The City of Helsinki has subsidised a neighbourhood association run by a man publicly sympathetic to Moscow.
Helsinki’s taxpayers have helped finance a neighbourhood association led by a man whose sympathies lie with Vladimir Putin, finds an investigation by Yle’s Ukrainian-language news unit.
Several pro-Russian Finns recently attended the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, despite Finland having no official representation at the event.
Hosted by Vladimir Putin, the forum is designed to showcase Russia’s economy to an international audience.
One of the Finnish participants was Helsinki resident Jauri Varvikko, who posted pictures of the event on his Facebook page.
Another Finn present at the event was Jussi Särkelä, a former SDP city councillor for Vantaa, who left the position in 2025, following pro-Russia comments.
“Jauri is unofficially representing Finland. We have conveyed to the Kremlin our hope that a brief meeting could be arranged between Jauri Varvikko and President Putin,” Särkelä posted on Facebook.
Varvikko and Särkelä serve as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the association Suomen Uusi Strategia (‘Finland’s New Strategy’), founded in 2025. The group says its mission is to promote peace and disarmament. The most recent update on its website, published in April, quotes Pavel Kuznetsov, Russia’s ambassador to Finland.
Helsingin Sanomat has also reported that Varvikko attended a reception hosted by the Russian embassy in Finland last year to mark Victory Day, which commemorates the former Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Subsidised activities
Varvikko also chairs Naapuriseura (‘Neighbour Society’), an organisation that says it seeks to repair relations with Russia.
The group operates its own media outlet, Naapuriseuran Sanomat, which frequently echoes Russian narratives, criticises the Finnish government, disparages Ukraine and highlights Russia’s achievements. Its latest article quoted a speech by Putin in which he argued that sanctions had strengthened Russia.
Jauri Varvikko also chairs a neighbourhood association in Kaarela, western Helsinki. This year, the City of Helsinki granted it a 72,000-euro subsidy. In addition, it receives a 6,000-euro annual grant to put on a local festival, dubbed Mätäjoki.
“Neither the application nor reporting materials submitted by the Mätäjoki Festival, including details of its programme content, have revealed any content that would violate the conditions attached to the grant,” Ilpo Kiiskinen, a communications manager for the City of Helsinki, told Yle.
Varvikko and Särkelä did not respond to Yle’s request for comment.
The report comes amid earlier controversies over the City of Helsinki awarding funding to associations that organised children’s summer camps in Russian-occupied Crimea.
