Russian politics

GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko spoke to the media in the Kremlin and said that Belarus need not engage in hostilities today or ever. This is reported by the Belarusian news agency Belta.

– There is no such need today or ever. I once said that Russia needs a calm and quiet Belarus that does its job. I’m not going to tell you in detail what we’re doing and so on, the president said.

Lukashenko also commented on Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities.

– Ukrainians should understand that if they target facilities like oil refineries, the response (from Russia) will come immediately, but ten times harder. Why provoke? At the same time, they are talking about some kind of peace talks, to which Russia has not been invited.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin according to which Russia was forced to strike Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, such as power plants. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia fired a total of 82 missiles and drones on Thursday. Russian missiles and drones destroyed, among other things, the Tripilska power plant.

“If we joined the war”

Lukashenko said that if they joined the war, it would not change anything. According to Lukashenko, Ukraine mined the border with Belarus and stationed 120,000 soldiers there.

– Ukraine wants to send these troops to the front and replace them with French soldiers. We look forward to the French defending Ukraine. It’s a complete joke! It’s cheap talk. France will not send troops to defend Ukraine. They are trying to scare Putin and me. Belarus does not need to join the fighting.

In February, the French president Emmanuel Macron hinted at the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine.

In addition, according to Lukashenka, the talk about the intentions of Russia and Belarus to conquer Europe is complete nonsense.

– Putin said yesterday that it is a complete lie. We have never discussed this issue, he said.

In 2005, Putin still managed to arrive with a flower delivery to meet the then president of Finland, Tarja Halo. The same would not be seen today. DMITRY ASTAKHOV/IZVESTIA

Elections will be held in Russia this weekend, the result of which has been considered clear: Vladimir Putin is elected for his fifth term.

Today, however, Russia is led by a quite different president than almost 25 years ago, when he first took up his post.

Researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Kristiina Silvan previously assessed to Iltalehti that in the early 2000s Russia was a “rising star” on the world stage, seen as a good and reliable partner both in the Soviet republics and in the West. The country’s economy was growing, and the state was integrating into international and European organizations. Great developments were also noticeable in the country’s democracy at that time.

Around this time, the relations with the president of Finland who had just started in his position as well Tarja Halonen were good. At first, Putin and Halonen met annually, sometimes more often.

Halonen even described Putin as his friend.

The story continues after the pictures.

The annexation of Crimea electrified the spaces

The good relations between the presidents of Finland and Russia always continued Sauli Niinistön until the beginning of the first presidential term. In the years 2008–2012, Putin’s place at the head of the country was filled by Dmitri Medvedev, who was also known for his warm relations with Halo.

In 2012, Putin returned to the presidency, and Niinistö started his first term in Finland. At the first meeting of the presidents, the two were immortalized in brotherly relations in the hockey rink located on the Karelian Isthmus.

The story continues after the pictures.

The first real change in the relations between Finland and Russia was only seen in 2014, with the annexation of the Crimean peninsula belonging to Ukraine.

of Finland’s former ambassador to Moscow Hannu Himanen however, even at that time, the events did not essentially ruin the relations between Finland and Russia. However, the situation led to a clear electrification of the communication between the presidents.

Officially good relations remained, however, for years. In 2018, the decision to host Putin and the President of the United States spoke of the trust shown in Finland Donald Trump’s top meeting in Helsinki.

The story continues after the pictures.

Enemy from Finland

In autumn 2021, the situation had turned upside down with the tightening of the situation in Ukraine.

The last telephone conversation between the presidents of Finland and Russia took place in May 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine in February. During the call, Niinistö announced that Finland will soon apply for NATO membership.

Since then, Finland has been painted as an enemy in Russia as part of the “West” and NATO. The situation on Finland’s eastern border has tightened, and the Russian leadership’s threats of nuclear weapons are almost commonplace after the war.

In December 2023, Putin took a stance on Russian-Finnish relations on the Russian television channel Rossiya-1, and said that he believed “there will be problems with Finland” due to the recent NATO membership.

Recently, Putin has also threatened that Russia will strengthen its armed forces on its western border. In a televised interview in March 2024, Putin said he would move troops to the Finnish border.

– We haven’t had troops (at the Finnish border), but now there will be. There have been no weapon systems there, there will be in the future, he stated in an interview on the Rossija-1 channel.

However, several experts have pointed out that currently Russia’s resources are tied up in Ukraine. Concrete actions in the areas beyond the Finnish border are therefore hardly to be expected in the near future.

Despite the improvement, Finland’s relations with Russia are still not in Putin’s fifth term. After Sunday’s election, the dictator is expected to remain in power at least until 2030.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country’s nuclear weapons are ready. EPA/AOP

In a recent TV interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens to move troops to the Finnish border.

– We haven’t had troops (at the Finnish border), but now there will be. There have been no weapon systems there, there will be in the future, he stated to Russia’s Rossiya-1 channel.

Putin practically repeated previous statements heard from Russia, which talked about strengthening the Western military circle. He mentioned the same thing recently, among other things, in his State of the Nation speech.

However, several experts have pointed out that Russia’s resources are currently tied up in Ukraine, and no concrete actions in the areas beyond the Finnish border are expected in the near future.

In the same context, Putin also belittled the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden. He also wondered why Finland and Sweden thought it necessary to join the defense alliance in general.

– This was an absolutely meaningless step from the point of view of securing the national interests of these countries, he said.

Nuclear weapons at the ready

During the interview, Putin also stated that “new threats from the West” require Russia to update its own situational picture. The propagandist Dmitri Kiselyov, who interviewed Putin, asked him, among other things, whether Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons.

– From a military-technical point of view, we are of course ready. Our nuclear forces are always ready to fight, he replied.

According to the Russian state-owned news agency Ria, Putin was also asked whether Russia could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Putin referred to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine, according to which Russia will use nuclear weapons if its existence is threatened.

However, Putin added a chilling note to the beginning of his answer.

– The weapons are there to be used. We have our own principles, he said.

– Our principles say that we are ready to use all weapons, including the weapons you mentioned, if it is about Russia’s existence or if Russia’s sovereignty or independence are threatened.

Putin points out that “everything is written down in our strategy” and this has not been changed. He added that the United States is also developing its own nuclear weapons forces.

– However, in my opinion, that does not mean that they are ready to start a nuclear war, he said.