Russians do not hold more negative attitudes towards Finland than last year, but opinions about their Nordic neighbour have hardened over time, according to findings of a survey published by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

It said the survey, commissioned by the Finnish Embassy in Moscow and carried out by the Levada Centre in July, found "that Finland’s reputation among Russians has stabilised at a lower level compared to previous years", following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Finland joining Nato not long after that.

The survey found 40 percent of Russians holding positive attitudes about Finland, compared to 37 percent with similar sentiments in a survey last year. It noted that the difference between the two surveys was within the margin of error (3.4%).

However, the ministry said that in a longer term perspective, the proportion of Russians holding positive attitudes about Finland has declined.

It noted that in 2022, a survey found 51 percent of Russians viewing Finland positively, while in 2021 the ratio was 68 percent, and in 2019 it was 71 percent.

Younger Russians most positive

The new survey found that adults aged 18-24 were more positive about Finland compared to their older counterparts. Some 61 percent of that age group held positive attitudes towards Finland. At the same time, only 29 percent of the Russian respondents over the age of 55 shared the same opinion.

Among other things, the survey found that only 65 percent of Russian adults were aware that Finland was a member of Nato. Three-quarters of Russian men knew that Finland was a member of the military alliance, but just 54 percent of younger adults (18-24) did.

But awareness of that fact appeared to be higher in Northwest Russia, next to Finland, where 80 percent of respondents said they knew Finland was in Nato.

Across all groups, 29 percent of the Russian respondents viewed Finland's alliance membership as a "fairly significant threat". At the same time, 35 percent characterised it as a "minor threat" and 23 percent said Finland's Nato membership was "no threat at all" to Russia. Some 13 percent of respondents said they could not express an opinion.

Ministry: Results contradictory

"In light of these figures, it is contradictory that 56 percent of respondents said that Finland’s Nato membership had not affected their attitude towards Finland, and that their attitude remained unchanged. Thirty nine percent said it had negatively affected their view of Finland," the ministry's release read.

Mikko Koivumaa, the ministry's director general of communications, said the finding suggested that many Russians may not be thinking about their western neighbour very much.

"It is somewhat surprising that despite internal propaganda in Russia, one in three Russians is unaware of Finland’s Nato membership. This suggests that Finland is still only one country among many in the eyes of Russians, and we may not occupy Russian minds as much as we sometimes think. For some Russians, Finland is also geographically distant," he said.

The ministry has commissioned country image surveys in Russia at least once every two years since 2017. Thelatest survey marked the sixth time it was carried out.

"The survey was commissioned by the Embassy of Finland in Moscow and conducted by the Levada Center through in-person interviews in 50 regions and 137 population centres in Russia between 25 and 31 July 2024. The survey included a representative sample of 1,603 Russian adults aged over 18, with a margin of error of 3.4 percent. Levada is an independent research institute that has been listed as a ‘foreign agent’ by Russia’s Ministry of Justice since 2016", the ministry said.