Finland’s idyllic city is at the forefront of tensions between Russia and NATO

The city of Lappeenranta, near the Russian border, cited its famous Finnish “pragmatism” as a few other examples to appease Moscow. Now it aims to join the Western military alliance as part of the country.

“Are we afraid? No, we are calm and prepared.”

Kimmo Jarva’s body language confirms the calmness of his words. And the mayor of the city of Lappeenranta in southeast Finland has no quiver in his voice when he voices his desire for the country to become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) despite constant threats from the Kremlin. it refuses to advance the military alliance in areas it considers effective.

The last few weeks have not been easy for this idyllic city of just over 70,000 inhabitants, washed by Europe’s fourth largest lake and rewarded for its cleanliness and its fight for the environment.

Located just 20 kilometers from the Russian border, Lappeenranta was an excellent example of the good relations between Helsinki and Moscow, signifying the famous Finnish “pragmatism”.

The city is proud of its privileged location and being the gateway between West and East, transforming local industry and commerce, adding unique features to the culture of the region. But now he, along with the rest of the country, wants the protection offered by NATO against a neighbor he no longer trusts.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government has stepped up its steps towards becoming a member of the military alliance led by the US and other Western powers. The decision is supported by 62% of the population. But for people who have been on good terms with their eastern neighbors for decades, this dramatic change of attitude will not be easy.

decades of change

Residents of Lappeenranta and other border towns realize that changing attitudes will come at a cost.

“Due to the pandemic restrictions, we are losing one million euros (more than R$5 million) a day as Russian tourists no longer come to our area to shop. I don’t know,” he said.

Lappeenranta, like few other cities in Finland, has witnessed the benefits of good relations with Moscow. Every year, one and a half million Russian citizens cross the border to enjoy the hospitality and peaceful location on the shores of Lake Saimaa, the largest in the country.

The city is also a destination known for its tax-free trade, which motivates thousands of Russian citizens to visit it every day to fill their bags with groceries and return home. When the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Kremlin responded by banning food imports from European countries. As a result, Lappeenranta has become the route taken by millions of Russian citizens in the region to purchase products banned in their country.

The change allowed trade to flourish for decades across the border. In fact, Lappeenranta is Russia’s second largest city, St. Petersburg is closer to the capital of Finland, Helsinki.

“We opened an office” [turísticos] in Saint Petersburg and Vyborg [na Rússia]. I visited them every month. We cooperated with each other and organized press events. It was all about friendship and cooperation”, Jarva recalls.

But now there are only vehicles at the border gates. The two countries effectively banned commercial and private traffic between their territories. Offices in Russia that presented Lappeenranta as the gateway to the West were closed.

“It will take several years and many changes to experience this again,” the mayor complains.

rapid changes

Finland spent decades after the end of the Second World War displaying a neutral behavior towards Russia, which was considered a way to guarantee peace vis-à-vis a much stronger neighbor.

This behavior is popularly known as “Finnishization”, a concept created by Finland to convince the former Soviet Union of its neutrality. Citizens and politicians have believed in this concept for generations.

Joining NATO has never received more than 30% approval among Finns. A few weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, public opinion changed completely. Approval doubled to 62%, the highest rate in the history of the survey. And the number of Finland’s opponents joining NATO has dropped from 40% in 2021 to just 16% today.

“From the surveys, people in border towns (like Lappeenranta) aren’t necessarily terrified,” says Charly Salonius-Pasternak, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Relations. “Many here do not believe that if Finland is kind enough, Russia will stop attacking. If Russia decides to attack, it will do it anyway, as it did in Ukraine. It is believed that what used to serve is no longer useful.”

“After the war, our city quickly changed its mind. We believe the decision to join NATO was the right one,” says the mayor of Lappeenranta.

echoes of the past

The two countries are separated by a 1,300 km border, but Russia is 50 times larger and has 26 times the population of Finland.

Over the centuries, the shadow of Russian expansionist ambitions was projected onto Finnish territory, which was occupied several times. Lappeenranta castle was built by the Russians in 1775 after a bloody war in which hundreds of Finns died.

At the beginning of the Second World War, the two countries entered a war relatively quickly, in which Finland managed to stop the advances of the Soviet Union, but not without losing part of its territory. Large parts of Karelia, where Lappeenranta is located, were occupied by the Soviets during the conflict. The city was subjected to heavy bombardment.

Experts such as Salonius-Pasternak believe that this relationship of bilateral cooperation and competition is “expected” between border neighbors. “The same people who sell products to Russian tourists for a week will be able to conduct military training next week, knowing that if they are summoned, it is because Russia attacked. It has always been like this,” he said.

Look forward

As Finland and Sweden (one of its immediate neighbors) moved forward to join NATO, Russian officials turned the warnings into a threat – a risk that the Finns seem willing to take and say they are prepared to take.

“We are prepared for cyber attacks and the spread of fake news, but I do not believe we are afraid of war or any trouble. We have safe harbors and are ready for any attack. We are used to living in this region and we are more pragmatic than many other European countries,” says Jarva.

Pragmatism is one of the most repeated phrases by Lappeenranta officials about what might happen in the future. They hope that the path taken by their country will not lead to misunderstandings. After all, their discontent is not with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and those responsible for the war – not Russian citizens.

“We are a popular city, the second most visited city in Finland after Helsinki. We owe this mainly to Russian tourism,” says the city’s project manager, Markku Heinonen.

“Many Russian citizens continue to travel to other European countries and the USA, which is part of NATO. So I hope this problem will be resolved. We are neighbors and we have to get used to this new way of living together,” he adds.

“We also have industries and other sources of income. We have an important university. We don’t just live on tourism,” says the municipality’s head of international relations, Päivi Pietiläinen.

Citizens of more than 80 nationalities live in Lappeenranta, including a significant Russian-speaking population. For Mayor Jarva, “This (tensions) is not their fault. We want to take care of them so that they can live in peace here. But (…) we believe it will take decades to return to normal.”