Criticism of Vladimir Putin's Russia
Hautala is a rare Finnish politician who has criticized Vladimir Putin's Russia.
So when Heidi Hautala, a Green MP and former environment minister, blasted declining democratic standards in Vladimir Putin's Russia, the sense of shock in Helsinki was palpable. .... The nervous reaction to Ms Hautala's remarks has provided a faint echo of the self-censorship of the Soviet era, when the term "Finlandisation" was coined to describe countries that quietly tailored their politics and policies to suit Moscow. "The mindset has not totally changed. It's still there in the back of our heads," said Lasse Lehtinen, a Finnish MEP. Ms Hautala's worries were well founded, he added. "There is a general, growing feeling of unease about Russia for the past two years or so. We don't say it, but we think it."
— The Guardian article "Putin's shadow falls over Finland"
In 2008, she published the book "Venäjä-teesit. Vakaus vai vapaus" about Russia.
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