On 1 February, Colonel Marko Saareks took charge of the Kainuu Border Guard, a unit responsible for security and management of a 406-kilometre section of Finland's 1,289 kilometre-long eastern land border.
Finland's eastern border-crossing points were closed in November 2023, following a rapid increase in the number of asylum seekers after Russia began allowing people without valid travel documents to cross.
According to the Finnish government, the spike in irregular entries posed a serious threat to national security and public order in Finland.
The south-eastern Vaalimaa border crossing was reopened to traffic in December 2023, but quickly closed again.
Colonel Saareks told Yle that he believes border crossing points with Russia will still reopen someday, but not very soon.
Yle posed six questions to Saareks about the current border situation:
Will the eastern border ever go back to the way it was?
"We have to take a long-term view of what 'back to normal' means. People think of the border as going back to a time when there was a significant flow of tourists and commercial traffic across the eastern border. It was, after all, a rather short phase. The border crossings will certainly be reopened at some point. It is impossible to predict how border traffic will develop, but there will be no return to the peak year of 2012 for traffic between Finland and Russia in the foreseeable future.
Will it be possible to restablish normal relations on the eastern border?
"Even that would require quite a lot of changes. First of all, Russia would have to return to being a state that respects international law. We can ask ourselves how realistic that is."
The task of the border guards is to be prepared. What are you preparing for now?
"For the Kainuu Border Guard, the most significant threat is that the influx seen at border crossings in late 2023 would shift to the wilderness land border. It was thought this risk could materialise in the spring of last year, but fortunately it did not. Over the past year, we have been able to improve our preparedness and acquire new equipment. The eastern border barrier will be completed in the main target areas by the end of next year."
What impacts would a sudden deterioration of the Russian economy have?
"Immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was anticipated that Russia's economic situation would deteriorate to the point where people would run out of food. It is not entirely out of the question that this could happen today, so we have to be prepared for such a situation. Personally, I think the possibility is remote, because the Russians' ability to tolerate arduous conditions seems surprising to us Westerners."
What is the current state of border cooperation with Russia?
"There is a border agreement between Finland and Russia and we are sticking to it. The next meeting with my Russian colleague Colonel Nikolai Averkiev will be in April, and we will discuss the border situation and unauthorised border crossings, among other things. For example, we have been able to agree on the return of hunting dogs that have crossed from Finland to Russia. Practical matters are being dealt with and that is in the interests of both Finland and Russia."
What value do you see in the fact that practical matters are settled with Russia?
"It is very important for the performance of our jobs. If there were no communication and no cooperation, even in minor matters, many things would become much more difficult in border control. Even small things are a basis for the possible re-establishment of relations in the future. I think that this spirit is also present in the meetings of the border authorities, even if it is not said out loud."