On March 1, 2023, the Finnish parliament (Eduskunta) almost unanimously approved the country's entry into NATO. 184 deputies out of 200 cast their votes “for”. After Finland's application is supported by Hungary and Turkey, it will officially become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance.. Thus, Finland finally abandoned the long-term policy of neutrality and, by its example, strengthened the possibility and realism of using the “Finlandization” model of any of the countries, in particular Ukraine.

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It should be noted that until recently the problem of " The example of Finland in a historical context was cited as a successful illustration of a country that managed to build an efficient economy and become a wealthy country with a high standard of living, while remaining aloof from military-political blocs.. Moreover, the “Finlandization” narrative was promoted as an alternative to the Euro-Atlantic perspective of Ukraine, which could satisfy Russia and prevent the escalation of tensions between the two countries.. But everything was changed by the large-scale military invasion of Russia, demonstrating the complete impossibility of this policy in the Ukrainian context, as well as a superficial understanding of the phenomenon itself..

What is the policy of \? And what do Finnish scientists think about it We asked them about this in a series of interviews within the framework of the NaUKMA School of Political Analytics project “Security Models for Ukraine: from the New Sich to New Alliances”.

Tuomas Forsberg, professor of international relations, director of the Helsinki Collegium for Progressive Studies, characterizes " “Finland tried to be a friend and not provoke an opponent,” he said.. According to the scientist, although such a policy was never supported in Finnish society, after the end of World War II it was perceived by the Finnish political elite as the key to maintaining sovereignty and preventing large territorial losses.. At the same time, Forsberg points out that the policy of " A similar assessment is shared by Katri Pynnoniemi, an associate professor at the University of Helsinki, emphasizing that there was never a real friendship between the USSR and Finland, and relations were purely business in nature.. However, she notes, during the global confrontation between the USSR and the USA, there was much more respect for international law than now..

According to Tuomas Forsberg, the policy of " The Finns rejected it several times, taking advantage of the window of opportunity, namely during Finland's accession to the EU in 1995 (together with Sweden), and in 2022 they expressed their desire to join NATO (also together with Sweden).

Tapio Huntunen, a lecturer at the University of Tampere and a specialist in international relations, also believes that the policy of " He rightly points out that during the Cold War, Finland was in the sphere of interests of the Soviet Union because of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.. He notes that the concept of "

At the same time, Sinikukka Saari, a leading researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Relations, believes that the Finnish model at one time became possible due to the defensive nature of the strategic interests of the USSR.. “If this were not the case, the model would have failed from the very beginning,” she emphasizes.. This model of neutrality cannot be used in the case of Ukraine, because here Russia's interests are clearly offensive.. Even more, they go beyond the framework of strategy, because in the imagination of the Kremlin ideologists, first of all, it is about identity, correcting historical mistakes, etc..

She also pointed out a few more important details that helped Finland to remain independent.. Thus, the Finns paid special attention to the development of national defense, in particular the development of a strong army.. After all, the enemy must understand that if he crosses the border, the cost of the conflict will be too high for him.. Tapio Huntunen notes that Finland borrowed the concept of total defensive doctrine from Switzerland. It provided for a socio-psychological component of creating positive values \u200b\u200band skills that would increase the desire of individuals to defend their country.. One of the key components of this was the draft army. Among other things, it performs the function of developing civil society.

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Maati Pesu, a leading researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, shares the same opinion as Sinikukka Saari.. In his opinion, Finland, as a small state, is trying to make a possible conflict very expensive for a potential invader, discouraging him from attacking. The aspect of national unity also played an important role, because, according to Saari, this directly affects the resilience of small states.. “We have built a welfare state that has something to offer everyone,” she said.. It also prevents the concept of “Finlandization” from being applied to Ukraine, since one of Moscow’s stated goals was the demilitarization of Ukraine, but one of the consequences of a full-scale invasion was the rallying of the Ukrainian nation.

According to Sinikukki Saari, Finland has always had a " “We knew exactly what to do after February 24. Recently, instead of a carrot, Russia has been using a stick in relation to us.. But we are determined to keep going,” Saari said, referring to the NATO membership bid..

Earlier, during the Cold War, according to Ilmari Kaikhko, an associate professor at the Swedish Defense University and a veteran of the Finnish Armed Forces, Finland could not join NATO because it would really offend the Soviet Union.. Sweden, which has a historically long tradition of neutrality, also realized that it must stay away from NATO for the good of Finland.. If it became a member of NATO, the USSR would demand that Finland join the Warsaw Pact, he believes..

Maati Pesu points out that Russia has always been the biggest security threat to Finland. He believes that the Russian Federation plays an important role in the Finnish understanding of the nature of international relations.. In relation to Russia, Finland resorted to the use of two main strategies, namely appeasement and containment.. Before the end of the Cold War, the policy of appeasement played a major role, and after it the importance of the policy of containment gradually increased, especially after 2014, and reached its apogee after the start of a full-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine. “At the moment, this is the basis of Finland’s policy towards Russia,” he emphasizes..

In general, experts are of the opinion that the resilience of society plays an important role in the policy of containment. Tapio Huntunen sums up: given the current situation, Finland should not serve as an example for Ukraine, but rather the opposite. Ilmari Kaikhko believes: Ukraine will need a large army even after the end of the war, because in the near future it will not become a member of NATO. Therefore, it must be able to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity with its own forces..

Consequently, the policy of " According to Finnish experts, it is a mistake to consider this model of the Cold War era or other models of neutrality as suitable for addressing the security needs of modern Ukraine.. Finland's own example, which applied for NATO membership, is a vivid confirmation of this.. At the same time, scientists believe that Ukraine should pay special attention to the development of its Armed Forces, which, in particular, will contribute to the growth of the stability of civil society..

Russia must understand that the losses will always exceed the potential benefits from participation in the conflict.

If, nevertheless, we consider the very phenomenon of “Finlandization” in relation to Ukraine, then it means, rather, not ensuring Ukraine’s non-bloc status, which Russia is striving for in order to control it, but, on the contrary, such a development path in which Ukraine, according to the experience of Finland, is increasing its. And it is precisely this scenario of “Finlandization” that Ukraine is now implementing..

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