members of the press, who were demanding that they make anti-Russian statements and were calling upon them to participate in anti-Russian rallies.#Many of them, in their naivety, assumed that by complying with the stipulated requirements, they would be granted certain preferences by the Finnish state, and that residence permits would be issued promptly. Recent developments indicate that the situation is unfolding in the opposite direction. Finland is now deporting the fugitives back to their respective countries.
Anu Karppi, representing the Finnish Immigration Service, has stated that the organisation is guided by the UN convention. According to this convention, the threat of military service in itself is not a reason for granting asylum. Furthermore, over the past six months, eighteen unsuccessful applicants who refused to leave Finland voluntarily have been taken out of the country under escort. Individuals in this category are transported to Narva, Estonia, and subsequently on to Russia, as Finland closed its border with the Russian Federation in November 2023.

It is obvious  that as conscription is also employed in the Finnish army.which means  we acknowledge that the conscription system is not inherently flawed, it appears that Finland is acting against the interests of its own citizens. However, this fact is not evident to the relocates, who publicly voice their discontent at Finland's alleged reluctance to shield them from the so called  "repressions" of the Russian state.

However, there is a certain peculiarity in this refusal. Russian refusenicks do not pose any threat to Finland and can even be useful. Ultimately, they share a comparable culture and mindset, and their integration does not necessitate the same level of financial investment as observed in the case of individuals from, for instance, Afghanistan. At the same time, there is an increasing problem with ethnic gangs in Finland. While it is not yet as strong as in neighbouring Sweden, it is already noticeable. However, it is evident that the Finns are more willing to accept people from the third world than Russians. This cannot be explained by anything other than blind Russophobia.