Putin: Russia will concentrate more military units near Finland
According to the Russian president, Finland was “dragged” into Nato.
As a Finn I say this is fine. Every military resource that is tied down and not raping and destroying Ukraine is net positive.
As an American I'm waiting for Republicans to start randomly saying anti-Finnish opinions. My bet is in about a week.
"The Finns, they, uh... who are they again? Woke, communists, like always?"
My bet is on them being called "atheistic terrorists" or "satan worshippers"
They're Japanese whaler
It will take a while, you can't expect christ-- sorry Republicans to know the basic geography of a place that was one of the most discussed areas in terms of Cold War policy for decades.
Fox news sometime in a month will have some blonde or angry Irish background guy looking like a confused dog saying how the PM there went to a party.
Cornelius Hawthorne: You’ve got a wide brow. What are you, Scandinavian?
Britta: Yeah, Swedish!
Cornelius Hawthorne: spits Swedish dogs. Your blood is tainted by generations of race-mixing with Laplanders, you’re basically Finns.
Be Putin
Announce NATO expansion is no threat
Pull most troops from the Finnish border, because holy fuck, Ukraine has turned the entire army you had at the start into sunflower fertalizer
Have all the units you pulled from the Finnish border incur astronomical losses, because you want to present any win at the next election
Declare Finland a threat again
Move the broken units back up to the border
Profit
Is Putin really that weak domestically to care about elections?
His greatest political opponent just "went missing" (from the prison he was being held in) and "nobody knows where he is now." Russians have been watching their population get ground into meat by what he originally called "a military exercise" that's been going on over six times the time estimate that he set, and he's actively making it so nobody can leave Russia without smuggling themselves out.
He wouldn't still hold office if he was playing fairly, so yes, he is that weak domestically. Get fucked, Vladolf Putler.
No.
I don't think they even bother with elections. Russia is dictatorship not a democracy
They go through the motions, but yeah, it's definitely all theater.
What military units?
The ones where Moscow political class sons do their military service. Where the only danger they face is getting buggered by their own Sargent's.
Hah, like any wealthy Moscow Russian would go to military. They bribe their way out like the cowards they are and the peasants are the one getting killed.
NATO's
No, they're asking what units Russia will concentrate near Finland. In reference to Russia having lost more than half it's deployed military.
The cardboard cut out division
They don't even have the uniforms to spare to stuff with hay
Based on that picture, it looks like Putin's going to be going Full Monty to fund them.
Have fun with that. This isn't WW2. The Finnish military is far from large, but they are a specialized group with with a lot of national pride, and Russia currently has a hesitant conscript force with no emotional tie to the cause.
Finland was first created some time during the Cold War between Russia and the West.
Japan-Soviet relations had always been shaky at best, but also incredibly secretive. Even as early as 1925 Japan and the Soviet Union had secret deals with each other regarding fishing rights between the two countries, with the Soviet Union giving up much of it's fishing rights to Japan with seemingly no explanation as to why.
These secretive treaties and alliances continued right up until just before the fall of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev made trips to Japan months before the fall of the Soviet Union stating the entire time how the relations between them were improving, even when Soviet relations with the rest of the world were worsening.
In fact the entire past 100 years of Japanese-Russian relations bring up many unanswered questioned.
Why at the height of WW2, were the battles between these two countries minimal despite being on opposing sides?
Why did Japan sign a peace treaty with Russia in 1941, just months before their allies, Germany, went to war with Russia?
Why were relations between Japan and Russia always good throughout the Cold War, despite the major geopolitical differences between the countries, and close geographical positions that you think would cause tensions?
The answer is simple, they shared a common secret. A common asset that worked in both of their favours. And that asset was Finland.
It's unclear when Finland was first thought up, some say it was during the Cold War, and others say it was as far back as the 1920's, but the necessity of Finland is quite simple.
Japan can fish in the region of ocean between Sweden and Russia without worry for environmental repercussions, after all, nobody's going to expect fishing regulations to be broken in a place where everyone thinks there's a landmass will they? And in return Russia get a percentage of the fish to distribute amongst their populace.
It's a simple case of fishing the Finnish Sea, transporting it across Russia, (that was the real reason for the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway by the way), and then shipping it from the Eastern Russian coast to Japan under the disguise of 'Nokia' products.
This is why Nokia is the largest 'Finnish' company, and it is also why Japan is the largest importer of Nokia products, despite the fact that very few people own Nokia phones in the country.
There are clearly some unanswered questions to this conspiracy that I'll try and address below.
1- What about Finnish people? Are they all in on the conspiracy?
A. No. People from Finland genuinely believe they're from Finland. In reality they are from small towns on either the Eastern part of Sweden, the Western part of Russia, or the Northern part of Estonia.
2- What about all of Finland's other exports other than Nokia?
A. Finland's three biggest, and three most well known areas of industry are Oil, Tech, and Software. The oil is gathered in offshore platforms where the rest of us believe the landmass of Finland is, (again the Japanese get to avoid rigging regulations in this respect), the Tech companies have already been explained above with the Nokia post, and Software companies can easily redirect their IP Address through the Finnish sea. As for other Finnish exports, well, claiming Santa comes from your country isn't a viable way to get people to believe in it.
3- What about Helsinki? That is an enormous city on the world stage.
A. Helsinki is located in Eastern Sweden. It's not like the people flying there would notice.
4- What about everywhere else in Finland? There's a lot to it and it couldn't all be made up.
A. 99% of Finland is forest. A lot of it doesn't need to be accounted for when addressing Finnish geography.
5- Why do other countries go along with it?
A. At first it was a sign of goodwill between Western Countries and the Soviet Union. A bargaining chip that could be played. But Finland has since evolved to something much more. An idealistic placeholder for what countries should aspire to. No real country could so consistently place first in Education, Healthcare, Gender Equality, Literacy Rates, National Stability, The least corrupt government in the world, Freedom of the press. It's a concept for countries and people to aspire to. But that's where the problems about Finland's existence is disputed. no country in the world can possibly be that good.
6- Why the name Finland?
A. The country was originally made for fishing. What do fish have? Fins. Thus Finland.
7- What about the Finnish language?
A. Look up the similarities between Japanese and Finnish. It may surprise you how similar they are. Which is weird considering the vast distances between them.
8- I'm Finnish and your attack on my people and culture is insulting.
A. I'm not insulting Finnish people or culture. I don't even deny that there is Finnish culture. When you have a collective of a few million people identifying as Finnish then of course a culture will be built around it. I'm simply saying that that the landmass of Finland isn't actually there. It doesn't mean there can't be a culture or identity of being Finnish however.
9- This is an enormous conspiracy to keep secret, how could nobody else of realized it?
A. Other people have realized it. But imagine the ridiculousness of the statement 'I don't believe Finland exists'. Even if we did have undeniable proof of something put in front of us we would still hold the opinion that most of our friends, family, and acquaintances hold to not disrupt social convention. It's part of the human condition.
10- What about GPS and Satellite Images?
A. It's manipulated and forged. In the parts of Estonia, Sweden, and Russia that are allocated as 'Finnish zones' the GPS locations are changed to match that of Finland. Satellite images are forged. This is how that part of the world really looks.
I could be wrong, but I think I also heard that Finland has (one of?) the largest artillery forces and really tough land to traverse on the border of Russia
Russia is not invading Finland, it would be suicide.
Finland is NATO. He'll NEVER invade Finland. Have fun dividing up your oh so great, properly trained and well equipped army haha! Not like he'll need the troops in Ukraine, that war is going as smooth AF.
My perspective on war is so corrupted, at this point.
At one hand I want peace in Europe but on the other Hand I know Russia won't stop until they are beaten so getting NATO involved might end this conflict faster.
I've wanted to fight Russia since they annexed Crimea. I knew it wouldn't end there, and I was proven right. If they manage to obtain the natural resources of Ukraine then it will just keep escalating. The thing is, though, Russia has lost so many troops that they could easily be swept, right now. Now has never been a better time for either the EU or NATO to force Russia into demilitarization and reparations, as well as putting more economic pressure on the Chinese Dictatorship.
One thing I don't want, though, is a direct conflict with China. Those fuckers need to try fixing their own shit, first. Idk if that makes me strong against the weak and weak against the strong, but there is simply too much to lose for all sides in that sort of conflict, unlike the very weakened and destabilized Russia.
I just feel hopeless tbh. It feels like diplomacy failed or was the wrong tool to begin with. You can't argue with someone when their point is, "I want your land and you dead." Every Compromise seems to be a loss at this situation. War is never good. But is not going to War even worse? I just don't know anymore.
It's really disappointing, isn't it? Putin has been given every opportunity to stop the invasion or not even start it in the first place, and in ways that would help him save face. He's rejected all of that and insists on only violence. The only response to that is returning the violence. Defending Ukraine is the most unquestionably morally correct military action I've seen in my life.
It also brings up an interesting observation -- to have a peaceful society, you have to be willing to violently defend it. If another party insists you give into their demands or they'll get violent, you have to eventually oppose them. Otherwise, if you constantly submit to them in the name of peace, they'll eventually take away your peace. Just like a tolerant society must reject intolerant views, a peaceful society must be willing to defend themselves in war.
If it weren't for the existence of Russia's massive fleet of nuclear weapons (which probably don't actually work but it's a hell of a risk) i'm sure NATO would have already got involved.
The only reasonable way I can see this war ending is if the internal politics of Russia decide Putin is now too much of a problem and deal with him themselves. Then whoever takes charge backs out of Ukraine because it's not a winnable conflict.
I can't see how anyone external can bring about an end to the conflict without risking massive escalation.
Getting NATO directly involved will not end but will rather escalate the conflict.
You can't win a war, let alone against a nuclear state. This wouldn't end well.
Is there any alternative? Ukraine can't fight forever, and Russia won't stop.
Poland, Finland, Germany and others are also no nuclear States. Will the threat of nuclear retaliation and counter-attack from their allies really stop Russia, or will they just wait a couple of years and then try this shit again with other states? Or do everyone needs to gearup again? I have no Idea anymore.
We all don't need a war with China and we don't need a war with Russia... We need to allow the Russian people and Chinese people to have a full democracy not a fake democracy, not a flawed democracy, but a full democracy ( like Ireland for example).
We don't need anymore killing or wars or any of it; really. We need to act like one earth and share resources and save the planet...
Democracies tend to get along with other democracies... That's the only reason I bring it up 😉
Oh you're gonna move your last three tanks there? Good luck with that venture lmao
They can make a big show of parking the T14s and Su-57s there knowing they won't have to be put to use and no one will find out how shit they are.
Maybe they are opening a military museum in Vyborg.
According to the Russian president, Finland was “dragged” into Nato.
And who did the dragging Vlady?
Exactly. Most didn't want to join before Putin decided to invade Ukraine.
Putin managed to do what decades and decades of pro-NATO propaganda couldn't. It's almost impressive.
Moving to open a second front. In the winter. At the home of the White Death. Surely nothing can possibly go wrong with this plan.
Russia will absolutely not invade Finland, even if it weren't part of NATO and the EU.
What military? Drunk old men?
it's just a sneaky little recruitment campaign.. sign up now boys, we're forming a nice leisurely unit to sit and watch the Finns do nothing.. don't worry, we won't accidentally send you to die like worms in a ditch in Ukraine..
There's too much mud and rain in Ukraine right now, so they need an excuse to pull back
Forget article 5, if Russia thinks that Ukrainians are tough mothers, they (literally) won't know what hit them in Finland.
Thick, dense forests with millions of trees. Moutainous regions. Snow forever. Lots of places a sniper pair could hide.
Wake up, Simo Hayha. Finland needs its protector once more.
They probably forgot about the Winter War.
And a thirst for death that would make even the most hardcore Peshmerga blush.
Even forget about snipers, Finland have one of the best artillery in Europe and a geography that's almost made for creating bottlenecks for invaders
Let me guess, another "training exercise"?
Did they forget that Finland created Simo Heyha?
I was worried about this ever since Putin said "we have no plans of the sort" when Biden said Putin would invade a NATO country after Ukraine.
Lo and behold, troop build up on a border of a NATO country, which completely parallels the start of the Ukraine invasion.
I highly doubt those troops are for invading Finland. If there's any NATO country that should be worried it's probably Estonia. Especially if/when Trump gets elected president again.
Yeah, with Ukraine it was "routine training exercises".
I guess this is classic troop rotation shenanigans?
Instead of rotating towards areas near Moscow, rotating towards St. Petersburg gives soldiers a break/training while pressuring Finland.
What pressuring? They're scared to shit to point of hallucinating threats because they think because we have a prime-eval grudge against them.
If they magically would co-operate with us, drop their shit we would more than happy resume the trade with them.
The problem from here looks like Putin has no idea how the country is going to be held together without him.
And Putin is somewhat right. Russia has no one that can threaten it into action like Putin does. Tyrants whose label goes unsaid leave no line of succession.
And Putin, like Rome making a desert and calling it peace, hopes to make everywhere around him rubble because Russia is crumbling.
Russia has no one that can threaten it into action like Putin does.
Russia has had an endless stream of such rulers for more than a thousand years and they do not represent a continuous dynasty. When Putin is gone, he'll be replaced by someone equally nasty.
If NATO get involved then China will.
This is a prime example of Russo-Finnish relations. PERKELE!
Finland's blank NATO papers were kept in a safe (30 years figuratively?) and as soon as the war(s) started to cause us harm, they were pulled out of the safe and ratified.
From the news at the time of NATO ratification: "Look in the mirror" - Sauli Niinistö
From the news of the last two weeks: Now the eastern border is pretty much closed for the foreseeable future.
My armchair stance: If the Soviets angered nearly 4 million Finns in the 1940s who had only pitchforks and cows and the result was 126 875 dead and 188 671 wounded Soviets. [*](https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talvisota) Now there is a nation of +5 600 000 grumpy Finns with access to modern weaponry and a bitter memories of the past...
I don't know what the russian leaders are hallucinating trying to anger us more? :P
Our sorrow of the year is the death of Martti Ahtisaari, a Peace Nobelist. May his legacy to be respected in honor, his wisdom would be in great need as of today.
Sauli Niinistö, who will soon peacefully leave us as a president and join the same history books. Sad we can't have a another Kekkonen, depends who you ask. I hope the next president will have a stone cool head in this heated world.:)
great. less at ukraine.
Hey question for the arm-chair generals: if some group started operations on the Russian troops would it escalate or would both nations just treat it like random terrorism?
Question for the questioner:
if some group started operations on the Russian troops
What group are you talking about?
Hint: No one in NATO wants anything in Russia.
It really depends. If the group is a bunch of radical Islamic terrorists for instance, who have no diplomatic ties? It'll probably be considered terrorism by a third party. If it was the Wagner Group though, who is known to be under Putin's control, it would definitely be an escalation.
Can't imagine they have too many spare units to locate there...
First target: grain exporters Second target: phone exporters Third target: tourism exporters? Wood exporters? Weapon exporters? Ouch!
