Finnish MPs report home break-ins; one found feces; Russia suspected
Version 2: New reports from Dong-A Ilbo and Kyunghyang Shinmun add comments from parliament speaker Jussi Halla-aho and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, name lawmaker Ben Zyskowicz as a source of the Russian-operation suspicion, describe the suspected intrusions as dating back about a year rather than a week, and place the case in the context of Finland's coming election.
In short
About 20 Finnish members of parliament have reported suspected break-ins at their homes, and one lawmaker found unexplained feces in a toilet, according to reports citing Britain's Telegraph. Police are investigating. Finnish politicians have raised the possibility that Russia is behind the incidents, but Russian involvement has not been confirmed.
Read the full story 3 min read
About 20 Finnish members of parliament have reported suspected break-ins at their homes, and one lawmaker found unexplained feces in a toilet, according to reports citing the British daily The Telegraph. Police have opened an investigation, the reports say. Accounts differ on timing: Yonhap and Maeil Business say about 20 lawmakers reported suspected intrusions in the past week, while Dong-A Ilbo and Kyunghyang Shinmun say the reports go back about a year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Beyond the toilet incident, Dong-A Ilbo, citing Finnish public broadcaster Yle, said some lawmakers found lights on in homes that should have been empty or kitchen cabinets that had been removed for no apparent reason. The outlet said parliament had sent lawmakers safety guidance. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that parliament speaker Jussi Halla-aho said on Oct. 1 that he was aware of a “considerable scale” of suspected intrusions and that traces might have been left deliberately so residents would notice them. [ 3 , 4 ]
Suspicion has been directed at Russia. A senior lawmaker from Finland's ruling party called the incidents a Russian operation to intimidate politicians. “It is a method of the Russian intelligence services to show politicians that they are being watched,” the lawmaker said, adding that it was meant to “cause confusion and worry”. Maeil Business stated that Russian involvement has not been confirmed. Kyunghyang Shinmun named National Coalition Party lawmaker Ben Zyskowicz as making a similar remark. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the incidents could be linked to a foreign power, saying that if someone is trying to destabilise Finland, shake confidence in its security or weaken support for Ukraine, “the opposite result will appear,” according to Kyunghyang Shinmun. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
President Alexander Stubb said, according to the reports, that “attacks on members of parliament are attacks on democracy”, that this must not be tolerated in any form, and that Finland would stand against it together with all lawmakers. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
The documents describe the tactic as longstanding. The Telegraph reported that entering the homes of foreign politicians or diplomats and deliberately leaving traces to spread fear is an old Russian practice, and that in some countries agents were said to urinate in the bathrooms of diplomats and journalists. The Wall Street Journal reported that in 2023 a senior United States official visiting Russia found human feces in his suitcase, which it attributed to Federal Security Service agents. Former BBC Russia correspondent Sarah Rainsford described similar experiences in her 2024 memoir “Goodbye to Russia”. Kyunghyang Shinmun said the US State Department calls the method “residential intrusion”, recalled that Guardian journalist Luke Harding reported FSB agents left sexual material in his Moscow flat in 2011, and traced the practice to Soviet intelligence in the 1960s, inspired by East Germany's Stasi; it said some victims were driven to suicide. It said this was presumed to be the first time the tactic had been used in Finland. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
Finland shares a 1,340-km border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023, dropping decades of military non-alignment after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Finnish authorities are on higher alert over Russian sabotage ahead of a parliamentary election next April, and that Orpo said the investigation matters because “in several European countries we can see that Russia has tried to influence elections”. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The reports come from a country that shares a 1,340-km border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023, so alleged intrusions against lawmakers are being treated by Finnish officials as a security and democracy matter rather than a routine police case. The investigation is unfolding before a parliamentary election due next April, with the prime minister linking it to concerns about Russian interference in European elections. Whether Russia is responsible remains unconfirmed in the documents.
Key facts
- Reports citing the Telegraph say about 20 Finnish members of parliament have reported suspected break-ins at their homes. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- One lawmaker found unexplained feces in a toilet at home. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Police have opened an investigation into the break-ins. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- President Alexander Stubb said attacks on members of parliament are attacks on democracy and must not be tolerated in any form. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- A senior lawmaker from Finland's ruling party said the incidents fit a Russian intelligence method of showing politicians they are being watched and causing confusion and worry; Maeil Business reported that Russian involvement has not been confirmed. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- Finland shares a 1,340-km border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023, ending its military non-alignment policy after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Reports citing the Telegraph say about 20 Finnish members of parliament have reported suspected break-ins at their homes; outlets differ on whether this covers the past week or about the past year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- One lawmaker found unexplained feces in a toilet at home. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Police are investigating the suspected break-ins. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- President Alexander Stubb said attacks on members of parliament are attacks on democracy and must not be tolerated in any form. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- Finland shares a 1,340-km border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023, abandoning its military non-alignment policy after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Russian intelligence was behind the break-ins Maeil Business states plainly that Russian involvement has not been confirmed; the documents cite only suspicion voiced in Finnish political circles.
- The period in which the incidents occurred Yonhap and Maeil Business describe about 20 lawmakers reporting suspected intrusions in the past week, while Dong-A Ilbo and Kyunghyang Shinmun say such reports go back about a year.
- The exact number and identity of the affected lawmakers The figure of about 20 rests on the lawmakers' own reports as described by the outlets, and no full list of names is given.
- Who made the original allegation of a Russian operation Yonhap and Maeil Business refer only to an unnamed senior ruling-party lawmaker; Kyunghyang Shinmun attributes a similar remark to National Coalition Party lawmaker Ben Zyskowicz, a single-source identification.
- The date of the Telegraph report Yonhap, Maeil Business and Dong-A Ilbo say the Telegraph published on Oct. 6; Kyunghyang Shinmun says Oct. 5.
- How the intrusions were carried out and whether anything was taken Dong-A Ilbo, citing Finnish public broadcaster Yle, mentions lights left on in empty homes and kitchen cabinets removed, and one case of feces, but the documents describe no losses or other detail.
- Whether this is the first use of such a tactic in Finland Kyunghyang Shinmun says the tactic is presumed to have been used in Finland for the first time, a single-source claim.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Parliament speaker Jussi Halla-aho says the legislature is aware of a “considerable scale” of suspected intrusions and that police have begun investigating, adding that traces may have been left deliberately for residents to notice; President Alexander Stubb warns that an attack on one lawmaker is an attack on democracy, Kyunghyang Shinmun reports. [ 4 ]
- The Telegraph publishes its report on the suspected break-ins, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun. [ 4 ]
- Yonhap reports that about 20 lawmakers reported suspected intrusions in the past week, that one found feces in a toilet, and that police have begun investigating. [ 1 ]
- Maeil Business reports the same incidents and notes that Russian involvement has not been confirmed. [ 2 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports that about 20 lawmakers found signs of intrusion over the past year, citing Yle, and that parliament issued safety guidance. [ 3 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun adds the comments from Halla-aho and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and background on the tactic's Cold War origins. [ 4 ]