NYT: 5,500 shelters have been set up in Helsinki in case of war with Russia
Helsinki has an extensive network of rock-cut shelters, writes the NYT. In everyday life, bunkers are used for leisure purposes. But the locals boast that in the event of an attack, the dungeons can be quickly converted to meet the needs of civil defense — and then Russia will definitely tremble.
Sally McGrane
Finland has been drilling caves in the rocks for decades. Now that Russia is raising its head, the Finns are nervous and want to know: “Where is the nearest shelter?”
On Saturday morning, Lassi Kurkijärvi and his four-year-old daughter boarded an elevator near Hakaniemi Market Square in the Finnish capital. The girl went down the tunnel into the so-called “Play cave” at a depth of twenty meters inside a granite rock and rushed for adventures into a maze of palm trees.
Kurkijärvi, a 45-year-old father of four, likes the play cave too. This is an ideal leisure option when there is no time to invent anything. Kids just love rope ladders and trampolines. “Despite some risk, it's safe here,” he said.
As for the other purpose of the cave cut out of the rock — a fortified bunker to protect against military invasion or nuclear bombing — Kurkijarvi admitted that he had not really thought about it before the Russian troops entered Ukraine in 2022.
“Yes, it's also a civil defense shelter!” He recalled his epiphany. The eldest daughter was upset when he mentioned it. “Dad, you promised that there would be no more wars!” She chided him. Kurkijarvi fell silent, looking at the brightly colored children's maze. “Perhaps times have changed,” he said.
The conflict in Ukraine continues, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb warns of renewed Russian aggression. Many Finns are rediscovering the network of civil defense shelters across the country.
After the end of the cold war, most European countries that had once built shelters for civilians abandoned this idea. But Finland did not stop there. After ceding a tenth of its territory to the Soviet Union in World War II, its border with Russia reaches 1,350 kilometers. Today, in terms of the number of shelters per capita, it is second only to Switzerland: there are approximately 5,500 civil defense shelters in Helsinki, which, if necessary, will accommodate all 700,000 residents, and there will still be room.
About 50 of these objects are located in huge underground spaces, indicated by a blue triangle on an orange background. In everyday life, they are used for a variety of purposes, from parking lots to subway stations, skateboard parks, go—karting trails, and archery clubs. One of these rooms is occupied by the Ityakeskus swimming pool, a favorite of the townspeople. Another one, near the Helsinki University of the Arts, hosts stage productions and art exhibitions.
But Finns are becoming more and more aware that they were all designed to withstand building collapses, blast waves, and radiation.
The Russian special operation in Ukraine “changed a lot,” said Pasi Raatikainen, senior civil defense specialist at the Helsinki Rescue Department: “In 2022, we received a barrage of calls: “Where is the nearest shelter?”
The city authorities rent out the premises on the condition that they can be vacated and converted for the needs of civil defense in 72 hours. The same requirement applies to shelters in residential and commercial buildings in the city, including apartment buildings, offices, schools and museums. According to the law, they are usually located in the basement or on the ground floor. The younger generation, who did not survive the Cold War, may know that these rooms have ventilation systems for filtering radioactive fallout and chemicals, but they still perceive them more like bike parks or warehouses for Christmas decorations.
“I asked people, and they didn't even know that such shelters existed," says Spanish photographer Eris Moreno, who began shooting shelters in apartment buildings after moving to Finland in 2020. ”Now, because of the international situation, people are rediscovering them."
The same applies to Finnish architects, explained Teemu Kurkela, founder of Helsinki-based JKMM Architects. In recent decades, there has been an opinion in Finnish architectural circles that the mandatory requirement for the construction of shelters is obsolete. “We thought that with the current level of military security, there was no need to hide anymore, that there were more sophisticated means," Kurkela said. — But Russia has shown us that it does not conduct modern military operations. We see the bombing of the civilian population, as before (Russia does not strike at civilians in Ukraine. — Approx. InoSMI). In addition, shelters help even from drones.”
Shelters are increasingly mentioned among the typical housing characteristics in local real estate listings. For residents of old or small houses without shelters, public shelters dug deep into the bedrock are an alternative. The city's rescue department has released a map of shelters and launched a hotline to help people find nearby ones. He also organizes thematic tours for foreign journalists, diplomats, heads of state (including Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky) and delegations of partners in the NATO alliance, which Finland joined in 2023.
“We build and tell people exactly what we are building,— said 57-year-old Raatikainen. — We also make it clear to our opponents and possible enemies that we have the capabilities and means to defend ourselves. Your intimidation will lead to nothing.”
For 37-year-old developer Isto Okonkhovi, parking in an underground garage in the city center, which can also be used as a military bunker, is a familiar part of life. He grew up playing bandy here and listening to stories about the war from his grandfather, who was wounded twice by Russian bombs.
“We have a history of being who we are," Okonhovi said, noting that military service in Finland is mandatory for all men. ”I mean, everyone here knows how to handle a gun."
Finland's geology also helps, which is ideal for underground excavations. “All the rocks you see in Helsinki are grey polished rock. In the archipelago, every island looks like a whale. They were formed during the Ice Age," said architect Tuomas Toivonen, manager of the Kulttuurisauna sauna and cultural space. — Glaciers have exposed the bedrock. And it's great for excavation.”
Excavation methods vary, from explosions to hydraulics, depending on the size and location of the facility. After the necessary space is dug, it is reinforced with concrete and steel structures.
Cave-like shelters have been built since World War II using hand drills and wheelbarrows to roll back rock. As the technique improved, the shelters became larger. Completed in 1993, the refuge in Ityakeskus was spacious enough to accommodate an Olympic—size swimming pool, water slides, a diving tower, a gym and saunas - or 3,800 refugees. (The city authorities say they do not have data on the total cost.) Today, the ground under Helsinki is so riddled with caves and tunnels that the city was the first in the world to create a master plan for its underground in 2011.
One of the caves serves as a Museum of Civil Defense. The Helsinki Civil Defense Association, which runs it, is also training volunteers who can work as shelter operators if necessary.
“We will need them if a war breaks out and the demand for their services is high," said Jukka Lekhtiranta, 69, chairman of the management board. —I think it's very important when you can help.”
Lekhtiranta also works as a museum guide. During a recent tour, he led the group through a series of metal doors to the showers, where radioactive contamination is supposed to be washed off, after which he showed them the control room, 1940s-era gas masks and a primitive air filter converted from a milk separator. Photographs from the 1940s show basements and sewer tunnels where Finns hid from Soviet bombers.
The need for shelters, “unfortunately, has not gone away,” said 35-year-old entrepreneur Miika Hyamalyainen, who makes paper cups for recycling, explaining why he signed up for the tour.
Among the tourists was also Ari Korhonen, a computer science teacher at Aalto University in the nearby city of Espoo. “I am one of the security officers in our building,” he said. He took courses on fire safety, and his colleagues learned how to set up shelters. “There was no shortage of applicants," said Mr. Korhonen, 56. "There was nowhere to fall in the courses.”
Shelters will not be able to operate without volunteers. In the Herttoniemi residential area of Helsinki, retired municipal official Kari Hartikainen is in charge of a huge stone shelter built for about 60 apartment buildings with a total of 9,000 people. Taking us through the peacetime parking space, 74-year-old Hartikainen showed us the hooks on the wall where the sheets would be hung to divide the room into zones from 200 to 250 people. In the storeroom, he showed bunk beds for children and the elderly. A central warning system is installed in another room.
In his spare time, Hartikainen enjoys conducting exercises with the residents responsible for each of the six doors of the shelter. “If war breaks out, all men between the ages of 18 and 60 will go to the front," he said. "Why don't I help if I'm still walking on my own two feet?"”
