This
article gives a complex, nuanced and insightful picture of an international flashpoint.
Such depth is seldom seen outside of literature written for international
relations professionals. This article is great because it constructs a
compelling narrative for the reader, without cherry picking facts for the sake
of a good story. The comparison of dour, icy-eyed, Finnish navy captain Markus
Aarnio to Sean Connery's character in "The Hunt for Red October"
humanizes Aarnio without cheapening the piece as a whole. The brief background
portion of the article allows an uninitiated reader to gain a working
understanding of the complex relationship between Finland and Russia, without
having to do outside research.
Some
of the most insightful ideas in the article came directly from the mouth of the
Finish prime minister or, at least, his PR team. This, in itself, is worthy of
comment. Usually, politicians give the
most ambiguous and inoffensive responses possible, or spout shallow and
binarized rhetoric. Prime Minister Stubb does neither. Stubb calls Russia's
policy of destabilization followed by intervention a "strategic mistake."
Many other public figures would choose to fall back on loaded words like imperialistic or provocative. Stubb doubtless sees Russia's recent actions as both
imperialistic and provocative, but it appears as though he sees saber-rattling
as counterproductive. Stubb takes another political risk by placing partial
blame for the current Russian situation on the West. Stubb seems to think the
West put too much effort into trying to make Russia a "normal, liberal
market democracy." In light of the
apparent failure of this effort, he calls upon the world to be "principled
and pragmatic." This level of restraint is heartening because a nation
under direct threat from Russia seems to be calmer and more grounded than more peripherally
involved nations, like The U.S.
This
article also provides an interesting perspective on the mindset of Vladimir
Putin, through the words of two former Finnish ambassadors. Russia is painted
as lost, and scrambling for anything to stave off an inevitable collapse. Russia's reaction to the potential loss of
influence in Ukraine was so aggressive because claims of national exceptionalism
have to substitute for actual progress in Russia. An unnamed Finnish insider
used the phrase, "... the Russian economy is living on
borrowed time." The inefficiency of
Russia's whole petroleum infrastructure is greatly reducing output, to the
point where many EU nations are considering looking elsewhere for their fuels.
The recent drop in oil prices is putting even more pressure on Russia's precarious
energy sector. Finnish leaders are very
worried about a Russian economic collapse; they fear a Putin with nothing to
lose. "Putin is no Gorbachev, he is
not a guy who is going to give up. He will not go quietly." The insider's
words have chilling implications.
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