Some thoughts of a Finnish man, 41 years of age, identifying as a socialist (and often as an anarchist) living in Helsinki with a wife and two kids (and a dog), regarding the recent invasion of Ukraine by the war criminal Vladimir Putin, and the security of the so-called West, especially Finland.
Even after the quite recent Russian history of military action in Georgia, Chechnya, Syria ja Kazakhstan, and of course the invasion of Crimea in 2014, most of the so-called Western world were definitely shocked after Putin decided to invade Ukraine three weeks ago from writing this. Many of the leftist writers and journalist of different nationalities I follow, some of whom lived in Russia, were convinced Vlad was only flexing muscles with military exercises, or bluffing the West with his troops situated at the borders of Ukraine. Surely he wouldn't actually attack a sovereign nation, in a similar way when for example Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938, or when Stalin attacked Finland in 1939?
Speaking of the so-called Winter War, when Finnish forces managed to fend off the major Soviet invasion seriously outnumbered (something the Ukrainians of today seem to regard as an inspiration), those times of absolute uncertainty and resistance obviously scarred this nation for generations to come. My grandfather served in the Winter War and the following Continuation War, and I grew up listening to his random but effective war stories of conquering bunkers on top of hills, assassinating artillery men during the night and being chased through the nightly woods by dogs of war, losing fingers to machine gun fire, and so on. And these events obviously left my grandfather traumatised with a drinking problem, altho he managed to keep most of this hidden from outside the family.
So it is no wonder, when my generation went to the mandatory military service, I heard stories of officers saying to the recruits things like "It is not a question of if Russia will invade, but when", which always seemed outrageously pessimistic and paranoid to me, as a young adult. And I indeed only heard stories of these exaggerated comments and attitudes, since I did not attend military service myself. At the tender age of seventeen, when I went to the mandatory draft event, I was a bit high on THC, and felt like a total punk about the whole question of military service and warfare. And I filled out the forms and psychological tests with answers like "I want to be a florist", and "I hear voices", and "I wish I was a woman". Of course the doctor at the draft told me: "Look kid, I know you're just fucking around, but I can tell you are not interested in going to the army, so you've got two options: Either you come back a year from now, or I dismiss you from military service all together, including civil service. But if Russia invades, you're going to the front lines. Operation Cannon Fodder. It's all the same to me, kid." The option I chose was a no-brainer.
During all these years, between the ages 17 and 41, I have been more or less certain that altho Putin is clearly an authoritarian exploiting his people, a dictator and a war criminal, he would not risk it all by invading a sovereing nation. Even after Crimea, after which he suffered basically no punishment from the rest of the world. And that was apparently why he thought he would get away with what he is doing now, altho failing miserably. But failing miserably or not, he has naturally got every NATO member country and those countries in the line of Russian fire who are not yet members, such as Finland and Sweden, to look at their situations again from a very different light than a month ago.
For reasons I do not fully understand, Finland has apparently been chosen as the "happiest country on earth" for the fifth year in a row. Of course I somewhat understand, since Bernie Sanders keeps reminding me all the time, that we have a very democratic and uncorrupted (compared to most other countries) parliamentary system, a good health care, educational and welfare system which also keeps rampant capitalism in check (social democracy was invented by Marxists after all), and clean air. But we also have crappy weather, lots of depression, taxes, expensive food and rents, huge lines in mental healthcare services, and the nature is not that special to be honest. So I've always thought all the "happiness" comes with a huge price to pay. Surely our neighbouring countries of Sweden and Norway should be above us on these lists, since they at least appear to be wealthier and happier and their nature is far more beautiful and diverse than ours. As a matter of fact, I've always wanted to live somewhere else, in a warm place like Malta, full of history and awesome culture.
Is a country you don't really even like worth killing and dying for?
My co-worker, an elderly lady who was born in Peru, told me yesterday: "This is the greatest country in the world, trust me", but I am not convinced. However, at the same time I am starting to be convinced about a possibility of war in my life time, a war which would target my wife and kids as well. If Putin would indeed invade Finland, I would not go to the front lines to be cannon fodder like the draft doctor put it, but I would be part of the logistics and supply lines (I checked from the military recently). And with my diplomas and degrees of graphic design and cooking, that would most likely mean I would serve as a cook in the frontlines. And my wife who is a nurse by profession would also be serving as a nurse in the frontlines, leaving my kids to be at the care of either one of our mothers, possibly going to Sweden or similar.
I have for all my thinking adult life identified as a socialist and very often as an anarchist, with strong pacifistic tendencies (I have never been against self-defence), and the last thing I have seen myself doing is killing other human beings for some country, just because they were ordered by some asshole with power to invade the area which I happen to call home. But here we are. I would surely like to see all class systems, nationalities and borders slowly dissapear from this world, but what if a war breaks out in my area while waiting for that possible utopia?
The Green League of Finland now supports NATO-membership, while the Left Alliance (which I usually vote for) seems to be against it. But we, meaning me and my family and the people I live and work with, might actually be facing a megalomaniac madman who takes advice from people like Aleksandr Dugin, a straight up ultranationalist warmongering fascist. While writing this, Russia has had major setbacks in its campaing in Ukraine, and if this continues, there is a strong possibility the oligarchs or the people will replace Putin, hopefully with someone who does not have dreams of a Greater Russia, or even an older and more primitive version for that matter.
But one thing is sure: The Western world seems like a very different place than a few weeks ago, and I do appreciate the country which my grandfather was forced to defend, with its boring nature and crappy weather (but good social institutions) much more than I used to, and altho I don't completely love this city I live in, I do call it a home.
Nationalism is one thing, Patriotism is another.
History keeps repeating itself. Never say never.
-A.Mikonmäki
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