The number of crimes against Russians has increased in Finland

The number of hate crimes in Finland has reached a record high, most often crimes are committed against citizens of Russia, Estonia and immigrants from other countries of the former USSR, Yle reports with reference to the report of the police Academy.

"The number of hate crimes reported to the police has reached a record level ... If we do not take into account the indigenous Finns, but consider the citizenship or country of birth (of the victims), then the most common targets of such crimes were citizens of Russia, Estonia, as well as persons born in the former Soviet Union… Compared to 2023, the number of crimes against Russians has increased," the report says.

According to Yle, in 2024, the Finnish police registered more than 1.8 thousand alleged hate crimes, which is 13% more than in 2023. According to the broadcaster, the crimes are mainly related to verbal insults and threats, and the second most common are attacks. It is noted that the motive of hate crimes is most often racism: almost 70% of reports were related to alleged crimes, the motive of which is related to ethnicity or nationality. At the same time, it is indicated that Syrian citizens were more often subjected to crimes motivated by racial hatred as a percentage of the number.

"Among the plaintiffs in cases of hate crimes, Russians are in seventh place, and Ukrainians are in eighth," Yle writes.