An issue of Allegro magazine was removed from circulation in Finland due to its advertisement of tours to Crimea
The Finnish state railway company, VR, has decided to seize the entire circulation of the Allegro magazine due to an advertisement for tourist trips to the Crimea, reported Yle news agency.
Allegro magazine is intended for passengers of high-speed Allegro trains running between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. It is issued jointly by VR and JSC Russian Railways.
The latest issue of the magazine contained an advertisement for Crimean travel published in Finnish, English, and Russian. The title reads “Back to the Crimea!”
The advertisement was noticed by a Finnish journalist, Arja Paananen, who reposted a picture of the advertisement on Facebook.
"This ad was placed in the part of the magazine for which Russian Railways is responsible. The top of the page reads, “Russian Railways Information,” according to the Communications Manager for the VR-Group Ltd., Mika Heijari.
According to him, VR neither offers nor organizes trips to the Crimea. Nevertheless, VR decided to remove the entire circulation of Allegro.
When asked whether VR was aware of what was being published in the magazine, and how such an advertisement could appear in the magazine, Heijari replied, “We will assess the situation and hold a conversation with our partners, Russian Railways. VR is responsible for Finnish materials, and Russian Railways for Russian materials.”