An Unexpected Finnish: From Kazan to London, via Saint Petersburg and Helsinki
Sitting at Saint Petersburg Bus Station, the situation we found ourselves in still hadn ’ t fully sunk in. An eclectic mix of people and nationalities had poured in as the station opened its doors: families, students, tourists, or in our case, people working in Russia. Wherever in the world they came from, the destinations they were hoping to get to were largely the same: Finland, Estonia and Latvia - which share the three closest land borders with Russia. Saint Petersburg has always been seen as Russia ’ s most Westernised city - a window onto Europe - and this had never been more true. This came just eight days after Russia had begun its full-scale invasion of Ukraine - sparking fury and economic sanctions from all over the world. For the first few days, the atmosphere remained largely unchanged, despite an increased police presence in the centre of Kazan. Whilst protests in Saint Petersburg and Moscow attracted thousands, those found in Kazan were a much more low-key affair. Any ant
