Finland, Sweden Say Nyet To Russia, Draw Closer To NATO

“Handsome hero, Kaukomieli/Wandered through Pohyola’s chambers/Through the halls of Sariola/How the hero went unbidden/To the feasting and carousal/Uninvited to the banquet.”

Photo Insert: President of Finland Sauli Niinisto

Thus goes Rune 27 of the Kalevala, Finland’s national epic—known to the rest of the world through Jean Sibelius’s Kullervo symphonic poem.

Throughout its short history as an independent nation, Finland has been left uninvited to many banquets, but these days, the doors to the Western world’s preeminent banquet, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), are wide open to Finland and its neighbor Sweden.

And as Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made clear in twin New Year’s messages, Finland intends to decide for itself—without consulting Russia first—on whether to join the alliance, Foreign Policy columnist Elizabeth Braw reported.

That’s a remarkable departure from Finland’s Cold War years, which involved consultations with the Soviet Union ahead of any crucial decision. It could, in fact, turn out to be a decisive point in the two Nordic countries’ relationship with NATO.

Finland distinguished itself by fighting in a war with Russia and decimating a division of Soviet soldiers before cutting a deal in a conflict that caused a daily 1% casualty rate for Finnish troops, meaning Helsinki would lose an entire army in 100 days.

Finnish snipers led by Simo Hayha, who recorded more than 500 kills and was known to Russians as “White Death,” stopped the Russian advance while the Ski Division caused considerable damage to Soviet armor and infantry units.

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