Posted on 03/31/2014 10:48:17 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
Russian military drills near neighboring Finland have provoked concern that northern Europe may be the next focus of Moscow's seemingly renewed appetite for redrawing its borders.
Troops and jet fighters from all four military regions of Russia were deployed Sunday about 150 miles east of the Finnish border, according to the English-language newspaper Finnbay. The Russian defense ministry said in a statement that the exercises were pre-planned and that more than 50 fighter pilots took part.
Finland was part of the Russian empire for 108 years, from 1809 until Russias withdrawal from World War I in 1917. The Karelia region, where the war games are taking place, straddles the Finnish border and has historically been a heavily militarized zone for Moscow.
But experts say that while Moscow appears to have seized another opportunity to flex its muscles, the threat of an armed invasion is very low.
"The people of Helsinki are nervous. What Putin is doing is sending shock waves through Europe"
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
The Finns made a great little rifle starting about 1939. The 20MM Lahti is semi auto and can dump 10 rounds down range in seconds. A couple of those cross firing a pass or choke point can make an advance really expensive from a half mile away. The round was good for 1”of steel making it hard to hide and I expect the Russians well-remember how expensive their last trip to Finland was. I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume the Fins have stuff at least that good now?
What’s the gun control status of Finland? Have they disarmed their people? If not, I wouldn’t fret, if so...
SAKO TRG M10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usAlvCUXBeY
"Well, guess hed better damn well develop one in a hurry."
LOL. No chit. I don't know what all Vlad may have in mind, but I do know he seem to be Hell bent on showing Europe just how many places he could make real trouble if he wants to.
I think the powers that be in Russia feel like they've been patted on the had and not taken seriously for long enough.
How much like Soviet Russia the country becomes could depend as much on how Europe deals with Vlad as it does on what he and his crowd want internally. One thing I seriously doubt, though, is that Russia will be changing leaders every four years anytime soon or being led by anyone who believes that Russia is evil and too powerful the way Americans have elected an SOB who hates America.
Worse, Putin has nuclear arms.
The world has seen Obama’s Arab spring and it’s aftermath.
This is Russian spring. => cus, you don’t invade Finland in the winter.
My uncle was in Helsinki a few years back with his two sons. They are hanging around a fountain and got to talking with a local about WW2, my uncle is a Korea Veteran and history buff. The local pointed at the base of the fountain to what bullet marks, they had fought the Germans where they were standing.
~FRee Republic Platoon of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade arriving shortly to tell us that: 1) The Finns are really a bunch of Nazis and 2) Finland has always been part of Russia.~
You are far outreaching drawing parallels to Ukraine here. Finland has been a part of Russia, but they are a great example of successful self determination and a well-established nation today.
Their international policies and Russian politics respectively are an example to follow. Post-Soviet wannabe nations should take notes.
~Im gonna go out on a limb and assume the Fins have stuff at least that good now?~
IMO, a large part of Finnish armament is of Soviet origin, including small arms, armor and air-defence systems.
I think Finland was among the latest advanced nations to retire Mig-21 too.
They procured scores of East German surplus after German reunification.
That never happened. The Germans and the Finns were allies through most of the war, and when they did fight in 1944 (because as a condition of peace with Russia, the Finns had to chase out the Germans), it was in the far north, a long way from Helsinki.
Yes, amazing.
Finns get criticism for being allies of Germany under Hitler. From my perspective it was more about being against Russia than for Germany. But I was not there.
Maybe it was Copenhagen where they saw the fountain
(?), I’d have to ask again. My uncle has Finnish ancestry, most of the stories are about Finland. They went to a big car show in Germany while they were there, he has a couple Borgward cars he’s restored.
That would make more sense. The Danes weren’t in a position to put up much resistance in 1940, but when the British entered Denmark in the Spring of 1945, Danish Resistance units came out of hiding in the cities and engaged in firefights in the streets with Germans and Nazi-collaborating Danes
The Russian history of using the Red Army and false flag operations to provide intimidation and provocation was widespread during the mid-1940's, as was stuffing ballot boxes, and accusing anyone who opposed them of being "Nazis."
The Russian Dancing Bear apparently has not learned any new tricks, but then, why bother when the old tricks sold so well to useful idiots in the West?
Welcome to FRee Republic. If you signed on 12 days ago to be yet another Putin crotch-sniffer, expect to be -- deservedly -- flamed.
Obama does have a Russia policy. His policy is to do nothing.
Stupid thing for Russia to do but it may be a response to the recent NATO exercise in northern Norway, near Russia and Finland.
When did the Ukraine become a country?
It was a part of Czarist Russia before the Commies.
They resisted collectivism under Stalin. He starved millions of them to death.
Look up: Holodomor
I was on one of those in 1995. We do them every year as far as I know. Did we do an unscheduled one this year?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.