Europe: Finland the Great! by Peter Polack

The European country with the greatest experience of recent Russian territorial ambitions after Ukraine is Finland.

The Finnish response in 1939, later mimicked by the Ukrainians, turned an anticipated Russian victory into a stalemate after a pugnacious encounter with the Finns.

The Finnish troops included the tip of patriotic eagerness, the eleven year old runaway Nestori Lindstrom, who was later returned home upon discovery.

Yes, the Russians can expect a generational war!

Patriotism overcoming expansionism. Venezuela be warned on threats to Guyana.
The Finnish response included the production of five hundred thousand petrol bombs, mostly by women, named by them as an insult to the then Russian foreign minister, Molotov cocktails.

Lavrov is no Molotov, so perhaps a lesser weapon for the Lavrov Aperitif, dropped by Ukraine drones before the main event of Himars, Javelins and more recently, Bradley fighting vehicles.

Some will recall the production line preparation of Molotov cocktails by the citizens of the Ukraine at central points, early in the conflict, before a hesitant West became converted by Ukraine battlefield success and resilience.

At a minimum, the multi-trillion expenditure on the failed Afghanistan experiment should be matched or doubled for the Ukraine success story. Unlike Afghanistan, women in the military is a widespread phenomenon.

Perhaps the lesson is that in some parts of the world, women have to defend their rights with a gun and not platitudes from NGO’s.

Failure is an orphan and all that, unless you are a Russian politician.

The Winter War repelling Russia ended in a pretend peace with Finland that included the ceding of substantial territory to Russia. History should not repeat itself.

Perhaps it is no surprise that recent NATO member Finland is at the forefront of taking real action to protect their country, given their history.

With an almost 1,000 mile border with Russia, that is 400 kilometers from Saint Petersburg, Finland is closer to the birthplace of Putin than Moscow.

Finland has repeatedly closed the border with Russia for what the Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo called a hybrid war by Russia using illegal migrants who often disappeared after entry to Finland.

Finland has not stopped there. Recent real estate acquisitions by Russian entities have drawn the concern of Finnish security officials leading to a call for the absolute ban of all such transactions.

For the weak-kneed MEP politicians luxuriating in their comfortable pay, pensions and emoluments, the Finnish model offers an easy-peasy way of confronting the Russian invaders from their armchairs.

Periodic border closures and real estate transaction bans for Russian entities would be the way to go.

Main image: By Unknown author. – finna.fi, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=549346

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Read also: EU Vacillating – Jamaica Demonstrating, by Peter Polack

“All of this under the combined noses of the EU representatives for Jamaica and the wider Caribbean who are clearly asleep at the wheel: perhaps Josep Borrell can cast his steely gaze towards the Caribbean after he is finished with Israel?”

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Peter Polack was a criminal defence lawyer for over three decades.

He is the author of The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War: South Africa vs. Cuba in the Angolan Civil War (2013), Jamaica, The Land of Film (2017) and Guerrilla Warfare: Kings of Revolution (2018).

He was a contributor to Encyclopedia of Warfare (2013) and his latest book entitled Soviet Spies Worldwide: Country by Country, 1940–1988 will be published by McFarland in 2024.