Russians' route to Ruka: an invitation from the Finnish federation, then a case-by-case visa

Finland’s ski federation will not try to stop Russian athletes with neutral status from racing at the World Cup opener in Ruka on 27–29 November. That puts it on a different course from Sweden, where the national federation is lobbying the government to refuse Russians visas for the Falun 2027 World Championships.

“We still think the situation is sad and heavy, and that this is not the right time for it. But we have to follow the decisions that are made and live with the situation,” federation president Sirpa Korkatti said in remarks published by Dagens Nyheter on Tuesday. She said the Swedish move “was a surprise” and that the Finnish federation has not yet discussed whether to lobby its own government in the same way, although “the subject will surely come up at some stage”.

Three steps to the start line

A Russian skier needs to clear three hurdles to race in Ruka.

The first is neutral status. FIS has to approve the athlete as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN). The FIS list still carries the version of 27 October: 45 Russian and two Belarusian cross-country skiers. Of the eight athletes Russia named for Ruka and Trondheim, only Savelii Korostelev, Natalia Terenteva and Alina Pekletsova are on it. Alexander Bolshunov, Veronika Stepanova, Sergey Ardashev, Alexander Terentev and Alena Baranova are not on it.

The second is an invitation from the organiser. Finland has restricted non-essential travel by Russian citizens since September 2022. Suvi Järvelä-Hagström, deputy head of the foreign ministry’s entry affairs unit, told Iltalehti on Wednesday that professional athletes and their support staff fall into an exception group, short-term work on a visa, for which a visa can be considered under the government’s 2022 resolution. “One of the requirements in the visa applications submitted to us is an invitation from the organiser,” she said.

The organiser is Ruka Nordic Oy. Under a model agreed in February, the company, which is owned by the Finnish Ski Association, has overall responsibility for the event. Its chair is also Korkatti.

The third is the visa itself. Each application is assessed individually, Järvelä-Hagström said, whether it comes from one skier or a whole team. EU visa rules allow a refusal if an applicant is considered a threat to public order, internal security or the international relations of a member state. Neutral status is “additional information” in that assessment, she said, but all conditions must be met. A Schengen visa issued by another country can also get a professional athlete into Finland.

FIS stays out of this step. Its neutral-athlete policy says visa and entry rules “are determined solely by the host country” and that FIS bears no responsibility if a visa is refused.

Last season’s precedent

Korostelev and Terenteva, then racing as Natalia Nepryaeva, competed at the Lahti World Cup last season. Iltalehti reported that it is not known which visas they travelled on, and that no full Russian team of athletes and staff has tried to enter Finland since the border closed.

A narrower precedent comes from wrestling. In 2023, before the U23 World Championships in Tampere, the foreign ministry’s consular chief told the Finnish wrestling federation that short-stay professional sport could be a ground for a visa and amateur sport could not, Yle reported. The wrestling federation said at the time that it could not influence visas.

What Finland’s stance means

In Sweden, the debate is about whether the government can refuse visas. In Finland, the first practical step sits with the sport itself, because a visa application needs the organiser’s invitation. The person who said the federation will “follow the decisions” chairs both the federation and the company that issues those invitations. The federation therefore controls the middle hurdle, and it has said it will not use it to keep anyone out. Unless that position changes, the Finnish decision will be the foreign ministry’s.

For now, FIS status is the bigger obstacle. Five of the eight Russians named for Ruka cannot race there whatever Finland decides, because they are not on the FIS list. Bolshunov and Stepanova are the two names that would turn Ruka into a much bigger story.

Ruka will also be the first real test of a common Nordic line. Korkatti said the Nordic countries have broadly shared the same view and that she is keeping her fingers crossed for the Swedish federation. Finland is still taking the opposite practical approach four weeks before the opener. If Russians start in Ruka, it will be harder to argue that Nordic hosts act as one bloc before Falun.