Russian holidaymakers are flocking to the medieval border city of Vyborg for a taste of European life, even as Ukrainian drone strikes and closed NATO borders cast a shadow over the destination. Annual visitor numbers have risen from 1.3 million in 2022 to a projected 2.1 million this year, with winter holiday hotel bookings up 22%.
A Nordic-style outpost near the Finnish frontier
Vyborg sits 821 miles northwest of St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland, just 18 miles from NATO territory. Founded by Swedish crusaders in 1293, the city features a 13th-century castle, the Tower of St. Olaf, cobblestone streets and Alvar Aalto's modernist library. Known historically to Finns as Viipuri, it was Finland's second-largest city before the Soviet Union seized it during the Winter War of 1939-40 and World War 2, expelling tens of thousands of Finnish residents.
With European borders largely closed to ordinary Russians following Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sightseers now wander between medieval jousting tournaments, Christmas fairs and European-style bakeries, seeking an escape from international isolation.
War and border closures loom over the city
The realities of the war sit close to the tourist attractions. Recruitment billboards featuring Soviet troops alongside modern Russian soldiers deployed to Ukraine stand a few blocks from the central railway station. Bomb shelter signs dot street corners, and in March Ukrainian drone strikes damaged a historic building and a Federal Security Service (FSB) Coast Guard icebreaker, triggering routine internet blackouts during air-raid alerts.
NATO-member Finland has sealed the frontier, shutting all crossings and erecting 125 miles of steel fencing. Cross-border family visits and weekend trips have vanished overnight. One local, 23-year-old Maria, said her parents bought land nearby expecting easy trips abroad: "Dad thought he'd be going to Finland to get croissants for Mom. Then the war started." Asked if she would ever cross into the West again, she said: "That depends on one person whose last name starts with 'P'."
Tourism surge amid a bloody conflict
For now, Vyborg is as close to the West as ordinary Russians can get. But between the drone raids, the recruitment posters and Finland's sealed border, the medieval charm does not hide the reality of the war, which saw the loss of 54,400 Russian troops killed or seriously wounded in October alone, the bloodiest month since the conflict began.
