Moscow sees not Finland as powerful EU member

Russia does not view Finland as a powerful EU member state. Therefore, Finland is not an important European target of special interest in Russia’s strategic communications; it is regarded simply as a good neighbour, said a report.

The report on the special features of Russia’s strategic communications entitled Govorit Moskva – ‘Moscow Speaks’ will be run by the publication series of the government’s analysis, assessment and research activities, said a government press release on Monday.

As far as Finland is concerned, Russia’s strategic thinking has changed significantly since the collapse of the Soviet Union, said the report, adding that Finland is an EU member state, a democratic state governed by the rule of law, and a good neighbour.

The aim of the study is to increase understanding of Russia’s strategic communications and shed light on their background and related phenomena. The report places particular emphasis on the ways of thinking and communications of Russia’s senior state leadership. At the same time, it describes modern Russia and provides background on the normative, historical, societal, cultural and international policy bases for Russia’s strategic communications.

The study differs from many studies produced in the West in that it is largely based on primary sources written in Russian. It also includes interviews with Russian authorities, experts, and high-level decision-makers.

This report provides guidance on a multifaceted theme and recommends, among other things, becoming better acquainted with Russia’s official arguments, documents, and materials.

According to the report, St Petersburg should be taken into account more strongly in Finland’s strategic thinking and, in addition, the resources for foreign reporting by the Finnish media should be significantly increased.

In Putin’s Russia narrative, Russia views itself as a superpower that is disappointed with the rules-based international order. The study finds that Russia’s strategic message has remained almost unchanged since Putin’s speech in Munich in 2007. The experience of being insulted and deceived plays a very central role in the Russian way of thinking. This is reflected in Russia’s strategic messaging with a very strong emphasis put on sovereignty, integrity and, above all, independent and free decision-making.

The principal investigator of the study was Rear Admiral (ret.) Georgij Alafuzoff with the rest of the authors of the study report being Doctor of Social Sciences Anders Blom, Master of Social Sciences Mihail Kurvinen, Professor Vilma Luoma-aho, Brigadier General (ret.) Juha Pyykönen, and Professor Katerina Tsetsura. The project consortium was made up of Eurofacts Oy, the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, the University of Jyväskylä, and Security Analysis Oy.

The report is part of the implementation of the 2019 government plan for analysis, assessment and research.