Putin raises the tone towards Finland and wants to move the military to the Finnish border.
But the couple Elin and Erkki Kinnunen, who live three kilometers from Russia, are not afraid.
– It’s just a threat, says Elin Kinnunen.
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Finland’s membership in NATO creates “problems”, according to Putin in a TV interview on Sunday. The latest statement comes alongside a threat of rearmament on the Finnish border after the country joined the alliance eight months ago.
– The West pulled Finland into NATO. Did we have any disputes with Finland? All previous disputes, including territorial ones, were resolved in the mid-20th century, Putin told a state-run TV reporter.
– Previously there were no problems, but now they arise, because we are creating the Leningrad military district there.
“You have to keep your enemies close”
– You are safer the closer you are. You should have your enemies closest, says Elin Kinnunen.
Two years ago, Elin and Erkki Kinnunen left the farm in Halland to live a life of seclusion.
And secluded it is in Finnish Kivivaara in North Karelia. After the nearest neighbor within three kilometers there is nothing more than forest and marshland for six miles. They can see Russia from the kitchen window, but the nearest settlement only begins after ten miles on the Russian side.
– It was the only place in all of Finland that was so remote that it was approved by us, says Elin.
– We would never have moved here if we had been afraid. Firstly, it is only a threat and even if Putin were to move the military here, there are no roads from Russia to where we live, says Elin.
Plan if the Russians come
If the Russians come, they have a plan. A cabin that is even more desolate than their home. You can only get there on foot.
– Actually, we talk about it mostly for fun. But we have a small cabin with firewood, water and supplies out in the forest.
They do not notice the activity around the Finnish border at all.
– We have two border crossings that are relatively close to us, but it is still so far away that we don’t notice anything. Here is just wasteland, says Elin.
Opening and closing circus
The last few days have been lined with Finnish bids to close the border with Russia. Border crossings have been opened and closed after Finland says Russia is engaging in hybrid warfare by sending migrants over.
– This is a clear attack on the sovereignty of Finland and the European Union and on our borders, said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to EPN during yesterday.
Currently, all eight border stations are closed until January 14. Last Thursday, two of them opened and closed, but Finland is looking for solutions to keep the border closed for a shorter time.
– We must now also prepare more permanent solutions so that we get out of this open-close-open situation, Orpo said.
Against NATO
The Kinnunen couple were against Finland joining NATO. The country would have been more neutral without an entry. They believe that most people in the area were against the Finnish membership because they fed on Russian tourists in the area.
– It is actually as Putin says himself. Previously, there was no threat to Finland in that way, and NATO is a threat to Russia, says Elin.
– So I don’t think Finland would have joined NATO.
Do you want to develop?
– You don’t know what would have happened if Finland had not joined NATO, but the risk would have been much less that Putin would have made threats like this and sent migrants over.
– It would not have been strange if Russia had deployed troops on the eastern border. Putin sees NATO as a threat and that threat has come closer to him, adds Erkki.
So there is some concern about the Russians anyway?
– I wouldn’t say worry really, but as with everything, you still have to have an idea of what to do if something happens, says Elin.
The expert: “Symbolic measure”
Russia expert Malcolm Dixelius points to two things when it comes to Putin’s military advance towards the Finnish border and the re-creation of the Leningrad military district.
First, it’s nothing new. Second, it is a symbolic act.
– Reviving this district has a symbolic value because you cannot set up anything threatening along the entire Finnish border, says Dixelius.
The symbolic value lies in partly wanting to show Finland that it is now an enemy country and partly wanting to show the voters in St Petersburg that something is being done before the upcoming presidential election.
In agreement with other experts, Dixelius believes that Putin does not have the military technological quality to be able to attack a NATO country. What you have are people.
– In the war, Russia replaces quality with quantity, they throw in an unlimited number of people, that’s the only thing they have in excess.
– But you cannot cover more than 130 kilometers of the Finnish border with qualified military equipment, says Dixelius.
Should pimples be worried?
– I don’t think they act in a worried way. There is a saying used in the Finnish Defense Academy: “You should never underestimate the Russian bear, but never overestimate it either”.
– The Russians do not have the resources to make this an offensive military area, says Dixelius.