The Finnish-Russian school in eastern Finland is to be closed due to the alleged threat it poses to national security, the Iltalehti newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
The Finnish-Russian school, whose branches operate in three border towns – Lappeenranta, Imatra and Joensuu – educates 611 children. 50% of them are native Russian speakers, 37% speak it as their mother tongue. The other native languages of the students are Ukrainian, Karelian, Urdu, Latvian and English. The authorities in the country believe that such an environment is conducive to attempts to spread pro-Russian propaganda, writes Iltalehti.
According to the publication’s sources, the administrations of the cities where the school operates have already been informed that the continuation of its activities allegedly represents a potential threat to national security. One of these “threats” is the “increased attention of the Russian state media” to this educational institution and the use of stories about the school in “Russian propaganda.”
“We cannot allow a situation where one nationality, namely Russians, has its own school in Finland. Such an environment is prone to attempts to spread pro-Russian propaganda.” — one of the newspaper’s sources was quoted as saying by TASS.
