What You Might Not Know About Finland
After joining NATO, all eyes are on the Nordic country. Here’s what makes it unique.
It’s been a big week for Finland. Just two days after an election in which the country’s most popular prime minister in years lost her reelection bid and Finnish politics moved to the right, the Nordic country finally joined NATO, adding 830 miles to the alliance’s border with Russia.
It’s been a big week for Finland. Just two days after an election in which the country’s most popular prime minister in years lost her reelection bid and Finnish politics moved to the right, the Nordic country finally joined NATO, adding 830 miles to the alliance’s border with Russia.
As all eyes turn to Finland, we’re revisiting our favorite stories on what makes the Nordic country unique, from a firsthand account of the art of sauna diplomacy to an analysis of the country’s reputation as a beacon of progressive politics.—Chloe Hadavas
Finnish actor Jasper Paakkonen relaxes inside a sauna in Helsinki on July 7, 2016.Sam Kingsley/AFP via Getty Images
The Finnish Art of Sauna Diplomacy
FP’s intrepid reporter Robbie Gramer joins the Finnish Diplomatic Sauna Society.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks with the media upon her arrival for a European Union summit in Brussels on March 23.JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images
Finland Is Less Progressive Than It Seems
A debate over Indigenous issues empowered the country’s nativist right ahead of a critical election, John Last writes.
Finnish and NATO flags fly in the courtyard of Finland’s foreign ministry in Helsinki on April 4.ANTTI HAMALAINEN/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images
Finland Gives NATO a King in the North
The Baltic Sea was once a Russian lake. Now NATO owns the northern flank, FP’s Jack Detsch reports.
Uli Knoerzer illustration for Foreign Policy
The Russia Whisperer
Finland’s envoy to Washington once shared a sauna with the Russian president. Here’s what he thinks the West got wrong about Vladimir Putin.
Members of the National Defence Training Association of Finland attend a training at the Santahamina military base in Helsinki on May 14.Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP via Getty Images
Finns Show Up for Conscription. Russians Dodge It.
Two seemingly similar systems produce very different militaries, FP’s Elisabeth Braw writes.
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