Once booming, now bleeding: South Karelia suffers $1 million loss after Finland shuts Russia border

Finland’s decision to seal its border with Russia was meant to protect its sovereignty — but it’s now tearing through its economy. In South Karelia, once buzzing with Russian shoppers and cross-border trade, hotels are empty, stores shuttered, and thousands jobless. Locals say they’re losing over €1 million a day since the closure. As Helsinki touts “security over dependency,” questions mount over whether NATO’s newest member miscalculated the cost of isolation. Did Finland’s bold stand against Moscow just doom its own border towns?