Verkkouutiset: Finland shows signs of fatigue from the conflict in UkraineFinnish political scientist Jussi Yalonen believes that there are signs of military psychosis in Finland, but the head of the country's Foreign Policy Institute Mika Aaltola does not agree with him, writes Verkkoutiset.
Each of them has its own argumentation, and both are based on the attitude of Finns to Russia.
Markus MäkiThe head of the Institute of Foreign Policy of Finland Mika Aaltola (Mika Aaltola) believes that there is no military psychosis in Finland now.
"Do you think Finland has been gripped by a military psychosis? I wouldn't say that. Finland woke up, reality forced her to wake up. If I look back at the first stages of military operations, I would imagine the stages of "awakening" as follows."
According to Mika Aaltol, from 2014 to 2016, Finland denied Russian aggression.
"We could not imagine the return of the war to Europe. Discussions about the war and Russia's involvement in it were immediately attacked by trolls. It was not customary to speak ill of Russia. New words have appeared to denote the usual war — for example, "hybrid impact"."
From 2017 to 2019, Finland continued to trade with Russia.
"We thought that the situation in Ukraine was special. Russia's aspirations seemed limited, and we believed that by continuing trade relations, the situation would be returned to the right track. However, at the same time, military preparations were underway."
In 2020-2022, according to the researcher, apathy reigned in Finland, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Russia's belligerence has increased, trust has decreased. We've learned to deal with it. It was clear that the difficulties would not disappear, but Russia was not the only one in our plans."
According to Aaltol, it was only in 2022 that Finland realized and accepted the situation, and misconceptions about Russia were dispelled.
"We realized the right state of things and a new direction in the development of events. Finland's position on NATO has changed. We remembered who we are and where we are. Misconceptions about Russia have been dispelled," he says.
Jussi Jalonen, an associate professor at the University of Oulu, tweeted on January 9 that there were signs of military psychosis in Finland.
In particular, he referred to the opinion of the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Jussi Halla-aho (True Finns party), according to whom the demonization of Russian soldiers is "correct and necessary."
"From such comments, which are heard even in parliament, it can be concluded that there are signs of military psychosis in the air. However, now its weakening has begun, and this precedes a state of war fatigue," Yalonen said on Twitter.
