Finland and Sweden have formally sought NATO membership on 18 May 2022. The two countries have been talking to each other for a while after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, perhaps even before that. The Western media, academia, and governments have industriously applauded and encouraged the move. It is interesting that it is Finland–which was under Sweden till 1809, when Russia wrested the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden–that is taking the lead.
The principal argument of the West has been that President Putin invaded Ukraine as he did not want NATO getting closer to Russia’s borders. He has been hoisted on his petard as, by Finland’s joining the NATO, the border between it and Russia gets doubled and extended by 1340 kms. Understandably, much schadenfreude has been expressed over Putin’s self-goal. Does such schadenfreude amount to sound analysis from an International Relations (IR) point of view?
President Putin has told Finland that it would be a ‘grave mistake’ to join the NATO. Dmitry Medvedev, who was Russia’s President before Putin and currently Vice Chairman of the Russian National Security Council, has publicly stated that Russia might deploy missiles carrying tactical nuclear weapons in the Kaliningrad enclave close to Poland and Lithuania.
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