Russian woman under investigation in Finland videos raises questions about content and drone footage.
A Russian woman living in Hamina, eastern Finland, is under preliminary investigation after publishing videos on YouTube that paint a negative picture of Finland. Her channel, called Ne zhizn a skazka (“Not Life but a Fairytale”), has attracted attention due to its critical tone and alleged drone footage near sensitive locations.
Over the last five months, the videos have appeared with narration in Russian accompanied by English subtitles. They show scenes of empty houses, abandoned places, and long lines at food banks. The woman presents these images as proof of an economic collapse in Finland. She blames the country’s membership in NATO and the worsening relationship with Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine for these problems.
One video describes Finns as “a stupid and evil monkey” who is poking “a sleeping lion,” referring to Russia. Another video directly criticizes President Alexander Stubb. Some of the clips have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and the channel has over 3,000 subscribers.
The footage mainly comes from southeast Finland, including Hamina and the capital region, as well as the Fennovoima nuclear power plant site in Ostrobothnia. In 2022, Fennovoima cancelled its contract with Russia’s Rosatom because of delays and security worries.
Finnish Border Guard has started investigating possible illegal drone flights near the Vaalimaa border crossing. Russian citizens are prohibited from flying drones in the EU because of war-related sanctions. The Southeast Finland Border Guard said the investigation will continue throughout the summer.
