A new wave of... flight has been observed in recent hours and is related to the war in Ukraine.[/B]
It is not Ukrainians who are fleeing their country to escape the horrors of war, it is Russians who are fleeing their country.
These are people who are eager to leave Russia because there is a persistent rumor that Vladimir Putin's government may soon declare martial law to deal with anti-invasion protests in Ukraine. This was of course denied by the Russian president on Saturday, but it seems that many citizens do not believe him.
With flights to Europe halted, the only way out of the country is by car: that is, crossing this border, or by train.
The BBC, which highlighted the issue, spoke to a Russian woman fleeing for the West, one of the lucky ones who had an EU visa before the sanctions were announced. She was desperate about what was happening.
"I'm not coming back as long as Putin rules."
"The people in Ukraine are our people, our family," she tells the BBC. "We should not kill them." Would he consider returning, he was asked? "Not while our terrible government is there. It's so, so sad."
The same young Russian woman says most of her compatriots don't want this war, but risk jail if they try to stand up to Putin.
In Finland, there is immense sympathy for people like this girl, just as there is for Ukraine and its people.
This sympathy, and the fear that Russia might attack other neighbours like Finland, is changing the country's attitude towards its traditional neutrality.
According to the latest polls, a growing majority of Finns believe it is time for their country to join NATO and gain access to the protection that membership in the alliance would bring.
Back in Helsinki, the train from St. Petersburg carries hundreds of people eager to leave Russia. Most trains are fully booked, with ticket prices skyrocketing.
The amount of money that passengers leaving Russia can bring is limited.
The ruble is in a state of collapse, the Russian economy is threatened by sanctions and the withdrawal of many major Western companies.
"I haven't experienced the worst"
Another woman who has left Russia, this time for Istanbul, tells the BBC by phone that she was terrified of returning to life as it was under the Soviet Union.
"I'm 30, I haven't experienced the worst... the repressions, the secret police," she says, speaking to the British network. "I had a very clear fear that if I'm not going to fly out right now, I'm never going to be able to fly out."
"On the one hand, it seems like this is the time to go. On the other hand, there is a reasonable fear that you won't be able to see your friends and family for - God knows - how long, if ever again."
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