By: Pranav Sampath
On April 4th, 2023, Finland formally joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) as the 31st ally. This development could thwart Russia’s plans of taking over Ukraine. Finland has the second longest militarized border with Russia after Ukraine, at 800 miles (1,300km) long, passing through forests and snowy plains. The ruggedness of the terrain makes it hard to patrol and defend.
By joining NATO, it has roughly doubled the length of the border shared by NATO and Russia. The Kremlin said, “Russia would be forced to take countermeasures”. Russia warned that Finland was committing a terrible mistake that could destabilize Eastern Europe.
This complicated relationship between Finland and Russia started nearly 200 years ago. In 1808, Russia became an ally of Napoleonic France. Their biggest enemy was the British Royal Navy. Sweden, a British ally at that time, controlled Finland. Finland’s proximity to St Petersburg was even more notable than today as St. Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire. The British Navy used ports in Sweden to threaten Russia. Russia demanded that Sweden disallow British ships from using these ports, but the Swedes refused to accept these terms. This led to war between Russia and Sweden. In the span of a year, the Russians decidedly defeated the Swedes and took over control of Finland as we know it. This crushing defeat led to a long-lasting Swedish policy of neutrality.
After the Soviet defeat in WWI, the Finns finally got their independence. The Russians tried hard to get the Finns to cede more land, but the Finns were stubborn and refused to budge.
This led to war again in 1939. The Russians suffered heavy casualties, losing 4 times as many men as the Finns. After years of strife, a peace treaty was finally signed between the 2 countries after Finland agreed to give up control of the territory that Russia wanted in the Karelia peninsula. During the Cold War period, Finland did not openly support any side as they did not want another war to break out.
Following in the footsteps of the Swedes, Finland adopted the policy of neutrality in hopes to avoid conflict. But recently Finland finally made a decision that marked a big shift in their geopolitical approach. In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland decided to reveal their plans of finally joining NATO.
Russia is threatened by Finland’s proximity to the Baltic Sea Port of St. Petersburg, less than 150 km away. the second largest city in Russia (only behind the Capital city Moscow), with 5 million Russians and five percent of Russia’s economy. Vladimir Putin lives in this city, further adding to its vulnerability. What sets it apart from most other Russian seaports is the fact that it does not freeze over the winter months. Russia fears that NATO allies now have a direct invasion route into their territory through Finland.
For many decades, the Finnish population was opposed to joining NATO. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the sentiments within Finland changed with most people now favoring NATO. NATO hugely benefits from allying with Finland and therefore, quickly approved this application. Finland is now in a very critical position as the gatekeeper to Russia.
Sources:
Why Finland Joining NATO Checkmates Russia