3 ms·

The paranoia is real. I'm of Swedish-Baltic descent and since a very early age was taught that Russians are not to be trusted, for the very reason you mention (

by mstade 9y ago

The paranoia is real. I'm of Swedish-Baltic descent and since a very early age was taught that Russians are not to be trusted, for the very reason you mention (occupation.) This paranoia runs very deep in Baltic culture, in my experience, however in Swedish culture much less so – presumably because we don't share a border with Russia. Not gonna lie, when Russia entered Crimea I got a pit in my stomach.

jacquesm 9y ago
> Not gonna lie, when Russia entered Crimea I got a pit in my stomach. Exactly. Same for everybody I know in Northern Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
walkingolof 9y ago
Dont know if your old enough to done military service in Sweden, but as the saying goes, all guns points the east. There is no confusion about why we are rebuilding our defense for in Sweden. We have +3000 KM coast line in Sweden, large part in the Baltics, so we too share a border with Russia. In any case if you forgot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_S-363 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_S-363
- jacobush 9y ago
  håll gränsen
- mstade 9y ago
  Fair enough, but no land border, which significantly simplifies the logistics of an attack. My point about the nonchalance in Swedish culture towards Russian aggression however is less about those involved or otherwise supportive of the military – they are all but certain to keep it top of mind – but with the rest who seem to either actively campaign against the military under some naive assumption that "surely not here, we're friends!" or simply don't care. Swedes simply don't have that deep rooted paranoia (for lack of better word – strong worry perhaps) that you'll see in for instance the Baltic states. Quite possibly because while we may have had incidents, there have been no occupation or all out conflict for so long while with the Baltic states, and indeed Finland, it's still fresh in mind.

by mstade 9y ago

jacquesm 9y ago

> Not gonna lie, when Russia entered Crimea I got a pit in my stomach. Exactly. Same for everybody I know in Northern Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

walkingolof 9y ago

Dont know if your old enough to done military service in Sweden, but as the saying goes, all guns points the east. There is no confusion about why we are rebuilding our defense for in Sweden. We have +3000 KM coast line in Sweden, large part in the Baltics, so we too share a border with Russia. In any case if you forgot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_S-363 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_S-363

jacobush 9y ago
håll gränsen
mstade 9y ago
Fair enough, but no land border, which significantly simplifies the logistics of an attack. My point about the nonchalance in Swedish culture towards Russian aggression however is less about those involved or otherwise supportive of the military – they are all but certain to keep it top of mind – but with the rest who seem to either actively campaign against the military under some naive assumption that "surely not here, we're friends!" or simply don't care. Swedes simply don't have that deep rooted paranoia (for lack of better word – strong worry perhaps) that you'll see in for instance the Baltic states. Quite possibly because while we may have had incidents, there have been no occupation or all out conflict for so long while with the Baltic states, and indeed Finland, it's still fresh in mind.