Finland granted asylum to Olga and Nikita Belov

Former St. Petersburg municipal deputy Svetlana Utkina told Dozhd that Olga and Nikita Belov received asylum in Finland. The family left Russia after the start of the full-scale war. In spring 2026, they were summoned to the police, where they were informed of deportation to Russia.

In August, the court ordered the Belovs' case to be reconsidered. Before that, Finnish authorities were planning to deport the mother and son to Russia.

Nikita Belov said that he left Russia after refusing to take part in an “unnamed secret project” at the Central Scientific Research Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy named after I. P. Bardin. He claimed that management assured him the project was not connected to the war, but later it turned out otherwise.

After leaving, the family helped Ukrainian refugees in Finland through the volunteer organization FinEst Volunteers. The Belovs' lawyer said they had presented “a large amount of new evidence” of possible persecution in Russia.

Sources

• Meduza