Tuesday's papers: Talking to Russia, Finland's €50 stimulus, and the self-care economy

The president is preparing Finns for dialogue with Moscow, says Ilta-Sanomat. Alexander Stubb hosted the 2026 Kultaranta talks in Naantali, joined by former president Tarja Halonen. Image: Jani Saikko / YleZena IovinoAn analysis by Ilta-Sanomat suggests that Finnish President Alexander Stubb has begun to prepare public opinion for the possibility that dialogue with Russia will, at some point, restart."As Finns, we need to think about the next, strategic phase. We're neighbours of Russia. With neighbours, one needs to maintain functional relations," Stubb said in a speech concluding the Kultaranta talks, an annual foreign and security policy event. Stubb first began preparing Finnish public opinion for the eventual reopening of relations with Russia just over a year ago. Finland's eastern border has been closed since November 2023, and any reopening would first require peace in Ukraine, IS notes. Can €50 revive Finland?What would it take for the Finnish economy to get out of its slump?Not much, according to Talouselämä. A calculation by service sector employer federation Palta suggests that the downturn could, in theory, be reversed with small efforts. An additional 50 euros in domestic household consumption would, according to its estimate, be enough to generate around 15,000 jobs. The business magazine notes that low domestic consumption has been one of the strongest brakes on Finland's economic growth in recent years. Skin deepThe staying power of Botox is the focus of Helsingin Sanomat's most-read story. Twenty-nine-year-old Kaisa embodies the trend. She fears losing her looks as much as the prospect of ageing itself."I don't see myself as especially talented or intelligent," she says. "My appearance is my capital."If her career were to take off, she muses, she might be able to stop cosmetic injections. One form of capital, she suggests, would be exchanged for another. For the past two years, she has channelled much of her disposable income — 1,600 euros a year — into cosmetic injectables. Society, she argues, promotes the idea that ageing is undesirable, even repulsive. Cosmetic injectables are now routinely framed as a form of self-care rather than a medical or aesthetic intervention, she observes.