"Finnish politician" quoted daily by Kremlin and Lukashenka's media turns out to be a plumber without Finnish citizenship

Armando Mema

For instance, on March 12, the Russian agency RIA Novosti dedicated an article to his post on X under the headline "The West Sounded the Alarm Over New EU Steps Against Russia." On March 13: "New Front. In Finland, a strong statement was made about the war with Russia." On March 14: "In Finland, they were scared by Russia's warning." On March 15 — two articles: "Worst Signal. In Finland, a sudden statement was made about Russia" and "Obstacle to Peace. Zelensky's words about Russia caused surprise in the West." On March 16: "Successfully Conclude": In Finland, they commented on Zelensky's meeting with Putin." On March 17: "Zelensky Knows He Cannot Win, Finnish Politician Declared" and "This Won't Work. Zelensky's statement about Russia angered the West."

This means that RIA broadcasts almost everything that comes from Mema's pen. Besides RIA Novosti, his statements are also regularly published by TASS, RT, and other propaganda outlets.

Belarusian state media are not far behind either — quotes from Mema can be found on BelTA, "SB-Belarus Today", and other resources.

At the same time, Mema is practically unknown in Finland. Only in recent months have major Finnish publications taken an interest in the hitherto unknown Finnish politician, who has suddenly become one of the most prominent newsmakers for the state press in Russia.

In November 2025, the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat published an article about Mema under the headline "How a plumber from Nurmijärvi became a 'Finnish politician' who gave an interview to Russian media."

In this article, Finnish journalists highlight that Russian media or, for example, the world's best-selling English-language newspaper The Times of India, have recently been publishing articles with loud headlines, quoting a "Finnish politician." However, these materials are not based on statements by a truly influential figure, but rather on social media posts by a person little known in Finland.

Armando Mema is a 32-year-old resident of Finland who works as a plumber. He was born in Albania, but his family emigrated to Italy in the 1990s. Later, in 2019, he moved to Finland for work and remained there. Despite not having Finnish citizenship, he participates somewhat in local politics, which at certain levels (local and European) is permitted for all permanent residents of the country.

Initially, Mema was associated with the "Green" party and even participated in its political activities, including the election campaign of well-known politician Pekka Haavisto. But in 2024, he left the party because he disagreed with its position regarding the conflict in Gaza, desiring harsher criticism of Israel.

After this, Mema ran in elections for the small Eurosceptic national-conservative "Freedom Alliance" party. However, the results were very modest: fewer than a hundred votes in the European elections and even fewer in local ones.

The "Freedom Alliance" party has no representation in parliament at all, so Mema, like any other figure from this party, cannot be considered a significant political figure. Despite this, his personal opinions began to be disseminated in the media as the position of a "Finnish politician," which creates a distorted impression of the real sentiments in Finland.

A separate incident in 2024 in Helsinki drew attention. During an event where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was speaking, Mema shouted a question from the crowd about the deaths of children in Gaza. Afterwards, he was removed by police officers. The court found that he disturbed the peace and resisted law enforcement, for which he was fined. Mema himself believes he did not act aggressively and is appealing the decision.

After these events, he began to claim that he faces censorship in Finland and that his views are ignored. He also regrets that his participation in the elections did not receive widespread publicity.

Thus, the "Finnish politician," who is quoted daily by the most important "mouthpieces" of Kremlin propaganda, and often Lukashenka's, in fact turned out to be a plumber without Finnish citizenship, who unsuccessfully attempted to run for various representative bodies for a minuscule ultra-conservative party.

• 1
• 0
• 34
• 2
• 1
• 0
• 1
• 0