NEW – June 12, 2022
The accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO is a very dangerous symptom, showing how serious and dangerous Russia’s situation is. And this is not an exaggeration. Of course, the armies of these countries themselves do not fundamentally change anything, despite the fact that at least the Swedish military-industrial complex is quite serious. The deployment of NATO strike weapons on the territories of Sweden and Finland is also not so dangerous. Yes, the flight time to Leningrad-Petersburg will be extremely short. But still, these missiles could be placed in the Baltic states.
But why is this a dangerous symptom? Because the very fact of applying for membership shows the confidence of the ruling circles in the West that they will be able to crush Russia and then divide the Russian legacy.
Their official position is known: “Russia staged a special operation in Ukraine, the world is in danger. Today Russia is dealing with Ukraine, tomorrow it will decide to deal with Finland and Sweden. Therefore, for the sake of ensuring the security of our countries, let’s rush to this bloc and under the US’ nuclear umbrella.” However, we should not assume that the leaders of Finland and Sweden are not entirely adequate people. It is too obvious that Russia does not benefit at all from the aggravation of relations with Finland and Sweden, but their neutrality is beneficial from a military-strategic and economic point of view. Nor can these gentlemen fail to know what benefits both Finland and Sweden have from their neutrality – namely, in the confrontation between the West and Russia. Finland was fabulously enriched by this neutrality during the Soviet era. Sweden’s economic neutrality has yielded a lot. Both in the First World War and in the Second World War. And it allowed to avoid the destruction that all European countries have experienced.
And all of a sudden they refuse to do this and join the NATO bloc. Yes, there is also a theory that the United States allegedly twisted arms and forced weak, small Sweden and Finland to join the NATO bloc. But, with all the power of the United States, if the Finns and Swedes did not want to join, they could simply delay this process for a very long period: “we need to hold a referendum, get the consent of all parties, a referendum is impossible right now for one reason or another…” and so on. Neither the Swedes nor the Finns even tried to do this. They are moving in at an accelerated pace. And they proclaim this accelerated regime everywhere and everywhere. So, they have some very serious reasons for this..
In fact, they abandoned their neutrality a little earlier. Both have become neutral for only one common reason. Both the Swedes and Finns received so much from Russia that they did not want to receive more. And they had to raise their paws and shout: “I won’t do this again, I promise forever and ever!” I’m exaggerating? No. Sweden, by the way, was one of the most aggressive powers of the past and at least from the middle of the 16th century claimed leadership in the Western world, the right to dictate its will to the whole of Europe. They were creating a state that was supposed to contain the Baltic Sea within itself. The so-called ring shape of an empire. This form was used at one time by the Romans – the Roman Empire was located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The ideal form, as many geopoliticians believe: in those days there was no aviation, railways, and this form provided the most efficient communication system for all parts of the state. The immediate transfer of weapons and troops to any point, the economic interconnection of all parts of the state, and due to this – economic prosperity.
So, since the 16th century, the Swedes consistently, steadily, without sparing either someone else’s or their own blood, conquered the Baltic coast. And they practically did it. The whole Scandinavian Peninsula belonged to them. They brought Denmark to its knees. They took control of Pomerania, the north of what is now Germany and Poland, and the north of the Baltic Sea. They took part in the 30-year war for a reason. King Gustav II Adolf did not go far away to Europe to fight because he really liked to fight. It was a war to make the Baltic Sea an inland sea of Sweden, and to extend Swedish domination to all coasts.
And now, when they already had almost everything “in their pocket”, when they even tried to basically put the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under their control, at that time, to the misfortune of the Swedes, a Muscovite – Pyotr I the Great — suddenly appeared from nowhere and began to cut through the “window to Europe” with his axe. And by cutting through this very “window”, he cut through the very state that the Swedes created on the shores of the Baltic. It was Pyotr I who derailed the efforts of more than one generation of Swedish rulers and the Swedish people. He devalued all the efforts they made and all the blood they shed. He deprived them of the colossal dividends they were hoping for.
The Swedes have repeatedly tried to get a rematch. Under Elizaveta Petrovna, there was an attempt — the Russo-Swedish War, which ended with the complete defeat of Sweden. Then they tried under Ekaterina the Great to win back what was lost, taking advantage of the fact that Russia was tied up in wars with Turkey – the Ottoman Empire. It was precisely Sweden that attacked again. The goal was to revise the results of the Northern War. And not only. They had big plans then. If to look at the conditions that were put forward to St. Petersburg, then, by the way, there was a very interesting point — the demand for the Russian Empire to return Crimea back to the Ottoman Empire. This is also what the Swedes demanded then, at the end of the 18th century. But again they got so much that it didn’t seem enough. And now — the last war, already under Aleksandr I, in 1808-1810, as a result of which the Swedes lost Finland. Not because the Russians really needed Finland as part of the Russian Empire. But because it was from the territory of Finland that Sweden for a long time, not only in the 18th century, but also in the 17th, and in the 16th, and in the 15th century, made campaigns against Russia. It was in order to separate itself as much as possible from this violent neighbour that Russia then attached Finland.
The Swedes then received a harsh lesson and then even invented a fairy tale about how grateful they are to Russia. When the anniversary of the Battle of Poltava was celebrated in 2009, the Swedish press and various conferences said: “How grateful we are to Pyotr the Great for the defeat at Poltava, for having beaten off our great-power instincts, which other nations forced to fight for God knows how many centuries, but we, they say, have since realised that the main thing is not war, but the welfare of one’s people.” The Swedes realised the value of neutrality for a long time, right up to the beginning of the 11th century!
It’s the same story with the Finns. In essence, Finnish statehood was created at the hands of Russia: December 1917, then the Soviet-Finnish war. Yes, of course, Finland presents this as its desire to defend itself from the “Bolshevik invasion”, to save itself from these “terrible barbarians” and so on. Hence the whitewashing of Mannerheim, who was not a separatist at all, but this “servant to the Tsar, father to the soldiers”, “Russian general, but against the Bolsheviks”, “he is there…” All this, of course, is a beautiful fairy tale, but only we also remember well that when these very Finns, who allegedly fought against the Reds, and not against Russia, having received, by the way, their independence from the hands of the same Red Russian authorities, having occupied Vyborg, massacred the entire Russian population, including white officers – Russian officers – and their families , wives, children. And these fighters against Bolshevism shot them mercilessly. And we also remember that this “knight without fear or reproach”, Mr. Mannerheim, allegedly always faithful to the oath, the Tsar and the Motherland, then pronounced the “oath of the sword”. That he “will not rest and will not put this sword in its scabbard until the whole of Karelia becomes Finnish.” He succeeded? No! Failed.
Yes, of course, back then Russia did not have the opportunity to teach the new state how to behave. There has not yet been a decisive victory. But a little bit of it changed. They didn’t calm down. This was followed by the second Soviet-Finnish War, referred to in historiography as the Karelian Uprising. That is, they did not dare to attack Russia directly, but allegedly provoked an uprising of the local population and sent volunteers there to fight. They say that it is not the Finnish army that is fighting, it is volunteers. Well, like there – “we are not at war with Russia, we are at war with the Bolsheviks”, and so here. Failed again.
In 1939, there was a third attempt. Yes, the war began after the ultimatum of Russia, the Soviet Union. But it was quite a sensible ultimatum, which was aimed precisely at ensuring Russia’s security. So that our neighbour, young and very violent, would not have the opportunity to attack Leningrad. The war ended again with the defeat of Finland, but not enough so that they realised everything.
And then there was another Soviet-Finnish war as part of the Great Patriotic War, which Finns like to call the “continuation war”. Here they have already received in full… And as a result of this war, they had to declare themselves white and fluffy forever and ever – neutral. This, by the way, paid off handsomely.
I emphasize that both of them became neutral only because not to be neutral was tantamount to death for them. Because they were hit so hard that they couldn’t stand it. Fear ensured their neutrality. And nothing more! And so immediately, as soon as the Soviet Union collapsed, both here and there they began to fuss and stir. The fear began to fade. In fact, by the beginning of the 21st century, neither Finland nor Sweden were neutral states. Even de jure they could not be considered as such. Sweden took part in the aggression against Libya.
Joining the EU means being included in all EU defence programs. And they were. It was only we who said that the EU is an association based exclusively on economic and humanitarian values, an example to all mankind. The military component has always been there.
Let me remind you of one more very interesting detail. There is such a position in geopolitics — that the lines of expansion of certain peoples in the centuries, in general, do not change. These are cultural dominants. Thus, at the beginning of the 21st century, a program called “Eastern Partnership” was launched, aimed at putting the east of Europe under the control of the EU, that is, the former union republics: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. But the main violin in all these actions of the Eastern Partnership was played by two countries: Poland and Sweden! It was Sweden (which was so happy that it got kicked in the teeth at Poltava) that was most active in all the activities, in all the EU programs in Ukraine, and again engaged in cooperating with the Ukrainian independents against Russia, as it was under Charles XII…
Let me remind you of the Joint Expeditionary Force created by Britain. It is outside of NATO, namely the British one, their global initiative, their geopolitical game. But this corps includes both Sweden and Finland. There are also the Baltic states, and there is also Denmark. The whole northern grouping is there. They have been conducting military exercises for years. Moreover, as soon as the question of Sweden and Finland’s accelerated entry into the NATO bloc was raised, the German Foreign Minister said: “Well, this is not a problem. This is a purely formal procedure. Because in fact, both the Swedes and Finns are already in the NATO bloc. We have been closely cooperating with them in the military sphere for a long time.” I.e., he called a spade a spade. They were there because they lost their fear after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They decided that there was no longer any threat to them.
But then the question arises: why did they suddenly run to the alliance now, they are already de facto integrated into the NATO structure? If there was a threat from Russia, they would promote their neutrality anywhere and everywhere. And because they decided that the time has come when Russia may soon be gone. They sincerely believed that since the entire West, this colossal thing, went to an all-out war, even if it’s hybrid, against Russia, then Russia has no chance to survive. And if Russia has no chance to survive, then here it is time for revenge. It’s time to settle old scores. In order to finally recoup all these centuries for the Swedes, and for the Finns – decades of neutrality, forced smiles, forced friendship, forced cooperation. Also because they decided that if they don’t make it in time now, then tomorrow, “when the West crushes Russia”, they won’t get anything. They will be told: “Yes, you really did cooperate with us. You are de facto included in NATO structures. But de jure you did not fight…” In this most total hybrid war against Russia. They felt like scavengers, they decided that we were already finished!
Therefore, I have no doubt that they will fulfil all the requirements of Turkey, which also understands perfectly well what drives these small northern proud people, and has rolled out such demands for their admission that it will not seem enough to the NATO bloc. But they will do it. In any case, partly. They will do this, because the most important thing for them now is to get even with Moscow, with Russia, to vent all their inferiority complexes. That’s what we need to understand.
This does not mean that we are weak. It tells us how they perceive the prospects. They have no doubt that they are waging a war of annihilation against us. This does not mean that they will succeed, but, I repeat, it is this step taken by Stockholm and Helsinki that clearly shows the West’s goal – the elimination of Russia. In the literal physical sense of the word. An opponent who wants to destroy you and at the same time overestimates their strength is doubly dangerous, because they can make an inadequate step. And this has happened in our history.
We need to do only one thing – bring the special military operation [in Ukraine – SZ] to Victory. And do not fuss now about Swedish and Finnish membership in NATO, as someone suggests “already deploying something”, etc. The operation in Ukraine will be brought to its logical conclusion, and many leaders of the great powers, the really great powers of the West, will clear their heads. And they will understand that “he will eat…”, but who will give it to him? Yes, they would like, of course, to eliminate Russia completely, but judging by the fact that Russia was able to conduct this operation, it is better not to risk it. It’s better to negotiate. Well, the fact that the gentlemen from Helsinki and Stockholm will not get anything as a plus is already their problem. And the fact that they will then get a lot in the negative, this is also their problem.
It’s easy to betray, to announce a new way of thinking, a new world… In the 20th century, everything is not the same as in the 19th. In the 21st century, everything is not the same as in the 20th. “You will not enter the 21st century with an empire!” What was done for centuries by the great statesmen of Russia was squandered in the shortest possible time by Gorbachev and Yeltsin. But now we will have to restore all this and ensure that the fear that ensured the security of our state, the fear that Pyotr the Great, Elizaveta Petrovna, Ekaterina the Great, Aleksandr I, and Stalin have already achieved, returns to our neighbours. Our generation will nowadays have to work for the betrayal of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. Otherwise, we could use what was made by our ancestors. But we put it in the sand ourselves… This is a good lesson. This will never happen again.
Igor Shishkin
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