Consulates in Mariehamn

Countries are represented through their embassies and consulates, the former responsible for promoting the interests of the home country, handling diplomatic relations and supporting its citizens. Embassies are located in the capital city where consular functions also occur. Consulates may also exist in other cities. Consulates (and their chief diplomat, the consul) handle minor diplomatic issues such as issuing visas, aiding in trade relationships, and taking care of migrants, tourists, and expatriates. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, the premises of an Embassy are inviolable and “immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution,” but sovereignty of the embassy premises rests with the host country. Therefore whilst the embassy enjoys immunity it is not foreign soil as some think. Depending on the location and the home country the embassy buildings often can be grand and impressive. Some modern ones showcase the nation in a visual way.

Consulates tend to be smaller buildings which can be quite non descript.

The Russian Consulate

The Russian consulate was established on the Åland islands in 1940 following the end of the Winter War and the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty, under which the Soviet Union foisted certain conditions on Finland.

The status of the Russian Consulate in Mariehamn is controversial, as with many other Russian buildings abroad there is clear and obvious symbols of protest against the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. When Russia in May froze the bank accounts of a Finnish embassy in Moscow and closed Finnish consulate offices in Murmansk and Petrozavodsk, a former ambassador to Moscow, Hannu Himanen, stated it was time for the Russian consulate to leave Åland. Indeed, ”the rationale” and ”justification” for a Russian consulate on the island has ”long since disappeared”, former Chair of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Jussi Halla-aho (The Finns Party), said on YLE. The Consulate has been described as an historical anomaly.

The protest

Opposite the Consulate there are visible symbols of Finnish disapproval of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Other Consulates

Because of time constraints I was not able to do more than walk around the central area but was able to find a number of Consulates from different countries.