Are Russo-Finnish relations turning frosty?

Sheets of ice float in Helsinki's chilly harbour - are Finland's relations with Russia also turning frosty?

Since returning to the UK a few days ago, I have to say I really miss Finland.  I quite liked discovering a new country, especially one in mainland Scandinavia (I visited Iceland, a part of Scandinavia, back in the 80s).

An interesting thing we learned in Finland is that at the bottom of many buildings is a bomb shelter, accessed through a very heavy steel door.  We saw this more than once.  It is an historical legacy, reflecting the fact that the Finns lived under Russian rule for more than a century.  Apparently, suspicion of the Russians runs deep.  Today, especially so.  The people of Finland look at the events in Ukraine, and are reminded of their own history.  Russia gifted the Crimea to Ukraine about 60 years ago.  And the Finns were 'given' their independence in 1917 by Russia.  It was Vladimir Lenin, travelling to Russia on the eve of the Revolution, who agreed to honour Finnish independence if the Finns did not oppose the Bolshevik rise to power.  If Russia today views the Crimea as its own, could Russia adopt a similar view of the territory of Finland?  Russia has, in recent years, shown she is moving away from being a 'status quo' state, and becoming 'revisionist', to use the language of global politics scholars.

At Helsinki Airport, we overheard a member of the British Army tell another Englishman that the Russians were opening up a military base in the north, very close to Finland, and were putting 100,000 Russian soldiers there.  The man said the Finns were 'shitting themselves' due to this development.  It seems the man was correct about increased Russian military activity in the north, but I'm not sure as to the veracity of the numbers involved.  See the article below, taken from Uutiset.

News 14.1.2015 13:20 | updated 14.1.2015 14:00

Russia moves first troops to Arctic base near Finnish border

Russia is stepping up its military activity in the Arctic region. As part of this effort, Russian Armed Forces reopened an abandoned military base on the Kola Peninsula in the Russia city of Alakurtti recently, just 60 kilometres from the Finnish border. 

Map of northern Finland indicating Rovaniemi, the Finnish border city of Salla and the Russian city of Alakurtti. Image: Yle/Uutisgrafiikka

Russia is moving military forces to previously under-occupied military basis in Arctic territory that once belonged to Finland. The troops are stationed at Alakurtti Air Base--a naval air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia located three km northwest of the Russian municipality of Alakurtti, north of the Arctic Circle. It is 60 kilometres from the border city of Salla in Finnish Lapland.

Once operated by the Germans, the base was transferred to the armed forces of the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Prior to the Moscow Peace of March 1940, the area around Alakurtti was part of Finland. Different Russian army and navy units have been based there through the years, but since 2009 the town has hosted mainly civilians and border guards and the air base has been largely silent.

In March 2014 the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported that the Murmansk regional administration and the Western Military District were preparing housing blocks and infrastructure to house some 3,000 soldiers and officers from Russia’s Northern Fleet. An unconfirmed source also reported the air base would house a newly created Northern Fleet signals intelligence unit, charged with tracking military, maritime, and air movements and activities, supporting developments in the Arctic and the Far North, and searching for threats from the West.

Motorized infantry arrived by train

ITAR-TASS reported on Wednesday that the first motorised infantry brigade troops arrived at the reinstated base on Tuesday by train. The infantry is motorised, in that it also contains trucks that are available to transport the unit when necessary.

Russian papers predicted last spring that the troops would be transferred last December and said the brigade would likely be comprised of 7,000 soldiers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s new military strategy emphasises protection of Russian interests in the Arctic, and Alakurtti is not the only abandoned base that is being revived in the north for this purpose. According to ITAR-TASS, the Russians are transporting equipment and opening several new air bases in the north, with a dozen bases planned for opening in the coming months.

The arrival of soldiers in Alakurtti will mean a dramatic change for the northern community. For the past few years, the population has only been a few thousand, so in the future troops will outnumber residents by a large margin.

Americans in Sodankylä

On the Finnish side of the border, things are quieter--but there's still a military presence. This week five US Marines and three army soldiers from Alaska are participating in a winter combat training course arranged by the Jaeger Brigade of the Finnish Defence Forces in the Finnish Lapland village of Sodankylä.   

The first part of the course teaches theory and winter warfare criteria, in addition to survival skills that promote optimal performance. The second stage applies the knowledge learned in the first stage in practical exercises.

The course is a continuation of bilateral cooperation between the Finnish Defence Forces and the US Marines, whereby both forces send students to the other country to participate in training courses. The Army says the objective of the exchange is to develop better national defence capacity.

The Marines also spent some time in military training at the Finnish Army’s Guard Jaeger Regiment in the Helsinki island district of Santahamina during their stay. The joint Finnish-American exercises were first arranged in January 2014.