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Straw Man

(6,625 posts)

5. Finland had a precarious relationship with Russia ...

Reply to Sogo (Original post)

Sun Mar 6, 2022, 02:36 AM

Mar 2022

... dating back to the treaty they signed with the Soviets in 1948. Despite two armed conflicts with Russia between 1939 and 1941, the Finns managed to hang on to their autonomy, albeit with some restrictions, like a limitation on the size of their armed forces. This is more than can be said for most of Eastern Europe.

The Finnish attitude has been described as "bowing to the East without mooning the West." After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Finns stayed on essentially the same path, but I think they are now reconsidering.

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Highlight:

Why didn't Finland and Sweden ever join NATO? [View all] Sogo Mar 2022 OP

I think they wanted to remain neutral in the event of conflict. Irish_Dem Mar 2022 #1

Sweden was always sorta neutral, although... TreasonousBastard Mar 2022 #4

Because Finland didn't want to piss off the giant country next to them... PoliticAverse Mar 2022 #2

Well, now we know that being a good neighbor to Putin Sogo Mar 2022 #3

Exactly. I hope these 'neutral' European countries radius777 Mar 2022 #7

Finland had a precarious relationship with Russia ... Straw Man Mar 2022 #5

we (Sweden) have not been in a militarily alliance or went to war for 208 years, since 1814 Celerity Mar 2022 #6