The Lidl shopping center near the Vaalimaa-Torfyanovka border crossing was previously very popular with Russian tourists. They stopped there when traveling for the so-called "run-in" of a Schengen visa, which meant visiting Finland for several hours. Many people bought products from Lidl and then returned to Russia.
Photo: ru.freepik.com
Since November 2023, Finland has restricted access across the border, including at the Vaalimaa checkpoint (previously, crossing from both Finland and Russia was possible for holders of tourist and other visas, as well as for citizens with a residence permit or European citizenship, approx. "Media Current"). On December 21, 2024, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced that the border with the Russian Federation would remain closed.
We recently reported that Cyprus is ready to accept more tourists from Russia and increase the number of visas issued in 2025.
