Visas | Ksenia, who traveled from St. Petersburg to Finland, understands why the travel of Russians is restricted: “Maybe it can change the way of thinking a little”

Ksenia, 23, left early on Monday morning by bus from St. Petersburg towards Finland. From Helsinki, the journey continues on Wednesday with a direct flight to Montenegro.

Parents live in Montenegro, whom Ksenia last met in the fall of 2019. That was also the last time she traveled abroad. HS does not publish Ksenia’s last name for security reasons.

“It’s strange to travel in the middle of a war and in a way also a pandemic. It feels strange to waste money on tickets and be somewhere other than home. But it’s also nice to be able to travel”, Ksenia describes his mood on Monday in Helsinki.

He moved from Montenegro back to St. Petersburg in 2016. Due to living in different countries, he has gotten used to the fact that there can be long breaks between seeing his parents.

Now the break has been particularly long due to the corona pandemic.

“I’m looking forward to seeing my parents. We’ll probably play board games and maybe travel somewhere.”

from Montenegro Ksenia continues on his way to Berlin, where his brother and his four sons live. After a week, he will fly from there to Tallinn for two more days. From there, he plans to travel back to St. Petersburg by bus.

Ksenia decided to make a longer trip in order to get the most out of the trip.

“I wanted to see more places in addition to Montenegro, so that the trip would be more rewarding and I would get more experiences.”

Ksenia has the opportunity to travel important because of meeting relatives. In addition, traveling means freedom for him.

“I’m used to it. It’s always been a part of my life. My parents loved to travel and now I do too.”

in Finland there has recently been a discussion about whether Finland should stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. Almost all of Russia’s border neighbors have already stopped issuing tourist visas.

Ksenia’s visa is still valid until next year. He understands why the travel of Russians is now restricted.

“If you want to go to Estonia, for example, but you can’t, the person who wants to travel should at least think about why their access is restricted. Maybe it can change the way of thinking a little.”

However, he is not sure whether the consequences of the restrictions will ultimately be more good or bad.

“I don’t know if other countries should punish us by not allowing us there. People who oppose the war may now have difficulty leaving Russia and getting to safety somewhere where they don’t have to fear arrest.”

Also Ksenia scares in Russia. A couple of days before the trip, he painted a heart on his nails with nail polish in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, because he wanted to show during the trip that he was against the war.

However, he decided to cover it with different colors before crossing the border. He was afraid that the Russian border authorities would not let him cross the border because of his heart.

“Our fear has progressed to this level.”

Also Ksenia’s parents are scared. That’s why he decided to travel right now.

“My mother wanted me to travel to Montenegro as soon as possible because she is afraid that this may be our last chance to meet. He thinks that Russia will soon be closed forever.”

According to Ksenia, many of her friends have already moved from Russia to other places. However, he wants to stay.

“I want to feel at home, and I only feel that way in St. Petersburg. In addition, I want good people to remain in Russia.”

Ksenia hopes that the borders will remain open and that she will be able to travel in the future. He’s still worried, too.

“No one knows what will happen next. A lot of things have already happened that we thought in advance that they could never happen.”