Two in three Finns believe the country should not yet begin normalising relations with Russia, according to a new poll commissioned by Ilta-Sanomat.
A total of 67 percent opposed starting the process. Of those surveyed, 38 percent strongly disagreed with the idea and 29 percent somewhat disagreed.
However, 26 percent said Finland should already begin moving towards normalisation, while seven percent were unsure.
Taloustutkimus research director Tuomo Turja described the majority against normalisation as clear, but said he was surprised that roughly one in four respondents was already willing to begin the process.
Given the consistently strong Finnish public support for Ukraine in previous surveys, Turja said he had expected opposition to normalisation to be even higher.
The poll defined normalisation as a future restoration of diplomatic, economic and people-to-people relations between Finland and Russia.
Turja stressed that respondents were asked whether the process should begin, rather than whether relations should immediately return to their pre-war state.
Putin call did not reopen bilateral relations
The survey comes days after Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 27.
The Finnish and Norwegian governments said the call concerned Russia’s war against Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to end it. It followed talks in Oslo and was conducted in consultation with Ukraine. Stubb and Støre said they were conveying messages related to future peace negotiations rather than reopening bilateral relations with Moscow.
Stubb later said the call had been made at Ukraine’s request and emphasised that Finland had not reopened bilateral relations with Russia.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has likewise said that the time has not yet come for Finland or Europe to restore bilateral political contacts with Russia.
The distinction is significant in Finland, where relations with its eastern neighbour have changed profoundly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Finland’s land border with Russia has remained closed since December 2023. The government renewed the closure in June 2026, saying the threat of Russia again using instrumentalised migration to exert pressure on Finland remained significant.
Differences between party supporters
Attitudes varied between supporters of Finland’s political parties.
Green League voters were the most opposed to beginning normalisation, with 81 percent against. Among National Coalition Party supporters, the figure was 78 percent, followed by 74 percent among Social Democratic Party voters and 71 percent among Centre Party supporters.
Support for beginning normalisation was somewhat higher among Finns Party and Left Alliance voters. Thirty percent of Finns Party supporters and 27 percent of Left Alliance supporters favoured starting the process.
Even in those groups, however, clear majorities remained opposed: 67 percent of Finns Party supporters and 65 percent of Left Alliance supporters said Finland should not yet begin normalising relations.
Turja said the results suggest that a major shift in Finland’s Russia policy would be unlikely regardless of the composition of the next government.
Border regions show only limited difference
The economic effects of the collapse in relations with Russia have been particularly visible in eastern Finland, where cross-border trade and tourism once played a significant role.
In Kymenlaakso and South and North Karelia, 15 percent strongly supported beginning normalisation, compared with eight percent nationwide.
Overall, however, opinion in the eastern border regions was almost identical to the national result: 26 percent supported beginning normalisation and 67 percent opposed it.
Education also correlated with attitudes. Among respondents with a university or other higher-education degree, 76 percent opposed beginning normalisation, compared with 56 percent of those with vocational education. There was no similarly clear divide between age groups. In every age category, between 60 and 75 percent opposed starting the process.
Taloustutkimus conducted the survey for Ilta-Sanomat on October 28–29. It questioned 1,103 adults living in mainland Finland through an online panel. The results were weighted by age, gender, region and current party preference. The maximum margin of error for the full sample is approximately three percentage points in either direction.