Due to the war, there are fewer and fewer people willing to study Russian in Finnish universities
After the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the number of people wishing to study Russian is required at the University of Finland.
Reports about it Yulreports Ukrinform.
“The second Russian in Ukraine reflected the number of people wishing to enter the Russian language department at the universities of Tampere, Helsinki and Eastern Finland this year. Not all applicants showed up for the entrance exams, and several people turned down church places offered to them,” the statement said in Russia.
Be that as it may, the need for Russian speakers in Finland still exists.
“Experts in the field of Russian language, culture and society are an important resource for security policy when we consider issues such as media influence,” said Tomi Huttunen, professor of Russian literature and culture at the University of Helsinki.
According to him, one should not create an “information wall” when people do not want to know what is happening in Russia. “We need to know what is the main news today, what is being written about Finland and how attitudes towards it are changing,” adds Huttunen.
In turn, Sanna Turoma, professor of the Russian language and culture at the University of Tampere, said that knowledge of the Russian language is also important for communicating with Ukrainian refugees.
“In many there is the Russian language, often more useful than, for example, English. But we must also remember that for many Ukrainians fleeing the war, it is also the language of the enemy,” says Turoma.
Professor Huttunen believes that it is necessary to start investing in the study of the Ukrainian language of culture as soon as possible: “We have potential reserves for students who are fluent in Russian and quickly learn Ukrainian. That would be an advantage.”
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marina is reportedly paying a pan-European decision to restrict entry to Schengen countries for Russian tourists.