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I don't think you can count "non-NATO" when NATO did not exist yet.
by ElectricalUnion 4y ago
I don't think you can count "non-NATO" when NATO did not exist yet.
- lolinder 4y agoThe point is that Finland matters a lot to Russia. The border with Finland is huge, geographically hard to defend, and right next to Russia's capitol. Finland's maritime zones join with existing NATO states to block Russia from operating in much of the Baltic (a process that would be completed when Sweden joins). Finland joining NATO is more than a shrug for Russia.
- Gravityloss 4y agoMoscow is nowhere close to Finland. St Petersburg is. Most of Russian border area near Finland is just forest.
- lolinder 4y agoOops, fair enough—I had just been thinking of older history and forgot that the Bolsheviks moved the capitol. St. Petersburg is still the second-largest city and a major strategic location, but you're right that it's not the capitol.