Finland Bans Russians From Buying Property As Zelensky Says ‘Hatred’ For Them Is Justified

On Friday Finland’s parliament unanimously approved a government proposal for a complete ban on real estate acquisitions from Russian nationals. The country’s leaders are hailing that the resolution was passed.

The Finnish Defense Ministry announced Friday that the measure aims to strengthen national security and that “This decision sends a clear message: we will not allow Finland to be undermined,” according to the statement.

It applies to those from countries which “wage a war of aggression and pose a potential threat to Finland’s national security” – who are now barred from carrying out real estate transactions.

Finland will of course deny that its policies which target Russians are racist or xenophobic based on the following caveat:

The ban would not apply to Russians or other foreigners with a Finnish permanent residence permit or an EU residence permit granted by Helsinki, allowing them to seek approval from Finland’s Defense Ministry for transactions.

The legislation also seeks to prevent Russians from buying property through a third party, in any arrangement which tries to conceal the real buyer’s identify.

During the first year of the Russia-Ukraine war, Western countries and institutions waged a cultural ‘war’ against all things seen as ‘Russian’ – from cancelling Russian classical music and ballet performances, to boycotting things as simple as Russian tea rooms or restaurants. Even books by the famous author Fyodor Dostoevsky were subject of hysterical denunciations in some corners.

Since then, it’s apparently been OK for people to hate an entire nationality or ethnicity based on mere association with the Russian nation or identity. Western ‘enlightened liberals’ have advanced such an agenda, but also the Ukrainians themselves.

For example, Russian media has highlighted some of President Zelensky’s latest comments on all of this as follows:

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has admitted that his “hatred” of Russians is one of the driving forces propelling him to “keep going” in the conflict against Moscow.

In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro published on Wednesday, Zelensky identified the emotion as one of his three key psychological drivers since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022.

Zelensky said he hated “Russians who killed so many Ukrainian citizens,” adding that he considered such an attitude appropriate in wartime. His other motivations included a sense of national dignity and the desire for his descendants to live “in the free world.”

Of course, the Ukrainian government has also welcomed Finland’s move to ban all property purchases by Russians, something which is likely to be mimicked by some other EU and NATO member states.

Trump on Zelensky:

You see the hatred he’s got for Putin. It’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate. He’s got tremendous hatred. pic.twitter.com/DSaRtZJiaf

— Clash Report (@clashreport) February 28, 2025

Regardless, Washington is pursuing a different track, with ongoing bilateral meetings with Moscow with a goal of restoring diplomatic normalization. A Thursday meeting of delegations in Istanbul was toward this end, as is Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s third visit to Moscow to meet with Putin on Friday.