The head of the Russian Security Council has previously accused Finland of attempting sabotage in Russian Karelia.
Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev accuses the Finnish government of “deliberately seeking a confrontation” with Russia. According to him, Finland’s politics could be controlled by the United States.
State media close to the Kremlin, Ria Novosti and Zvezda, quote Patrushev’s statements in Petrozavodsk today, Monday.
President Vladimir Putin Patrushev, who is known as a trustworthy man belonging to the inner circle, has also become known for his previous high-profile comments.
Patrushev took Finland’s alliance with Nazi Germany during the Continuation War as a point of comparison from history. Then, as now, according to Patrušev, the West used Finland in the fight against Russia.
In addition, Patrushev claimed that the Finnish soldiers who fought alongside the Germans during the Continuation War were known for their particular cruelty in the concentration camps they managed in the Karelia region and towards prisoners of war.
Patrushev also said that in Russia’s Karelia, Ukrainian and Western intelligence services are trying to corrupt the youth in the form of sabotage and terrorist attempts spreading on social media.
According to him, they are trying to establish some kind of national guard in Karelia in Russia, which would also include Finnish citizens. In addition, Patrushev said that extreme right-wing organizations in Finland are demanding the return of territories lost to Russia in World War II. According to him, Finland has not learned from history.
Patrushev, who served as the security minister of the Republic of Karelia in the 1990s, has previously voiced his opinions about Finland’s negative effects on the region, such as Evening News made the news in 2015. At that time, he claimed that Finnish nationalists were trying to influence Russia’s internal situation in the Republic of Karelia.
It remains unclear which organizations Patrushev is possibly referring to.
In June, reported on activists operating from Finland, who say they are aiming for an independent Republic of Karelia to break away from Russia.