Putin to Years Finland

helsinki - Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Finland last month, which became independent of Russia a hundred years ago. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö announced Wednesday that Putin is a guest on July 27th.

Both leaders will consult on international and bilateral issues, but also attend an event at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, in the east of the country.

Finland came into Russian hands in the eighteenth century. Tsar Aleksander I granted Finland far-reaching autonomy as the Grand Duchy in 1809. With the fall of the Tsar in the Revolution in Russia in March 1917, Finnish ties also broke the last ties between Finland and Russia. At the end of that year, independence was declared in Helsinki.