There has been long speculation that the Russian president has had a summer residence built in Saltvik on the island, which however has not been proven. The Russian state is however the owner of this plot and three other properties on Åland. Other properties in Finland are current, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
The Russian state owns several properties and land in Finland that were expropriated from Germany when the Continuation War ended in 1944.
I'm getting really happy. Better that the state, region or municipality takes over these plots than that the Russians have them. Because I've realized that it's been dangerous that the Russians have 100,000 square meters right in the middle of NATO and out at sea as they have here, says Ulf Grüssner, whose family has tried to buy back their family home in Saltvik for 50 years, to Svenska Yle.
Compensation for Crimea
The background is that the Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz has applied for the confiscation of Russian assets in several Western countries, following a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in April 2023. The court then ordered Russia to pay Naftogaz five billion euros in compensation for the damages caused by the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014.
The Helsinki District Court decided in August that Russian property worth around four billion euros would be seized.
According to Naftogaz, Finland is the first country to seize Russian property.
Russia protests
In total, over 40 Russian properties have been seized in Finland. Among them are a Russian "culture and science center" in Helsinki, apartments, residential buildings and offices in Helsinki and Turku, as well as waterfront properties on the Gulf of Finland. The total value of these is estimated to be over 35 million euros, writes Yle.
Russia's embassy is strongly protesting the confiscations in a diplomatic note to Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports STT. According to Russia, half of the properties belong to diplomats, and they accuse Finland of violating international law.
