Finland and Russia: a photographic journey across the border zone Finland
Antti Kettunen, 44, runs a sledding pistol consisting of two orange poles. Then back to the starting point, he kneels behind the structure of the two platforms, aims through the gap and hits a target more than eight meters away.
Behind him, two women and six men are closely watching Kettunen’s movement. They have all volunteered for reserve drills. Kettunen, the coach and chairman of the reserve association, will see some of them for the first time today. Shooting exercises with four different weapons are held weekly at the forest pier, which is about an hour away from Helsinki. As of February 24 this year, the Vantaa Reserve Association has gained more than 400 new members; at the beginning of the year, the entire association had about 1,000 members.
Of 18 May 2022 Finland Kettunen has been waiting for a long time for a NATO application. Although support for NATO membership was only about 20% before the Russian invasion, Kettunen does not know of any person who would oppose membership. Shortly after the end of the Kosovo war, Kettunen took part in a peace operation. “You could say the mass graves were still warm when we arrived. The task changed everything for me. Only alliances like NATO can guarantee long-term peace. This is what Kettunen says when asked about Finland’s forthcoming accession to NATO.
From the end of April to mid-May, we – Finnish photographer Jonathan Terlinden and German photographer Patrick Junker – traveled through Finland to visit people and places to better understand the history between Finland and Finland. Russia.
The first stop of our trip took us to Suomenlinna, a few kilometers from Helsinki. Its construction began in 1748, and it became necessary when the Russian Tsar Peter the Great tried to strengthen Russia as a naval force by establishing St. Petersburg. The fortress surrendered in 1808, and a year later the Swedish province of Finland became the Grand Duchy of Finland and thus part of Russia.
Fifty years later, Tsar Alexander II granted the Finns extensive autonomy. The Finnish language was promoted to weaken the influence of the Swedes and to anchor the Grand Duchy in the Kingdom of Russia. But the desire for Finland’s independence grew. It was not until 1917, after the October Revolution in Russia, that Finland declared independence. But Finland was a divided country. This was followed by a bloody civil war between whites, led by the Conservative Finnish Senate, against the Red Socialists. Almost 30,000 people died in the Finnish Civil War.
“People in Russia are not bad. I have many good friends there. But if I hadn’t seen so much Russia, I would have thought differently today, ”says Helena Seppänen, 71, from Ruhtinansalmi, 450 kilometers north of Helsinki and within walking distance of the Russian border. The nearest big city, Suomussalmi, is an hour’s drive away. When we arrive here at the end of April, the days will be sunny and bright. Nevertheless, the rugged ice of the lake landscape is still strong enough to carry skiers and anglers. Helena and Eero Seppänen, 77, could already see the first bears. A few weeks ago, they woke up from sleep.
Eero Seppänen has lived here all his life. His mother Lempi is revered as a hero in the village. He saw the first Russian soldiers cross the border on November 30, 1939. He took his three children and ran for 6 miles to warn villages and soldiers across the river. It was the beginning of the Winter War and strengthened the national identity of the Finns. There are many parallels to the current situation in Ukraine in this chapter of Finnish history, especially in the battle around Suomussalmi.
Russia’s security interests serve as an excuse to militarily attack a hopelessly inferior nation. But the Finns were able to resist a superior enemy in impenetrable terrain and deep winter, which the Soviets did not expect. In fact, they believed that they would free the Finnish people from the yoke of landowners and capitalists. But on the contrary: the onslaught of the enemy and the first victories of his own army made hostile camps grow together in civil war. Through the “spirit of the Winter War”, Finland gained international prestige and internal strength. A peace agreement was reached, but Finland still had to cede territories to the Soviet Union. Although the country fought alongside Germany in the Continuation War since 1941, it remained independent and free of alliances after World War II.
The persistent latent threat from the east forced Finland to rebalance, often criticized in foreign policy in the decades after the Second World War, with the aim of not provoking the Soviet Union and later Russia. During the Cold War, the term “finlandization” became established in the West. Although neutrality was maintained, the influence of the Soviet Union was noticeable. For this reason, the country has deliberately refrained from joining NATO.
“When Putin threatened Finland and said that we should not join NATO, I completely changed my mind; of course, we should join NATO, “says Brother Merentie, 98.” He has nothing to say about what our Finns should do. “Merentie himself took part in the Continuation War and two of his brothers died in the Winter War. and the East.
“Russia has seen us as an enemy since joining the EU. For them, we are already on the front line, they just haven’t attacked yet, ”says Paavo Terä, 19, we met him at the Arrow 22 exercise. Unlike many other EU countries, Finland has maintained its military service even after joining the EU. The Finnish Armed Forces has 34,700 and about 900,000 reservists. The Defense Forces regularly participate in various international exercises. In May 2022, troops from the United Kingdom, Latvia, the United States and Estonia visited the Finnish Army to practice cooperation within the framework of the Arrow 22 exercise.
On the day we visited the Arrow 22 exercise with more than 40 other media, a Russian military helicopter violated Finnish airspace. Such cases are becoming more common. For example, at the beginning of April, a transport plane of the Russian army arrived in Finnish airspace for a while. At the same time, property is being expropriated from the Russian oligarchs and economic cooperation is being stopped. In recent years, Finns have begun to realize that Russian oligarchs have dubious properties in Finland. Large apartment buildings and villas in strategically important locations have attracted a lot of media attention.
Back to Suomussalmi; Pentti Seppänen, 82, has also spent his entire life near the Russian border. The retired teacher is involved in many associations, including the Veterans Association. He was born when his mother was evacuated, and his father fought in the Battle of Suomussalmi during the Winter War. Yet no matter what politicians decide, it is only important to him that peace be maintained. “The war in Ukraine shows that the Russian government can make absurd decisions. Finland’s membership in NATO will probably not make them think rationally.