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https://taru-anniina.medium.com/finlands-position-is-one-of-the-big-surprises-of-the-ukraine-invasion-481dd16ffb54>
"For decades, my country has had to walk a fine, fine line between USSR/Russia
and Europe. How do we become a developed country and a part of Europe, without
angering these guys on the eastern border that could just come back and invade
us at any moment?
In the Cold War, that delicate dance gave us and the international media a new
concept: Finlandization. It described how a nation gave up on a part of its
sovereignty to maintain its independence. Kind of keeping it in name, but
sacrificing all important decisions to what Khrushchev or the Politburo wanted.
If we got a thumbs down, like we did in the Night Frost Crisis of 1958 or the
Note Crisis of 1961, we retreated.
Our President Urho Kaleva Kekkonen was the leader in charge of Finlandizing our
foreign policy, and he remained in power for 26 years, from 1956 to 1982. In my
opinion, no president has fresh ideas to improve his country for a quarter
cetruy, but at least he was on good terms with the Kremlin.
We’ve since implemented a two-term limit for the presidency and gotten rid of
the electoral college, so I guess we can sort of thank Kekkonen for overstaying
his welcome. And the truth is, had Finland not done what the USSR wanted in
those days, we might not have been able to keep our country.
Things do sometimes change for the better, if you wait them out. In the Cold
War decades, Finland went from a backward and largely rural country that had
just lost a terrible war, to a prosperous Nordic welfare state. Inching closer
to Europe, little by little."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
