Daniel Sazonov is poised to become the mayor of Helsinki.
Daniel Sazonov, whose parents immigrated from Russia, has been elected as the next mayor of Helsinki, according to Finnish national broadcaster Yle, based on the results of Monday’s municipal election.
Despite the conservative National Coalition Party and the Social Democrats each securing 21 seats on the city council, the conservatives will select the new mayor due to receiving a greater share of the popular vote.
Sazonov, born in Helsinki in 1993 and a law graduate, states on his website that his parents are Ingrian Finns who emigrated from Russia. Ingria is a historical region spanning from Lake Ladoga to the Karelian Isthmus, including the area around present-day St. Petersburg. Sazonov became a Finnish citizen at the age of nine.
He was initially elected to the Helsinki City Council in 2017 and became deputy mayor for social affairs and health in 2021.
Yle reports that Sazonov previously wrote columns for the now-defunct Russian-language newspaper Spektr and its successor, Finskaya Gazeta. He reportedly ended his association with the publication in 2022 because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“I don’t want any association with parties that are pro-Russia… Writing for the newspaper was a mistake in hindsight,” he posted on X in February. “I haven’t visited Russia in years and have no connections there.”
During the Cold War, Finland maintained relatively amicable relations with the Soviet Union, and these close ties continued for decades after the bloc’s dissolution.
However, since 2022, Finland has implemented multiple sanction packages against Moscow. In 2023, the Nordic nation abandoned its long-standing policy of neutrality and officially joined NATO.