Finns remember it happening before, for the reasons stated in the article: > Finland mattered because of its perch above the Baltic Sea and because its southea

Finns remember it happening before, for the reasons stated in the article: > Finland mattered because of its perch above the Baltic Sea and because its southeastern border with the Soviet Union was less than 20 miles from Leningrad. If the Germans took Finland, they would be dangerously close to this Red Army stronghold. Just substitute Russia for "the Soviet Union", NATO for "the Germans".