Putin 'wants to regain Finland' for Russia

[FBM]

Mind you, this isn't the most reputable news source on the peninsula...

Putin 'wants to regain Finland' for Russia

After annexing Crimea with troops massed on the border of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop trying to expand Russia until he has “conquered” Belarus, the Baltic states and Finland, one of his closest former advisers has said, the Independent reported Sunday.

According to Andrej Illarionov, the president’s chief economic adviser from 2000 to 2005, Putin seeks to create “historical justice” with a return to the days of the last Tsar, Nicholas II, and the Soviet Union under Stalin.

Speaking to the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, Illarionov warned that Russia will argue that the granting of independence to Finland in 1917 was an act of “treason against national interests.”

“Putin’s view is that he protects what belongs to him and his predecessors,” Illarionov said.

“Parts of Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States and Finland are states where Putin claims to have ownership.

He added: “The West’s leaders seem, from what they say, entirely to have forgotten that there are some leaders in the world who want to conquer other countries.”

Finland is not a Nato member, meaning a Russian invasion would not be considered an attack against the alliance.

The commander of the Finnish air force has said it has increased surveillance operations over the Baltic Sea in recent weeks.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

[JimC]

I'll worry about this either when Putin himself expresses that desire, or that Russia starts massing troops on the Finnish border.

If this were a true picture, I would expect Finland to express an immediate desire to join NATO...

[FBM]

HuffPo and other reputable sources have picked up on it: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/03 ... reloaded=1

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

[JimC]

I think it quite likely that Putin, and many other Russians, would like to regain more of their earlier territory no longer part of Russia. However, they will only attempt to do so if the cost/benefit analysis is favourable. The isolated territory of Crimea, with its large Russian-speaking population, its Russian bases and its comparative geographical isolation from the rest of Ukraine was an easy morsel to gobble up. From now on, any further moves will be for vastly higher stakes, and are thus less likely.

[FBM]

The HuffPo article lists Belarus and the Baltic states as other targets. I don't know much about their politics (or anything else), but I'd say Finland would be the hardest target on the list. Their main defense in Crimea is that so many people there apparently do favor joining Russia.

[JimC]

It would be interesting to hear MiM's views on this...

[Drewish]

If it were any day other than today, I'd take it more seriously.

[JimC]

The HuffPo article lists Belarus and the Baltic states as other targets. I don't know much about their politics (or anything else), but I'd say Finland would be the hardest target on the list. Their main defense in Crimea is that so many people there apparently do favor joining Russia.

Although there are some Russian speaking ethnic groups in the Baltic states, I'm pretty certain they are a definite minority, and many of them would prefer to remain in a moderately well-functioning western-style democracy rather than be absorbed into a corrupt kleptocracy.

For both the Baltic states and Finland, Putin would not have the available spin of an enthusiastic majority wishing to be re-united with the motherland that he possessed in Crimea...

[cronus]

If he takes back Bulgaria and Romania it'll reduce the number of immigrants here. Finland can be considered expendable as they only export snow. Nothing wrong with taking over countries that are not strategic to the West's interests. Natural thing for ascendant powers to do. We are not on a moral crusade when we do it.

[DaveDodo007]

Didn't they get assraped last time they tried that.

http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures ... h+Finland/

[Tero]

It never goes well when Russia goes on a Finland expedition without nukes.

[FBM]

Didn't they get assraped last time they tried that.

http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures ... h+Finland/

I thought that was worth bringing out: