Two decades later, Finland had perhaps its finest hour in the Winter War, in which the outnumbered and outgunned Finns held off a clumsy Red Army invasion before agreeing to terms with the Soviets.Īfter allying with Nazi Germany, Finland renewed the fighting in the Continuation War, which ended in an armistice in 1944.Ī Soviet bomber shot down by Finnish anti-aircraft guns on the Karelian front in January 1940.Īfter World War II, the Kremlin could take comfort that at least its smaller neighbor had been "Finlandized," a somewhat uncomplimentary Cold War term referring to Helsinki's stance of strict neutrality in return for the Soviets not invading or interfering.Įven as Eastern Europe and Central Asia chafed under Soviet occupation, Finland remained a Western-oriented democracy just 100 miles from St. The Grand Duchy of Finland was a part of the Russian Tsarist Empire from 1809 until 1917 but became an independent nation in the chaos of the Russian Revolution.
Russian leaders have downplayed the significance of Finland joining NATO, but as the alliance gets closer and the Arctic becomes more accessible, Moscow is making moves that indicate growing concern about a part of its frontier that has long been calm. It often indicates a user profile.įinland joining NATO has created an unwelcome prospect for Moscow: a potential adversary on Russia's sensitive northern border.įinland's admission this month doubles the length of NATO's border with Russia and does so in a region with important Russian military outposts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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