Borderscapes of a closing border: a netnographic study of Finnish–Russian transnationals

A relatively permeable border between Finland and Russia enabled transnational life around the border, particularly for thousands who had immigrated to Finland. However, the deterioration of Finno-Russian relations – escalating with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine – led to the border’s closure in late 2023. This paper explores situated borderscapes as articulated in selected online discussions among Finnish–Russian transnationals, whose interpretations of border developments often diverged from dominant Finnish and EU representations. Employing unobtrusive auto-netnography (2023–2024), the study examines the situated, experienced and socio-spatial dimensions of the closing border.