Russian State TV's Unfortunate Looking Map Sparks Avalanche of Jokes, Memes

A Russian state TV graphic showing the route from St. Petersburg, Russia, to the Finnish capital Helsinki after Finland closed all but one of its eastern border crossings has sparked mockery online, with social media users suggesting it looked like a middle finger or male genitalia.

The map was broadcast on the Russia-1 channel during a show presented by Evgeny Popov, also a member of Vladimir Putin's United Russia party in the country's parliament.

On Wednesday, the Finnish government announced it was closing seven out of the eight border crossing points it maintains with Russia, following an influx of migrants and refugees which Helsinki claims Moscow had facilitated.

The only crossing point that remains operational is Raja-Jooseppi, in the north of Finland. Tensions along the border increased after Finland joined NATO in April 2023 as a direct response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

During a discussion about the border closures on his show, Popov displayed a map showing what a journey from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, via the Raja-Jooseppi crossing, would now entail. The two cities were encircled in red, with a red line showing the route between them using the one remaining crossing, presenting a phallic shape on the map.

Popov commented: "This is what the current routes from St. Petersburg to Helsinki look like through the only working checkpoint on the Finnish border.

"The Finns have closed all the others in an attempt to curry favor with Washington and NATO. After all, it is our country and its union with China that poses an unprecedented threat to the United States."

An 18-second clip was shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry who monitors Russian state media, where it has received more than 68,000 views.

The clip sparked mockery from other social media users, with one writing: "Russian tv presenting penis route."

Other X users suggested the picture looks like a middle finger, with one stating: "How many people here think the picture is a middle finger to Putin's logic? How can they display the funny and hilarious image without even realizing it?"

Another wrote: "They really used this picture? :-))) They are getting worse and worse."

Finland claims more than 700 migrants from countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Syria have attempted to cross its borders over the past few weeks, a flow it accuses Moscow of having orchestrated.

The Finnish border guard said it is stepping up patrols along the 833-mile frontier with Russia and is receiving backing from 50 Frontex officers, from the European Union's border agency.

Estonia has also warned it could close its eastern border as "the migration pressure from Russia escalates."

Speaking to Reuters, a spokesman for Finnish Interior Minister, Lauri Läänemets, said: "Unfortunately, there are many signs that Russian border officials and possibly other agencies are involved.

"Quite frankly, [the] ongoing migration pressure on Europe's eastern border is a hybrid attack operation."

In an interview with Newsweek, Sari Arho Havrén, an associate fellow at the RUSI thinktank and a visiting researcher at the University of Helsinki, suggested Russia is responding to Finland's NATO accession and the Defense Cooperation Agreement with the U.S., announced last month.

She warned: "Although Finnish authorities say that Finland is ready to respond decisively to these Russian pressure attempts, the situation is not getting easier, but could get worse."

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment by email.