Russia’s closest neighbour to Norway, the municipality of Pechenga, has started reindeer husbandry on the Rybachy Peninsula, and plans to open a base for tourists.

This February the hotels of Rovaniemi, Lapland have been full to the brim with customers. Usually this many people stay in hotels in the northern city only during the Christmas season, but this year the tourist boom will continue into March at least.

Russian regions feel the pain as the country’s economy spirals into depression. In Murmansk Oblast, the governor cuts her budget with 25 percent.

Despite plummeting raw material prices, the Russian steelmaker gets its best financial result in six years.

Production is down and prices drop 40 percent in half a year. But Norilsk Nickel still keeps the margins.

Russian businesses and individuals repatriating money from Finland are likely to be behind recent capital outflows.