I’ve been there, just once, and fell in love with it: the capital city of Helsinki, the countryside, Ainola (home of composer Jean Sibelius), the friendly people, the education system, the fresh seafood, and even the climate (I am not a hot weather person).

Just one thing would make me hesitant to live there. No, actually two things. One is the language: it is one of only three languages comprising the Finno-Ugric group, the other two being Hungarian and Estonian. And they’re not related to any other language group — not the romance, or the Germanic, or the Slavic — and only slightly to each other, making them pretty much indecipherable to anyone who wasn’t born or raised in one of those three countries.

But more unnerving is Finland’s proximity to Russia. The two countries share a border of about 830 miles in length, and while that has not been a serious problem for some years, more recently — specifically since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022 — Finland has significantly tightened its border controls. It also wisely joined NATO last year.

And last week, a Finnish court ordered the seizure of Russian assets in Finland worth approximately 4.6 billion euros in accordance with a ruling of the Permanent Arbitration Court at The Hague. This judgment is by way of compensation to the Ukrainian company Naftogaz, whose assets were illegally seized by Russia at the time of its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Among the properties seized In Finland were the Russian Center of Science and Culture in Helsinki, four other Russian-owned buildings in the Aland Islands, and a seaside property in Kirkkonnummi used by Russian diplomats for recreation purposes. [Abby Chitty, Euronews, October 30, 2024.]

It didn’t take long — just until yesterday — for the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow to summon the Finnish ambassador in order to protest the seizure of its properties in Finland. A statement issued by the Ministry “demand[ed] that the Finnish side review this illegitimate decision as soon as possible. If necessary, the Russian side will take retaliatory measures.” [The Moscow Times, October 30, 2024.]

Well, of course you will. Did anyone doubt that?

Authorities in Moscow are now accusing Finland’s enforcement authority of confiscating 45 properties, including those used by Russia’s embassy in Helsinki — about half of which are allegedly protected by diplomatic immunity, such as “country houses and apartments where diplomats reside.” [Id.]

The Kremlin, of course, has said it will contest Finland’s actions by “all legal means.” [Id.]

I sincerely hope they’re not thinking of using the same “legal means” by which they annexed Crimea in 2014, and undertook their “special military operation” to “reclaim” the rest of Ukraine in 2022.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/31/24