One should also take into account the difficult terrain on the Finnish borders: unlike the flatlands of Ukraine, which are ideal for tanks, Finland is surrounded by thousands of lakes, hills and dense woods. Further up north, it's mostly just wet bogland, without any roads. The southern coast is way too rocky and shallow for a naval invasion (navy was never the Russians' strong suit, either). This natural barrier made it impossible for Russians to reach major town or cities even in the WW2. As for the common threats about nukes, we are far too close to St. Petersburg: the prevailing wind would carry the fallout to Putin's old stomping grounds.
@Ziga ST Легче сказать, чем сделать, особенно когда передовое западное оружие продолжает разрывать российских призывников на куски. Вместо того, чтобы сравнивать Украину с Мексикой, нам вскоре следует сравнить Россию с Венесуэлой (экономически).
I follow the news, but would suggest that, given modern shoulder-mounted weapons tanks aren't as important as they used to be. One man who can launch an appropriate shoulder-mounted missile from behind a tree, perhaps, 100 metres away can take out the best tanks I can imagine. (That appears to be what gave the Ukrainians their early victories.)
Dont forget finish is not 5.5 milyon like 3 milyon maybe... For angers dont care rusia ll get finland...ı think like Before not moch tatars... And finland dont care. Just now Finland cant get any help from foranger soldiers... Russian btr cars possible enjoy on Lakes .. Not good idea!!
As a Russian, I can tell what Finns and their country are beautiful. Clean territory and good legislation, in principle, the same can be said about the Scandinavian countries.
@john doe they aren't ordinary. They are just puppets. Look at our pathetic Trudo? You may replace our " great leader" Trudo with racoon or a beaver. Nothing will ever change. Canadians also need a strong and independent leader like W.Putin to build independent and strong Canada. We may only dream about it....
The Russian People are good people and they dont deserve what their leadership is doing to them. I wish Russia and all surrounding countries a Free and Prosperous Life. I hope some day we can all come together and help each other live our best lives. Good Luck Everyone
@Liam0125 As a former soldier I can tell you that is not true at all. The biggest factor is conscription, and training reservists after their conscription period.
the fins sound a bit too nationist to me. i think the u.s. is happy to talk them into a conflict with russia. that way they can also be eliminated by the west without the u.s. ever lifting a finger.
I believe that now you can imagine what thoughts were rumbling in my head when I, a russian who was born in a town 30km away from Olenegorsk and is now living in Saint-Petersburg, heard the news about Finland applying to join NATO.
@Ivan Dankob I pretty sure he does understand a violent neo-nazis coup was fomented by western corporate oligarchs to over throw a democratically elected president. You can't refute anything he said!😂🙈
@Schaima Ali If you mean Russia's intent to invade Ukraine then I agree. Putin has the absurd notion in his head that he is rebuilding the 'Greater Russia' except it never existed.
The total war concept of Finland is interesting and frightening at the same time - it still exists to this day. Finland is a sleeper when it comes to military power and pure war.
@Grundgesetz Art. 146 How uneducated of you. The Finns stopped before Leningrad. Now, did that happen before or after the USSR brutally invaded Finland? 😉
they already helped kill 1,5 million people during the Leningrad siege. I think they will regret messing with the Russians, if a war breaks out. Maybe they won't exist anymore after it is over.
@Zardex "We Finns literally are Russian", you say. No, "you Finns" are not, and you probably aren't Finnish. Finns remember the Winter War and strongly dislike Russian foreign policy, invading friendly neighbors.
In Sweden we says, the Russian Bear never sleeps. Don't forget that during WWII Finnish kicked out both Germans and Sovjets trupps, not at the same time.
The "F-18" shown at 10:47 is actually an Italian* Eurofighter Typhoon as indicated by the green*/white/red concentric circle symbol of the Italian* Air Force near the cockpit and the "Typhoon" marking on the tail. *edited
@Steve Hetzel forgive me but what would be wrong with a harrier chained down to a deck ? why did you say amphibious? uss nassau ? what is wrong with that ? vtol
@Kevin Johnson well if you think about it if you look at a typhoon delta wing and the hornet the are not even related to each other so if thats the lax attention to detail would you be comfortable believing the rest of it ? so i care it doesnt take much to look at something and at least get it right when its harder to actually get wrong
In fact, as an eu member finland was not (military) neutral, at least since the Treaty of Lisbon which said you need to help another eu member if they get attacked.
@iso musta kypärä as someone from england, all im going to say is, many of our people wanted brexit to happen because they’re really racist towards non brits
Who helps to EU member if is get attacked by Nato or another EU member? People form EU members joinded to NATO are practically always on the loosing side ... against dictatorship of US arms productions and arms dealers Oligarchy...
"If you want peace, prepare for war" Ancient military adage. Who can blame the Finns and Swedes for making their decision to join NATO? Seems wise in light of their neighbour's recent behaviour.
Just FYI: The last war Sweden ever fought was not the Napoleonic wars, but a short war against Norway in 1814 to force Norway to join a union with Sweden
@jmbpaz Hahaha! "Russo phobia", the very common and so pathetic pro-Russian rhetoric. What on earth are you talking about? The Soviet Union was practically allied with the Nazis by the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, where the two megalomaniac dictators divided Europe into what they were to grab. The Soviet Union had no plan to "deal with Hitler". They were best buddies! The Soviet Union invaded Poland together with the Nazis before it invaded the Baltic states and Finland. The Soviet Union got quite an enormous pass and wouldn't have been able to win on the eastern front without American lend-lease. Think you should have attended history class.
Finland makes really nice rifles as well. Read up about the Winter war even though they ultimately ended up conceding to Russia the territory they asked for. They gave them a pretty sound thrashing before doing so
Yep, most Finns were sport shooters/hunters that owned personal rifles MUCH higher quality than the ones the Soviets used, and had experience using them. Combine that with their experience fighting in Finnish winter conditions and it was a white hell for Russia
@iso musta kypärä Russia's Baltic fleet is headquartered in Kaliningrad. Their ships pass in and out of the Baltic while sailing past Denmark and Sweden. They don't have to go anywhere near Finland or Estonia to do that. You seriously don't know where Kaliningrad is? Go look it up, genius.
To talk about Norway, Denmark (and Greenland), Sweden, Finland, or Iceland separate from each other is just naive. The Nordics and Scandinavia have always been quite formidable in warfare starting with the vikings. There is no way in hell we would allow any aggressor, whether totalitarian (China or Russia) or radical religious/nut-case country, interfere with us in a significant way for a long time. Many ethnicities/cultures are proud of not succumbing to subjugation, but only a few can actually live up to it and remain civilized plus being on the cutting edge developmentally in the process. Nonetheless, the only future for our species is peace and we have bigger fish to fry as a collective species than squabbling between nations. Deep inside we desire the same things.
@Яблоки в курином бульоне At my leisure I may respond to this in the future, but you should know that I expect research-backed facts in adult discussions and not subjective opinions, alternative facts, fairytales, conspiracy, guesses or conspiracy (i.e. immature "debate clubs" or trolling). As it stands, I literally would have to take each sentence that you have written and fact-check or provide research-backed links to you (which is your job to do in the first place!). And it is simply not my role to do this for you, especially for free. This is work to do be done before expressing mere opinions and people in general are just too lazy, knee-jerk reactive and therefore succumb to personal insults or subjective opinions. This is usually related to educational level too. One thing: We all have Russian friends, many of us have lived abroad and traveled, and some of us may even have scientific research experience/doctoral degrees & impressive careers. So, "having fiends" or even family that are in the midst of this conflict does not make a speaker factual at all. Only science/the truth does. You take care now and happy new year!
@Mats I Nilsson I'm sorry, but you're either stupid or you don't understand some of the words "totalitarianism" and "authoritarianism.".. I am not Russian and not for Russia at all, stop inserting your pro-Western templates, I just corrected you and pointed out your mistake, and did not agitate against the West. As a person living in Russia, I know better what kind of regime we have than a person in the West who draws information mainly only from TV. You have the same propaganda as we do, perhaps to a lesser extent, but it does not change the essence. Much is hushed up, and facts are manipulated. I was especially surprised when in a "democratic" state the broadcast is interrupted live on television due to the fact that a person close to the borders of the war said that the Ukrainian authorities, as well as the Russian ones, are firing rockets at residential buildings, which is why people are dying. This is an obvious fact, and everyone knew it, but your democracy could not stand it and decided to interrupt the broadcast, although what this journalist was saying was already clear to everyone. And finally, I will write you a definition of authoritarianism and totalitarianism from Wikipedia: Authoritarianism is a type of undemocratic political regime based on the irremovable centralized power of one person or group of persons while preserving economic, civil and ideological freedoms in the country. Totalitarianism is a political regime implying absolute state control over all aspects of public and private life. To understand, totalitarianism is now in North Korea, Turkmenistan and other countries, there is no such thing in Russia yet, I did not know that I would have to explain such elementary things to Europeans as smart people, but apparently propaganda does not spare anyone... By the way, it would be nice if the citadel of "democracy" America did not bomb other countries because of their personal interests. There are many examples, I won't even name them, but, of course, there are no complaints about them)
@Яблоки в курином бульоне I will obviously admit that Stalin was worse than Putin and that there is a sliding scale of authoritarianism and totalitarianism, but why are you making this point? We get it. USA is not perfect, but if you have to pick one way of life what do you pick? I am not going to spell it out for you my friend, but it is time for you to see the big meaning of life picture. As always, many modern Russians are extremely patriotic and use misplaced relativization and whataboutism, but they cannot fathom the big picture. Mixed in with their side-deflections, we see lies, half-lies, alternative facts and conspiracy in their propaganda. Enough is enough, my friend. We battle these lies in the West all the time (Trump is GONE!), and it is time you do the same!
@Яблоки в курином бульоне Indeed you can object as much as you want to. It's a luxury of a free, mostly democratic world ;-). Let me ask you this: 1. Can you openly criticize and challenge the regime without being jailed or worse (killed)? If you cannot for some fear of losing your job, life or family, then Russia is likely stereotypical totalitarian. 2. Does Russia want to expand its current borders and would initiate wars on independent nations (for example, Ukraine, other former USSR states and perhaps even neutral countries) in an effort to do so? On that note, has Russia even threatened previously neutral countries to not join NATO? If Russia does/has, it is likely totalitarian. 3. Putin recently indirectly admitted to lying and told you Russians that his invasion of Ukraine indeed now is a war and a not a "special operation" any longer. So, can you safely criticize his/Kremlin's war as a Russian citizen? If you cannot, Russia is probably totalitarian. 4. Does Russia rely heavily on propaganda and restrict information flow (free media and internet)? If it has, then it is indeed totalitarian. 5. How long has Putin and his henchmen been in power of Kremlin? If over 8 years, then it is likely a warning sign of a totalitarian state. If we would behave the same way as Russia/USSR, the world would be on fire, my friend. The Nordics alone would have crushed you and taken back both Karelia and St Petersburg by now. Come to think of it, I invite your country to take this one small step further. Just one small step. Please do. You have gone too far in your both indirect and direct threats, and your population needs to dethrone the current regime, forget about USSR/Stalin expansionism, and allow for proper democracy, peace and modernization without kleptocracy. Even at the cost of shrinking borders and many more satellite states. It is THEIR WISH AND CHOICE (with emphasis), and it is the only way. Quit standing in the way for civilization.
I want to object, but in Russia there is no totalitarianism ... As a resident of Russia, I am surprised to hear about it. Of course, I understand that in the West you like to exaggerate, as in Russia, of course, but it is quite obvious that in Russia there is authoritarianism, perhaps in an extreme degree, but definitely not totalitarianism.
When has Finland ever invaded Russia? Never. Finland has never been a threat to Russia in any capacity. The entire population of Finland is not much bigger than one major city in Russia (Saint Petersburg). From 1309 to 1809, Finland was part of Sweden. Then Russia invaded Finland in 1809 and held it until 1917 when Russia eventually recognized Finland's independence. However, Russia invaded Finland again in 1939 after Russia and Nazi Germany allied and signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact both agreeing to invade Poland, and Germany approving Russia's invasion of other countries (Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Etc.). Then Stalin's partner Hitler turned on Russia and invaded. They were both bad aggressive centers of evil. Guilty itself, Russia has created this false paranoid narrative that the "Western World is out to get Russia, and NATO is their military arm to do it." "We are surrounded at our doorsteps by the capitalist Western enemy planning to invade Russia any day." That is part of Russia's "Big Created Lie." They use that Big Lie to justify their never ending aggressive empire building and now recreation of the new Neo-Communist Soviet Empire. In recent history, Germany, Russia and the Soviet Union have been performing the historical invading in Europe and other locations. Russia has invaded Afghanistan (1921, 1930, & 1979-1989), Azerbaijan (1920), Armenia (1920), Georgia (1921), Mongolia (1921), Poland (1939), Romania (1944), Bulgaria (1944), Finland (1809 & 1939), Estonia (1940), Latvia (1940), Lithuania (1940), Czechoslovakia (1968), Hungry (1956), Ukraine (2014 and 2022). How many countries has NATO attacked and occupied? NONE. NATO is purely a defensive organization, not an Offensive organization like Russia and its Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, wants to push negotiations with Putin to establish peace in Ukraine. This is akin to the negotiated appeasement by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Western Allies that gave Hitler free reign to invade all of Europe in a much wider war. Macron does not seem to understand that Putin is into Empire Building and land acquisition, and he will only use negotiations to achieve those goals. Prior to WWII, France, Britain, and the other Western Allies sold out Czechoslovakia to the Nazis -- a big mistake that greenlighted Hitler's invasion of Poland that started WWII. Hitler only wanted "part of Czechoslovakia," but somehow ended up with all of it by military force. Apparently, many have learned nothing from the political and military disasters of WWI and WWII, and are willing to risk a WWIII by letting evil, greed, and aggression prevail. There are times to negotiate, and times to stand your ground, and I see little differences between Hitler, Stalin, and Putin. They will never negotiate in full faith, and only use negotiations to get military leverage to continue their empire building.
Just out of curiosity. If Norway gave a portion of their Northern borders that touches Russian borders to Finland and Finland extended their defenses to this new section, wouldn't that technically allow Norway to let US bases to be setup without major fear of invasion? I imagine Russia and Finland could setup more coastal defenses along the edges as well and use US as a means of producing additional top tier weapons to further support this cause. It's seems stupid of Norway to not allow US factories there just because of that little section in the North
@Twenty Two it may be better for you, I bet you didn't take into account that there are different opinions for each and every individual, so it is always necessary for both of them to have respect of each other and in this case, NATO and your sincere west, didn't give a single shit when putting Ukraine into all of this. Now Ukrainian people are realizing that they're fighting for other people's politics and there are many of them in my country.
@GoldNugget All this talk about ''provoking Russia'' but we should not walk on egg shells and be afraid of the big monster not being provoked. NATO should be able to put bases wherever they want, it's their right. Russia wants to control what other countries can do and not do, but they have no right to do so. If not for NATO, Russia would just globalize everything, and it's better to be under NATO's wing than Russian and Chinese wing.
I’m pretty sure the Russians would figure that out. Political lines on a map wouldn’t change the fact that an American nuclear capable base was in their backyard, no matter whose flag is flying next to it.
The fact, that people underestimate Finland on it's own might be their biggest advantage. Their army might be small on paper, but their reserve is massive. I've heard that entire families are from time to time excersise with military. Also, having small army makes it easy to modernise technologicaly. Their war rediness is on much higher level, than Russian army...
Finns wouldn't last 5 mins in a war, reserves or not. They are a woke cesspit run by a feminist teenager ... A culture like that cannot prevail in war... They have torn up a neutrality agreement which was to last in perpetuity. Russia was no threat to them and indeed both countries had a relaxed border with each other and much trade . Now their US bootlicking leaders have reneged on their ancestors word and put them under threat again by applying to be in NATO... Of course they didn't do this through choice but because they have lost their sovereignty and were told to do it. Absolute fools.
Add to that fact that the entire country is against Russia. No donbass in this one, if Russia wants war with Finland, they will have a true war with the entire country. No one would side with Russia.
That’s another sign of weakness, appeasement never seems to work. For me it just buys time for totalitarian states to prepare for a war. If the Baltic states allowed other NATO members to set up bases in their countries, it would give NATO an even stronger bargaining chip that they could bring to the table to negotiate away if need be.
What is NATO? Do i as a NATO state citizen get to decide if we go to war? No ofc i don't. What i do have the right to is paying 3 times the cost for electricity because of it. Its not war really. Russia is not at war, they have a military operation (ah the vietnam excuse). NATO is not at war either, its just defending democracy :)) You say appeasement only buys time for totalitarian regimes to regroup. Its funny you say that now in light of what Angela Merkel just said about the Minsk agreement
Unlike chess, a checkmate is more dangerous in real life, as it means that Russia is now going to develop new ways to get them out of check. Through spying sabotage and unrest.
17:06 "with a heavy concentration of Russia's nuclear weapons arsenal" Judging from the Ukraine war, this is probably an accurate depiction of Russia's actual nuclear capabilities. 😂
@RealLifeLore - nice video, but I found an inaccuracy. Suwalki gap is anything but a "mostly flat terrain". It is a post-glacier landscape, with plenty of hills and lakes. Not very convenient for land army.
HOLY SHIT! Words cannot describe how epic Finlands army sounds when you look at their preparations! Like Finland just seems impenetrable by Russia at this point
@thatneo sure they even split bullets and guns and do wave attacks , i dont even know why you have to send the ukes weapons anymore since they are already attacking moscow , and putler has 36 cancers and 3 pomeranians.
@kamikaziking Russia could be defeated if countries decided to attack them. It would probably take like 2 weeks. Russians have gotten fake body armor, rifles from 1891 and rusty single shot chinese rifles. The war is in a stand still more than anything right now.
Its not them joining NATO wich is the biggest threat , altough it most certainly is a threat. It is the weaponsystems NATO will or will not place inside Finland wich will determine how Russia will act next.
What a tragedy this Putin era has been for Russian citizens. All the recent aspirations of joining modern society are crashed on the rocks. Now they are doomed to another century of isolation, inflation, depression, and poverty.
@thatneo Yes, as cynical as it was efficient. Just worth mentioning since sometimes you might hear odd things from Finns. Myths about unbreakable defensive and tactical skills. That wasn't what tipped the scale.
@P When your countries independence is at risk AGAIN because of Russia plus Germany and FInland having a common enemy it's a no brainer. Mannerheim never agreed with nazi ideologies.
Imagine being so paranoid and greedy that you were willing to shoot your neighbour and steal his home, just in case someone else did it to you, then wondering in disbelief why the rest of your neighbour arm themselves and call the police...
@Michael Wilson "In the process of surrendering"... I think you mean they were in the process of negotiating terms and conditions that were favorable to them. But we required an unconditional surrender... and we had every right to insist on that after the shit they pulled. I will agree that there was a deterrent effect aimed at Russia... and Russia did a great job of proving that they needed deterring.
@Paul Gilbert The USA dropped 2 nuclear warheads on Japan as 'A warning' to Russia at the end of WW2, hows that for a history of aggression? And plse dont give me the lame cover story about Jap surrender, everybody knows they were already in the process of surrendering b4 the bombs were dropped
@Michael Wilson Seems fair if the biggest house over in the next block had a history of aggression and occupation of its neighbors the way Russia ate up Eastern Europe post WW2.
@rchromatic Doesnt apply. We did not force Texas to become US state... we fought Mexico who was trying to prevent Texas from doing something Texans wanted to do.
It's NOT "the Artic Ocean" and "the Artic Circle". It's pronounced "ARK-tick" "ARK-tick" Voiceovers blow that all the time, and it blows their cred. If they can't get THAT right, how can we be sure they know the least bit about what they're trying to talk about? No, really!
Claims are NATO pushing on Russia’s borders is what created all the present lunacy. I find it believable being an American who has watched my nation be overtaken by global capitalists including of NATO member nations and cease to exist in the process.
I heard a saying once; *"While countries have their own armed forces, Finnish Defense Forces have a country of their own."* As a Finn, i like this proverb.
@Bruno Ripamonti Funny thing is just the other day Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that all of Europe honestly has not been capable of defending itself without the US. She's much more realistic than I am about the situation. I tend to be an idealist about certain things.
*Wars launched by the U.S and NATO: Guatamala, Cuba, Vietnam, The Congo, Nicaragua, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and the list goes on! Shouldn't countries that claim to oppose war avoid starting wars in the first place? Shouldn't countries who claim to advocate peace refrain from undermining peace?
The issue you miss with the original Soviet demands to Finland is that it would've ceded the defensive fortifications they'd built and the major strategic choke points of the isthmus
@Soufriere Hitler's goal for Central and Eastern Europe was to kill 90% of the Slavs and enslave the remaining 10% ("Generalplan Ost"). Hitler damn near wiped an entire ethnic group off the Earth, and caused untold misery and suffering to many more. The Morgenthau Plan, had it been put into place, would've crippled Germany permanently. A lot of European politicians were all for it, seeing it as justified and necessary to prevent Germany plunging Europe into total war again. Yes, the loss of Prussia and Silesia was symbolically important - but frankly, it could've been a lot worse. Considering what Hitler did, Germany got off lightly. Edit: If Russia collapses under the strain of war, I would want Kaliningrad transferred to Poland or Lithuania. I don't think it's a good idea for it to be given to Germany at this point.
Dude putin doesn't want the USSR back because then he would be charged with capitalist and imperialist debauchery and sent to a gulag. If anything putin's trying to rebuild the russian empire.
@Vuk Todic Not really, unlike you I don't buy into state media of dictatorial state with authoritarian leader. I did read what you wrote and refuted it throughly. There is no case where soviets didn't claim region as part of soviets when their armies walked past those regions.
@Tespri seems like I found "whatever I say is only truth" type of person, you did not even read what I wrote just spat out whatever you want to be truth while knowing nothing about why annextions happen in some cases and why they don't in some, instead of eating whatever bs you hear you should think with your brain instead...
To sum up my trip to North Finland Deer meat. Santa or goat man/boy. Massive Bunkers. -40c. Always night time. Chinese love Northern lights. Thank you Finland/Suomi !
There is a law here that there must be a bunker in every house that is built, we actually have enough bunkers to protect the whole population. Helsinki center is pretty much one big bunker
Russia has met its match in Ukraine. Defending your homeland against those in search of land and treasure will rarely fail, especially when your family, lands and culture are at stake. Europe need not worry. Keep the weapons coming. And thank you for your tremendous support till now! SLAVA UKRAINYI! HEROYAM SLAVA!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇨🇦
As an American tax payer. I am glad to see us helping Ukraine. Even most of us don't like our government. Americans are not our government. Most of us want freedom and peace. May you find yours.
Reward to help the group leading the US is ALWAYS, always a knife hit in the back. Always. Whatever your position or fortune. Sure, that's a pleasant future.
Point of contention. Sweden does not "produce" the NLAW. They co-designed it with the UK (majority to Sweden), but it is produced in the UK. Saying it is "second only" to the javelin is also incorrect, since A) The Javelin and NLAW are not competitors, they fulfill completely different roles in the anti-tank spectrum, and B) The NLAW accounted for far more, 30-40% of all Russian AFV kills in the first few months, the most lost period, according to Ukrainian sources due to the Russians just running entire units right into NLAW killing lanes for a solid month, losses that have not yet been equalled in intensity.
It's an interesting myth that persists as if Viipuri would have been 2nd biggest city in Finland - it wasn't. It was 4th by population. Yep, it's harbor was 2nd largest after Helsinki and it was a very important city in many regards but - I can't remember correctly - Tampere and Turku were 2nd and 3rd largest (although it may also been the other way around - Turku and Tampere) by population in 1939.
@Timo Terävä For any well-bred person with the right moral guidelines, the value of historical research lies in how well the specified data is tested by various verification methods. If the measure of the acceptability of research is the nationality of the researcher, this is called Nazism. There is a trend that all politically biased historicians manipulate and forge the figures of strength and losses in the direction of exaggeration of enemy's strength and losses and, accordingly, understatement of own strength and losses. When someone is, in addition, ideology-laden, like you, the forged figures are skyrocketing. Judging by yor numbers, brave Finns killed more stupid Orcs than there actually were on Finnish Front. In 1941, you advanced hiding behind backs of major Hitler's army, reached Leningrad and closed the blockade. In the siege of Leningrad, 1 million of civilians died. Finnish military activity in 1941 - 1944 consisted mostly of holding the siege, sitting in defence and killing Russians in concentration camps. In January 1944, the siege was lifted. In June 1944, Russia effortlessly kicked Finland out, back to where it belongs. In September 1944, Finns betrayed Germans, crawled on their knees to Moscow and signed all they were told to sign. To great disappointment of Russian soldiers, because if Finland by some miracle did not change sides, your soldiers would have to apologize to Russian soldiers in person, and I'm not sure how many would survive, after Leningrad and concentration camps. Pyrrhus risked to lose all his army in another battle with Romans. Then, this would become a Pyrrhic victory. Russian army on the Finnish front was 4-5% of the whole Red Army. Everything was decided in completely different places, no matter what the Finns thought about it. In May 1945, Red Army was the biggest and most capable force in the world, rising the red flag over Reichstag. Later, Russia decides the fate of the half of Eurasia, co-founds UN as a permanent Security Council member with veto power. You call it a Pyrrhic victory. Finland lost ALL wars, lost 11.5% of its territory, forever branded as a Nazi collaborator and extremely unreliable ally, followed orders from USSR all the way to this empire's collapse. Of course, all this is a great Victory, what else. Well, Mr. O'Brien from the Ministry of Truth would be proud of you.
@LoneBoye Some clarifications and comments: 1. The Winter War losses (dead, missing) Finland - 27,000 (all possible war related causes) + 1,000 civilians The ussr - at least 168,000 The Continuation War losses (dead, missing) Finland - 63,000-65,000 (all possible war related causes, until 1982) + 1,100 civilians Germany - 14,000 The ussr - c. 305,000 2. During the Winter War alone the soviets had c. 60 divisions and c. 1,000,000 men against Finland - though not all at the same time. 3. Russian "historians" or numbers can not be trusted - unless they are confirmed by some credible Western sources/historians. 4. "A victory" depends on the definition. Ever heard of a Pyrrhic victory? The soviets tried to conquer and annex whole Finland - as well as sovietise the Finns. They got 11.5% of the land. The rest of Finland (89.5%) remained independent and unsovietised. Finland wanted to remain independent, unconquered and unsovietised. Finland succeeded in everything - except for that 11.5% of the land. Who won?
It depends on what you include as the population of a city - only the population within the strict borders of a city or a greater urban area, including also some population outside of the city borders. AFAIK any of those 3 cities (Viipuri, Turku, Tampere) could have been called as "the 2nd biggest city of Finland" in 1939, depending on the method of calculation.
@Limassol 3 Even in English wiki, the number of dead on Finnish side in the Continuation War is 63200 plus 158000 wounded. You also "forgot" to mention that Finns fighted together with German Nazis who contributed to Russian losses and suffered their own. In the same article, the Finnish author gives a number of Russians troops of 900-1500K which is extremely inaccurate for a XX century researcher. Apparently, Finnish historicians attribute way more Russian troops to the Finnish Front than there actually were. In Russian historiography, total number of Russian fighters on this arena was 358K + 92K in the Baltic Fleet. Figures might be debatable. But in any case, your numbers tell a lot about the amateurish level of the sourses you use to "enlighten" yourself on WW2 history, and absolutely nothing about the real action that took place. Let me also remind you that Finland and 3rd. Reich have LOST the war and, consequently, lands, to Russia. Which, after seeing your historical parallel, makes me wonder whether you are able to put two and two together. Not to mention making conclusions and forecasts.
the thing about the fins and sweds is they are a logical and reasonable people. finland themselves has prisons that actually are more humanistic in nature compared to prisons elsewhere, in a finland prison, you won't be treated like a second class citizen, you'd be treated the same as if you didn't commit the crime to begin with, and its worked for them, they don't have a high reoffence rate like the us and other countries do, and they are one of a few countries with a justice system where the punishment fits the crime. so its not unreasonable to assume that, whatever the fins end up doing, will most likely go down in history as a huge move.
I'm sorry but...no. I have to call an official History Foul here. You said Finland was subservient to Russia from Swedish Empire loss to 2022. Uh WAY OFF. Finland successfully fought off Soviet invasion in 1939. That's a HUGE miss for a History Channel
"finland has more main battle tanks than germany, a country with 80 million people" you really cant compare Finland, a country, who puts tons of ressources into defense with germany, a country that doesnt care about its military at all (before the invasion of ukraine)
What Russia fears is their Navy being boxed in in the north. The northern fleet is mostly Subs and ASW cruisers, nato will put up ASW sites blocking them. Ukraine has access to the black sea and they need that access!. The only spot left is Siberia, which is iced up most of the year!
Finland & Sweden are joining NATO and Millions of professional soldiers from 37 NATO/Friends countries They wanted to join because of Putin aggression to small democratic countries….Peace Mr Putin
All of Finlands main roadways, tunnels, bridges, etc. have detonation points so that they can be strategically blown up. Also, almost every roadway system also has walkways or paths for troops/small arms. I have lived in Finland for a year and know they don’t fuck around. Good luck Russia
@zarni000 what? I only know Russia is dictatorship and they don't have free media , lying starts at low grade at schools and continues whole life. Russians even don't know when ww2 started or who started it. And where Russia attacked with Nazis.
@noobsaibot1890 so if there is 1 thousand azav battalion people it gives right to attack whole ukraine and destroy Mariupol. , Bakhmut,Mariupol, Volnovakha, Rubizhne, Popasna, Lyman and Sievierodonetsk. Only Nazis are in Russian army, they are raping kids, stealing washing machines, killing civilians and bombinbg civilian targets, There was no fucking reason to attack Ukraine at all. This is just sanity of Putin, who accused Ukraine with lies of nazis etc. I already said don't believe Russian propaganda, Russia has no free media. Russian lawas are made so that nobody dares to say anything. Putin just want to steal Ukraine resources and make them slave neighbour country. All these nazi , nato etc shit talking are just excuses to go that war.
@Coltr oppressed chinese workers are not oppressed by local people. Chinese workers are building railroads in my country, and our controls are not pushing them to work extra hours, they even feel sorry for the workers. Its chinese supervisors that are coming along with workers. Its chinese way to work, not ours. Russian citizens in Ukraine were literally killed if they dont obey. Im talking about Azov battalion, not about regular Ukr army. Since 2014. Ukrainian authorities were asked to do something about it or Russia will intervene. But they didnt do shit for 8 years. You have videos of killing on Telegram, the worst one was in Odessa 2014,when Russian protesters were shot like animals and ukrainian crowd was cheering. Whatever they protested about, you cant kill civilians because you dont agree with them! They were all killed by national policemen, shot in the head as they fell out from a burning building where they hid, from a raging crowd of Ukrainians. Only from that case Putin would have enough reason to level down Ukraine, but he waited until 2022. Its not propaganda its facts backed with video evidences. You have videos of Azov killing fellow Ukrainians that dont obey new Nazi orders. Everything covered with video evidence. You have video of ukrainians that fled from Azov, barely survived their shooting....do your own research and stop believing western propaganda
@noobsaibot1890 there has been no oprression, every countryhandles its own problems, Russia has no right to attack independent countries and try to say what to do, otherwise Russia should attack every fuckign country where some Russian is having bad treatment. SHould China or North Korea attack to Russia when their workers are getting oppression in Russia? Stop watching that Russian propaganda tv and newspapers, they are full of lies. You don't have free press which could say correct news.
Well scripted and practical information. Videos like this have the power to inform average people to interpret news reports, think globally and act locally. Eternal vigilance ...
Finland has been a de facto NATO member for ages, completely militarily integrated and part of the EU, so this won't be a big change for Russia. That's why Putin is quite chill about it, and you should, too.
13:39 - speaks about sweden antitank weapon, picture meanwhile shows some russian weaponry. (Or did I miss something and Sweden started to use Cyrillic symbols :) ?
A technicality, however, the Finnish country was never an ally of Nazi Germany but instead a co-belligerent. It is an important distinction and allowed the Finns to set their own terms of victory and peace. A similar arrangement existed between the Soviets and the Third Reich in their invasion of Poland.
Exactly, the Finns have always been about survival while being squeezed between super-powers, they were not Nazis, just anti-Soviets to secure independence. My mother, a Swedish-Finn, carefully explained this to me, as did all of my cousins. Small countries do what they can to preserve their language, culture and identity. Finland is making a very bold move in the direction of liberty, which means they're fully committed to Western ideals. I hope my country, America, understands what a dangerous choice the Finns have now staked out, and will support their front line position. SISU SUOMI!!
Nato didnt "expand" east. That is a kremlin talking point. Countries in the east REQUESTED TO JOIN, BECAUSE RUSSIA IS A BLOODTHIRSTY NEIGHBOUR. it's a huge difference.
And again, again and again I see WRONG borders of Poland at the moment of Soviet invasion. Poland was MUCH bigger. What is this? Mass incompetence of youtubers or something else?
@theguy9208 , Hi there, The US is only 300 yrs old. Europe is 2000 yrs old +. In other centuries Sweden was a power house. And the Prussian States. Poland ruled Russian Kiev. German States and then France , then England, and don’t forget Spain, or the Astro Hungarian Empire , or Nazi Germany. At this time the vassal states of the US in Europe are being pushed to spill blood in Ukraine. As a 73 yr old Amerikanisher , this is a terrible thing the country is doing. The Ukes would have run out of bullets in the Summer, and quit, and another 60,000 Uke soldiers would be alive and another 100,000 not maimed.
@Nils Helppi NATO is a defensive treaty of willing states, it has no offensive clauses. these areas of so-called historical russia are independent nations that do not wish to be trampled on by russia any longer, the empire is over and they do not want to re-join. Both canada and mexico have independent militaries, the reason there is no animosity is that the united states has not made a habit of brutally oppressing and genociding its neighbors and people for generations, as the russian state has since the time of the czars.
@theguy9208 Talk is cheap. Maybe you could consider turning it around and looking at NATO invading Russia ( historic Russia ) by putting NATO trained forces right up against the borders ????? This would be the same as Russia putting Russian trained troops and weapons on the US/ Mexico and US / Canada border . The way things are going with the US and NATO, it may be more realistic to change the name of Finland to North Ukraine.
Calm down, there is no any juicy conspiracy around this topic. The first railroads of Finland was initiated during the era of Russian Empire...... Do I need to continue..?
if you think taking capital of russia will make any positive value for you then you are the same as Napolian, Which you know, lost to everything after that. Don't treat russia like france
@Donnie Adams And what about the people living there? They are showing very clearly that they don't want to be a part of Russia. But I guess if "Putin wants that land back" they should just lay down their arms and surrender?
@Donnie Adams Ukraine was it's own country before it was part of Russia. Now it's ots own soverng country. It's not right to invade and take over other foreign countries. They have their own wills. Mayne if Russia hadn't invaded its neighbors and gone back on their word, they'd not be in this position. Russia can go fuck itself.
exactly, his own map and graphics show that the entire Ukraine was part of Russia for hundreds of years and was only given up at the fall of the USSR and brokered by NATO. I don't blame Putin wanting that land back just as much as I don't blame Finland for wanting their land back.
I'm a finn, and I was arroused how greatly you managed to brief up the main sets of our history, especially explaining the 'long-border issue', which we always have had to keep in mind balancing with Russia. 🤌🏼 At the end of the video, there was some good new strategic info for me also! 😯👌🏼 I found you're channel today, via tiktok fan-channel, and omg you have so good content, thankyou!
@Daniel V for now... But time is a bitch, and it's just a matter of time when Norway economy will be crashed by american ambitions and Norway goverment will be ready even for buttplug from USA, not talking about American Bases... They not changing schemes that working perfectly.
I’m very grateful that you’re raising awareness on the topic. It’s important to remember - Russia has always been an aggressive, imperialistic country.
I have ADHD and usually paying attention to this kinda stuff has always been a struggle for me. That said, your history/geopolitics videos consistently manage to capture and maintain my attention throughout their entirety. I don't know exactly what it is about them that's different, probably a culmination of a lot of things. The visual aides, the pacing, your clear communication and obvious passion for the subject matter, etc. All I'm saying is I'd probably have done a lot better in school growing up if more of my classes had resources like your videos at their disposal. Pease keep doing what you're doing!
@Giga sure, though does it mean Russians intended to storm Kiev? Learn more about military tactics... I suggest that you focus on pinning down your enemy at some territory to avoid it moving units elsewhere... Btw. at that time Russians acted with gloves on...
I wonder why everyone overreacts to this. Finland has been a de facto NATO member for long. Their law forbids hosting nukes (not that they are ever places closed to the enemy anyway) and Finland doesn't need to station foreign troops. Not much changes for Russia.
its so weird to hear current events talked about like its history set in stone and there is no ggrey within the black and white of these explanations, just goes to show that everything is never black and white and can be explained as simply as it is in videos like these, use this as an addition to other research but never just rely on these videos of massly complicated topics condensed into 30 minutes
The information in the video is propaganda. Putin was very clear that if those countries join NATO the response will be measurable to the threat . Nobody in those countries will ever be able to sleep well if they join NATO. Nobody.
@alan forster Sure, but demonizing one side whilst lauding and supplying weapons to the historically corrupt and racist other side is just a deceit too many have fallen for. I don't suppose that anyone here has heard that Russia are welcoming, feeding and housing MILLIONS of Ukrainian refugees. Far more than anywhere else.
The first minute of the video alone is stupidly based on assumptions. You draw lines from finland to st. petersburg and finland instantly becomes a militarily strong country? You just draw those lines as if the Russian Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command and the Western Military District are not present along those borders. The Northern Fleet JSC alone outnumbers Finland's Military! And I'm sure not everyone in Finland is happy about being dragged by NATO's stupidities.
This post is ridiculous...history has show that Finland has always resisted foreign meddling this is why Stalin left Finland alone. Finland had always refrained from provoking war with Russia. Even after invading Russia in 1941 Finland stopped short of attacking Leningrad after getting back the territories they lost in the Finnish war. You are ignorant ( historically ) because as long as Finland doesn't allow NATO to build an army to threaten Russia Russia will not be concerend. The 1939 Finish invasion wasn't a " quagmire " it only delayed the Invasion by a week at the most. The Soviets took the land to create a cushion to Leningrad and the Soviets gave land in compensation . As events have confirmed it wasnt the Soviets that was " expansionist " it was the US and its former Colonial powers that expanded their control throughout the world in a unipolar hegemonic organization. Finland isn't a real threat otherwise the Russians would have annexed them. Finlands military is not technologically superior to the Russians. The US does not even have Hypersonic missiles. I "like" how you talk of the " Crimean Invasion" without mentioning the coup in Kiev and the well know US goal of trying to weaken Russia in a futile bid to preserve its hegemony.. And why do we act as if Russia doesn't have a legitimate right to its security? How would the US react to a threat on its border? So you are a propagandic idiot
Great video! Thank you for clarifying all the facts & explaining the reality of Finland and Swedens situation. Finlands cause is Swedens cause, as true as Swedens cause is Finlands cause.🇸🇪❤🇫🇮
I loved Finland, Worked& Lived in a place called Loviisa/Lovisa/Lovisan (Fin or swede) Could never do the language but it seems everyone speaks English. Such amazing place and people x
This analysis sounds reasonable at first sight. I'm still wondering how important is the size of the army a country has. There are other important factors such us (1) the nuclear army (eventually mentioned in the video), (2) drone army, (3) economical threatening, (4) cyberwarfare, (5) disinformation, propaganda and fake news. I think all of these should be analised separately and probably there are even more important factors to consider, too. At the end: Finland joining the NATO is bad news for Russia for sure, but I'm not sure that it's a "checkmate".
It's just clickbait wording. I think everyone consuming social media needs to continuously remind themselves that no one is making videos out of the goodness of their hearts. There is always a reason, monetization being one, influencing public opinion being another. I see virtually no critical analysis on the motives of posters, people tend to simply jump to "agree" or "disagree", then argue like spoiled children. And every post positions something as dire end of the world drama, to trigger that dopamine rush that is critical for maximum engagement.
"Finland joining the NATO is bad news for Russia for sure" and for everyone too... Cause Russia will use nuclear if it's feels threatened :/ And Finland joining NATO is what Putin said multiple times that NATO not a defence block, but passive aggressive block... Just think about it as someone "eating" all squares in chess game and trying to make PAT for you to forfeit... And for you defeat or PAT is synonyms (cause world of politics not working on chess rules)
To clear up some things: NATO cannot force a member country to host nukes, if the country doesn't want it. Finland cannot take them even in theory, because the Finnish law prevents nuclear weapons.
Great video. I'm a kind of history buff myself and you can for sure see the bigg lines of history here. The thing is though and I made this mistake myself thinking geopolitics was a 19th century thing. It is still alive and kicking, unfortunately. Now we need to stop the Russian expansion and with it the attrocities as tortures, rapes and killing of civilians. Simply put it is a civilized world or a barbarian. Not that hard to chose.
Fun fact; at the start of Covid lockdown, it turns out that Sweden (where I live) only had food supplies for approx a week (the government has an agreement with the private sector retail chains to maintain extra stocks of essentials), whereas Finland has massive storage facilities hidden away in the woods holding like three months worth of stock. All of it meticulously managed with proper FIFO procedures to ensure the products were not aged. That was pretty badass! You can shut Finland down for three months and keep everyone well fed and cared for and in Sweden, on day three we've run out of toilet paper and soap! This is of course being re-aligned now and with the added Putin factor, I'm sure prioritized. btw my mother in law is from Karelen (Karjalen) and lived something like 3 km from the Russian border. When the Soviets invaded they of course left everything behind and took only what they could hurriedly load up on a horse cart. She and a whole lot of small kids were then shipped off as refugees to safety in Sweden.
I love how his videos are 30 minutes long but he essentially says everything important in the video (and essentially throughly summarizes all of his talking points) in the first 3 minutes.
What you miss in this video, is that you should clarify some things. Mainly the fact that even when Finland was a part of Russian empire 1809-1917, the Russian laws were not valid in Finland because Finland´s legal system from Swedish rule was still kept in use. Also during the time Finland was officially known as Grand Duchy of Finland which legally an autonomous area and was ruled by Finnish nobility but it had a governor-general appointed by the Russian Czar. In short: Finland was part of Russian empire but not part of Russia. Edit: Added a word "area" which was missing
@TheNewGreenIsBlue I am not going to start a long talk about the original population of the USA.But most were destroyed on the USA developing in to one big Country
@Satu Toivonen yeah, Finland hated Russia so much in 20th and 21st century, that many of them joined the Nazi in ww2 and participated in genocidal siege of Stalingrad. Freedom built on blood and suffering, congratulations, i guess.
The Poseidon torpedo would not generate a mega tsunami, or even a regular one. It is just Russia propaganda, much like their theory of nuking Yellowstone. Underwater detonations have been tested and they have very little effect. Even a 100mt device wouldn't cut it. The best use for the poseidon would be to be detonated very close to a port or naval facility.
![Devil by the Window - TOMORROW X TOGETHER トゥモローバイトゥギャザー [Music Bank] | KBS WORLD TV 230127](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/J1nBrd_CHYU/mqdefault.jpg)
One should also take into account the difficult terrain on the Finnish borders: unlike the flatlands of Ukraine, which are ideal for tanks, Finland is surrounded by thousands of lakes, hills and dense woods. Further up north, it's mostly just wet bogland, without any roads. The southern coast is way too rocky and shallow for a naval invasion (navy was never the Russians' strong suit, either). This natural barrier made it impossible for Russians to reach major town or cities even in the WW2. As for the common threats about nukes, we are far too close to St. Petersburg: the prevailing wind would carry the fallout to Putin's old stomping grounds.
@Ziga ST Легче сказать, чем сделать, особенно когда передовое западное оружие продолжает разрывать российских призывников на куски. Вместо того, чтобы сравнивать Украину с Мексикой, нам вскоре следует сравнить Россию с Венесуэлой (экономически).
@MV _ причина только одна, украина это мексика россии, и никто не вправе учить нас жить по правилам из вашингтона ок?
Thanks for the explanation, and much respect to you for your bravery and preparedness, especially during the Winter War.
I follow the news, but would suggest that, given modern shoulder-mounted weapons tanks aren't as important as they used to be. One man who can launch an appropriate shoulder-mounted missile from behind a tree, perhaps, 100 metres away can take out the best tanks I can imagine. (That appears to be what gave the Ukrainians their early victories.)
Dont forget finish is not 5.5 milyon like 3 milyon maybe... For angers dont care rusia ll get finland...ı think like Before not moch tatars... And finland dont care. Just now Finland cant get any help from foranger soldiers... Russian btr cars possible enjoy on Lakes .. Not good idea!!
As a Russian, I can tell what Finns and their country are beautiful. Clean territory and good legislation, in principle, the same can be said about the Scandinavian countries.
Shame on Russia.
do you have posters of Putin on your walls in your house SAY MY NAME?
@john doe they aren't ordinary. They are just puppets. Look at our pathetic Trudo? You may replace our " great leader" Trudo with racoon or a beaver. Nothing will ever change.
Canadians also need a strong and independent leader like W.Putin to build independent and strong Canada. We may only dream about it....
I love Finland and Fins too.
I don't mind them going into NATO. Personally, I think NATOs days are counted anyway.
The Russian People are good people and they dont deserve what their leadership is doing to them. I wish Russia and all surrounding countries a Free and Prosperous Life. I hope some day we can all come together and help each other live our best lives. Good Luck Everyone
Imagine if every Western country’s population was as prepared and trained to defend themselves. Finns are a great people.
@Liam0125 As a former soldier I can tell you that is not true at all. The biggest factor is conscription, and training reservists after their conscription period.
They are, and they do not have anything to fear.
@Liam0125 Yes, we would first take out our own corrupt governments, then the EU - fuck them!
the fins sound a bit too nationist to me. i think the u.s. is happy to talk them into a conflict with russia. that way they can also be eliminated by the west without the u.s. ever lifting a finger.
Yeah, imagine all the countries they'd help the US destabilise and overthrow! Just imagine it!
I believe that now you can imagine what thoughts were rumbling in my head when I, a russian who was born in a town 30km away from Olenegorsk and is now living in Saint-Petersburg, heard the news about Finland applying to join NATO.
@Ivan Dankob I pretty sure he does understand a violent neo-nazis coup was fomented by western corporate oligarchs to over throw a democratically elected president. You can't refute anything he said!😂🙈
@Schaima Ali If you mean Russia's intent to invade Ukraine then I agree. Putin has the absurd notion in his head that he is rebuilding the 'Greater Russia' except it never existed.
@Aaron Fahr To be fair it became true way before then.
@MacArthur Park Nah, the last 6 years have proved Americans are just as easily brainwashable as Russians🤣
Don't invade other countries and u won't have to worry about it. Something u braindead Russians can't understand.
The total war concept of Finland is interesting and frightening at the same time - it still exists to this day. Finland is a sleeper when it comes to military power and pure war.
@Grundgesetz Art. 146 How uneducated of you. The Finns stopped before Leningrad. Now, did that happen before or after the USSR brutally invaded Finland? 😉
they already helped kill 1,5 million people during the Leningrad siege. I think they will regret messing with the Russians, if a war breaks out. Maybe they won't exist anymore after it is over.
Audi RS6 sleeper built
@Zardex "We Finns literally are Russian", you say. No, "you Finns" are not, and you probably aren't Finnish. Finns remember the Winter War and strongly dislike Russian foreign policy, invading friendly neighbors.
In Sweden we says, the Russian Bear never sleeps. Don't forget that during WWII Finnish kicked out both Germans and Sovjets trupps, not at the same time.
Real life lore:
Gives us information
No annoying intros, straight to the point
Sponsors at the end
Love the content, keep it up
This. Also no annoying lame jokes, no clickbaity titles, and no thumbnails designed to appeal to teenagers who happened to be retarded
The "F-18" shown at 10:47 is actually an Italian* Eurofighter Typhoon as indicated by the green*/white/red concentric circle symbol of the Italian* Air Force near the cockpit and the "Typhoon" marking on the tail.
*edited
@Colin o brien What's wrong with it is the video is detailing FINLAND'S military assets. It does NOT have Harriers.
Makes me wonder if these people even know anything
@Steve Hetzel forgive me but what would be wrong with a harrier chained down to a deck ? why did you say amphibious? uss nassau ? what is wrong with that ? vtol
@Kevin Johnson well if you think about it if you look at a typhoon delta wing and the hornet the are not even related to each other so if thats the lax attention to detail would you be comfortable believing the rest of it ? so i care it doesnt take much to look at something and at least get it right when its harder to actually get wrong
. seldomJan2023^
In fact, as an eu member finland was not (military) neutral, at least since the Treaty of Lisbon which said you need to help another eu member if they get attacked.
@inventress Maybe, but that has nothing to do with what i said on my earlier reply.
@iso musta kypärä as someone from england, all im going to say is, many of our people wanted brexit to happen because they’re really racist towards non brits
@Martin Plojhar exactly, but these brainwashed westerners dont understand...
Who helps to EU member if is get attacked by Nato or another EU member? People form EU members joinded to NATO are practically always on the loosing side ... against dictatorship of US arms productions and arms dealers Oligarchy...
@iso musta kypärä well no world power wants to be a slave of germany
"If you want peace, prepare for war"
Ancient military adage.
Who can blame the Finns and Swedes for making their decision to join NATO? Seems wise in light of their neighbour's recent behaviour.
Just FYI: The last war Sweden ever fought was not the Napoleonic wars, but a short war against Norway in 1814 to force Norway to join a union with Sweden
@jmbpaz Hahaha! "Russo phobia", the very common and so pathetic pro-Russian rhetoric. What on earth are you talking about? The Soviet Union was practically allied with the Nazis by the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, where the two megalomaniac dictators divided Europe into what they were to grab. The Soviet Union had no plan to "deal with Hitler". They were best buddies! The Soviet Union invaded Poland together with the Nazis before it invaded the Baltic states and Finland. The Soviet Union got quite an enormous pass and wouldn't have been able to win on the eastern front without American lend-lease. Think you should have attended history class.
So why does Finland get a pass for having to deal with Hitler but the Soviet Union doesn’t? A little Russo phobia ?
@Serhio _CALI 😂 Russia invaded Ukraine the first time in 2014 in Crimea and Donbass. Keep to facts.
@Tom Riley No they did not. Sweden left the war after the Treaty of Kiel 1814.
@Keve Teller can't Russians say the same thing. "They voted" who tf trust voting 🤣🤣
Finland makes really nice rifles as well. Read up about the Winter war even though they ultimately ended up conceding to Russia the territory they asked for. They gave them a pretty sound thrashing before doing so
What they make is less important than who they serve.
Yep, most Finns were sport shooters/hunters that owned personal rifles MUCH higher quality than the ones the Soviets used, and had experience using them. Combine that with their experience fighting in Finnish winter conditions and it was a white hell for Russia
@iso musta kypärä Russia's Baltic fleet is headquartered in Kaliningrad. Their ships pass in and out of the Baltic while sailing past Denmark and Sweden. They don't have to go anywhere near Finland or Estonia to do that. You seriously don't know where Kaliningrad is? Go look it up, genius.
@A K So you think Russia would travel through Barents sea, Norwegian sea and Northern sea just to get to Baltic sea and Kaliningrad?😂
@iso musta kypärä Kaliningrad borders Poland and Lithuania. It is nowhere near Finland and Estonia. I think you need to study some geography.
To talk about Norway, Denmark (and Greenland), Sweden, Finland, or Iceland separate from each other is just naive. The Nordics and Scandinavia have always been quite formidable in warfare starting with the vikings. There is no way in hell we would allow any aggressor, whether totalitarian (China or Russia) or radical religious/nut-case country, interfere with us in a significant way for a long time. Many ethnicities/cultures are proud of not succumbing to subjugation, but only a few can actually live up to it and remain civilized plus being on the cutting edge developmentally in the process. Nonetheless, the only future for our species is peace and we have bigger fish to fry as a collective species than squabbling between nations. Deep inside we desire the same things.
@Яблоки в курином бульоне At my leisure I may respond to this in the future, but you should know that I expect research-backed facts in adult discussions and not subjective opinions, alternative facts, fairytales, conspiracy, guesses or conspiracy (i.e. immature "debate clubs" or trolling). As it stands, I literally would have to take each sentence that you have written and fact-check or provide research-backed links to you (which is your job to do in the first place!). And it is simply not my role to do this for you, especially for free. This is work to do be done before expressing mere opinions and people in general are just too lazy, knee-jerk reactive and therefore succumb to personal insults or subjective opinions. This is usually related to educational level too. One thing: We all have Russian friends, many of us have lived abroad and traveled, and some of us may even have scientific research experience/doctoral degrees & impressive careers. So, "having fiends" or even family that are in the midst of this conflict does not make a speaker factual at all. Only science/the truth does. You take care now and happy new year!
@Mats I Nilsson I'm sorry, but you're either stupid or you don't understand some of the words "totalitarianism" and "authoritarianism.".. I am not Russian and not for Russia at all, stop inserting your pro-Western templates, I just corrected you and pointed out your mistake, and did not agitate against the West. As a person living in Russia, I know better what kind of regime we have than a person in the West who draws information mainly only from TV. You have the same propaganda as we do, perhaps to a lesser extent, but it does not change the essence. Much is hushed up, and facts are manipulated. I was especially surprised when in a "democratic" state the broadcast is interrupted live on television due to the fact that a person close to the borders of the war said that the Ukrainian authorities, as well as the Russian ones, are firing rockets at residential buildings, which is why people are dying. This is an obvious fact, and everyone knew it, but your democracy could not stand it and decided to interrupt the broadcast, although what this journalist was saying was already clear to everyone.
And finally, I will write you a definition of authoritarianism and totalitarianism from Wikipedia:
Authoritarianism is a type of undemocratic political regime based on the irremovable centralized power of one person or group of persons while preserving economic, civil and ideological freedoms in the country.
Totalitarianism is a political regime implying absolute state control over all aspects of public and private life.
To understand, totalitarianism is now in North Korea, Turkmenistan and other countries, there is no such thing in Russia yet, I did not know that I would have to explain such elementary things to Europeans as smart people, but apparently propaganda does not spare anyone...
By the way, it would be nice if the citadel of "democracy" America did not bomb other countries because of their personal interests.
There are many examples, I won't even name them, but, of course, there are no complaints about them)
@Яблоки в курином бульоне I will obviously admit that Stalin was worse than Putin and that there is a sliding scale of authoritarianism and totalitarianism, but why are you making this point? We get it. USA is not perfect, but if you have to pick one way of life what do you pick? I am not going to spell it out for you my friend, but it is time for you to see the big meaning of life picture. As always, many modern Russians are extremely patriotic and use misplaced relativization and whataboutism, but they cannot fathom the big picture. Mixed in with their side-deflections, we see lies, half-lies, alternative facts and conspiracy in their propaganda. Enough is enough, my friend. We battle these lies in the West all the time (Trump is GONE!), and it is time you do the same!
@Яблоки в курином бульоне Indeed you can object as much as you want to. It's a luxury of a free, mostly democratic world ;-). Let me ask you this: 1. Can you openly criticize and challenge the regime without being jailed or worse (killed)? If you cannot for some fear of losing your job, life or family, then Russia is likely stereotypical totalitarian. 2. Does Russia want to expand its current borders and would initiate wars on independent nations (for example, Ukraine, other former USSR states and perhaps even neutral countries) in an effort to do so? On that note, has Russia even threatened previously neutral countries to not join NATO? If Russia does/has, it is likely totalitarian. 3. Putin recently indirectly admitted to lying and told you Russians that his invasion of Ukraine indeed now is a war and a not a "special operation" any longer. So, can you safely criticize his/Kremlin's war as a Russian citizen? If you cannot, Russia is probably totalitarian. 4. Does Russia rely heavily on propaganda and restrict information flow (free media and internet)? If it has, then it is indeed totalitarian. 5. How long has Putin and his henchmen been in power of Kremlin? If over 8 years, then it is likely a warning sign of a totalitarian state.
If we would behave the same way as Russia/USSR, the world would be on fire, my friend. The Nordics alone would have crushed you and taken back both Karelia and St Petersburg by now. Come to think of it, I invite your country to take this one small step further. Just one small step. Please do. You have gone too far in your both indirect and direct threats, and your population needs to dethrone the current regime, forget about USSR/Stalin expansionism, and allow for proper democracy, peace and modernization without kleptocracy. Even at the cost of shrinking borders and many more satellite states. It is THEIR WISH AND CHOICE (with emphasis), and it is the only way. Quit standing in the way for civilization.
I want to object, but in Russia there is no totalitarianism ... As a resident of Russia, I am surprised to hear about
it. Of course, I understand that in the West you like to exaggerate, as in Russia, of course, but it is quite obvious that in Russia there is authoritarianism, perhaps in an extreme degree, but definitely not totalitarianism.
When has Finland ever invaded Russia? Never. Finland has never been a threat to Russia in any capacity. The entire population of Finland is not much bigger than one major city in Russia (Saint Petersburg). From 1309 to 1809, Finland was part of Sweden. Then Russia invaded Finland in 1809 and held it until 1917 when Russia eventually recognized Finland's independence. However, Russia invaded Finland again in 1939 after Russia and Nazi Germany allied and signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact both agreeing to invade Poland, and Germany approving Russia's invasion of other countries (Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Etc.). Then Stalin's partner Hitler turned on Russia and invaded. They were both bad aggressive centers of evil. Guilty itself, Russia has created this false paranoid narrative that the "Western World is out to get Russia, and NATO is their military arm to do it." "We are surrounded at our doorsteps by the capitalist Western enemy planning to invade Russia any day." That is part of Russia's "Big Created Lie." They use that Big Lie to justify their never ending aggressive empire building and now recreation of the new Neo-Communist Soviet Empire. In recent history, Germany, Russia and the Soviet Union have been performing the historical invading in Europe and other locations. Russia has invaded Afghanistan (1921, 1930, & 1979-1989), Azerbaijan (1920), Armenia (1920), Georgia (1921), Mongolia (1921), Poland (1939), Romania (1944), Bulgaria (1944), Finland (1809 & 1939), Estonia (1940), Latvia (1940), Lithuania (1940), Czechoslovakia (1968), Hungry (1956), Ukraine (2014 and 2022). How many countries has NATO attacked and occupied? NONE. NATO is purely a defensive organization, not an Offensive organization like Russia and its Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, wants to push negotiations with Putin to establish peace in Ukraine. This is akin to the negotiated appeasement by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Western Allies that gave Hitler free reign to invade all of Europe in a much wider war. Macron does not seem to understand that Putin is into Empire Building and land acquisition, and he will only use negotiations to achieve those goals. Prior to WWII, France, Britain, and the other Western Allies sold out Czechoslovakia to the Nazis -- a big mistake that greenlighted Hitler's invasion of Poland that started WWII. Hitler only wanted "part of Czechoslovakia," but somehow ended up with all of it by military force. Apparently, many have learned nothing from the political and military disasters of WWI and WWII, and are willing to risk a WWIII by letting evil, greed, and aggression prevail. There are times to negotiate, and times to stand your ground, and I see little differences between Hitler, Stalin, and Putin. They will never negotiate in full faith, and only use negotiations to get military leverage to continue their empire building.
Just out of curiosity. If Norway gave a portion of their Northern borders that touches Russian borders to Finland and Finland extended their defenses to this new section, wouldn't that technically allow Norway to let US bases to be setup without major fear of invasion? I imagine Russia and Finland could setup more coastal defenses along the edges as well and use US as a means of producing additional top tier weapons to further support this cause. It's seems stupid of Norway to not allow US factories there just because of that little section in the North
@Reasoner Enlightened Doubt they'll change. Not enough processing power.
And getting into bed with Satan might be another good suggestion!
@Twenty Two it may be better for you, I bet you didn't take into account that there are different opinions for each and every individual, so it is always necessary for both of them to have respect of each other and in this case, NATO and your sincere west, didn't give a single shit when putting Ukraine into all of this. Now Ukrainian people are realizing that they're fighting for other people's politics and there are many of them in my country.
@GoldNugget All this talk about ''provoking Russia'' but we should not walk on egg shells and be afraid of the big monster not being provoked. NATO should be able to put bases wherever they want, it's their right. Russia wants to control what other countries can do and not do, but they have no right to do so. If not for NATO, Russia would just globalize everything, and it's better to be under NATO's wing than Russian and Chinese wing.
I’m pretty sure the Russians would figure that out. Political lines on a map wouldn’t change the fact that an American nuclear capable base was in their backyard, no matter whose flag is flying next to it.
The fact, that people underestimate Finland on it's own might be their biggest advantage. Their army might be small on paper, but their reserve is massive. I've heard that entire families are from time to time excersise with military. Also, having small army makes it easy to modernise technologicaly. Their war rediness is on much higher level, than Russian army...
@Brian Martin Facts true facts my friend. And everyone thinks Russia is weak that they think this will stop them.
Finns wouldn't last 5 mins in a war, reserves or not. They are a woke cesspit run by a feminist teenager ... A culture like that cannot prevail in war... They have torn up a neutrality agreement which was to last in perpetuity. Russia was no threat to them and indeed both countries had a relaxed border with each other and much trade . Now their US bootlicking leaders have reneged on their ancestors word and put them under threat again by applying to be in NATO... Of course they didn't do this through choice but because they have lost their sovereignty and were told to do it. Absolute fools.
@David Tuttle USSR attacked Finland with air raid, that caused the Finnish to work with the Nazis against the Soviets.
Add to that fact that the entire country is against Russia. No donbass in this one, if Russia wants war with Finland, they will have a true war with the entire country. No one would side with Russia.
Bro seems like you're underestimating russia 😂
Finland and Sweden: “We would like to join nato” Turkey: 👁️👄👁️
That’s another sign of weakness, appeasement never seems to work. For me it just buys time for totalitarian states to prepare for a war. If the Baltic states allowed other NATO members to set up bases in their countries, it would give NATO an even stronger bargaining chip that they could bring to the table to negotiate away if need be.
@zombie GI unfortunately I wish I was wrong.
What is NATO? Do i as a NATO state citizen get to decide if we go to war? No ofc i don't. What i do have the right to is paying 3 times the cost for electricity because of it. Its not war really. Russia is not at war, they have a military operation (ah the vietnam excuse). NATO is not at war either, its just defending democracy :)) You say appeasement only buys time for totalitarian regimes to regroup. Its funny you say that now in light of what Angela Merkel just said about the Minsk agreement
Unlike chess, a checkmate is more dangerous in real life, as it means that Russia is now going to develop new ways to get them out of check.
Through spying sabotage and unrest.
Nothing new.....both sides already do that
I had to scroll a bit to find the sane section.
Hello all!
@E Laughter
"The west is so braindead"
And who is it exactly that's been throwing around nuclear threats? Because it isn't the west.
@E Laughter no they arent. That's Russians who still view conquest as a means of gaining territory.
@E Laughter "The west is braindead." - some guy asking Amazon when ww3 will start.
17:06 "with a heavy concentration of Russia's nuclear weapons arsenal" Judging from the Ukraine war, this is probably an accurate depiction of Russia's actual nuclear capabilities. 😂
please, get out of basement😭
@RealLifeLore - nice video, but I found an inaccuracy. Suwalki gap is anything but a "mostly flat terrain". It is a post-glacier landscape, with plenty of hills and lakes. Not very convenient for land army.
HOLY SHIT! Words cannot describe how epic Finlands army sounds when you look at their preparations! Like Finland just seems impenetrable by Russia at this point
@kamikaziking Or an annexe to the nazis yet again.
@dimapez Russia cannot crush a papercup.
@thatneo sure they even split bullets and guns and do wave attacks , i dont even know why you have to send the ukes weapons anymore since they are already attacking moscow , and putler has 36 cancers and 3 pomeranians.
@kamikaziking Russia could be defeated if countries decided to attack them. It would probably take like 2 weeks. Russians have gotten fake body armor, rifles from 1891 and rusty single shot chinese rifles. The war is in a stand still more than anything right now.
@thatneo in case you havent noticed the west is about 150bn in and still cant push the Russians out of Ukraine so i guess they are kicking your asses.
Its not them joining NATO wich is the biggest threat , altough it most certainly is a threat.
It is the weaponsystems NATO will or will not place inside Finland wich will determine how Russia will act next.
What a tragedy this Putin era has been for Russian citizens. All the recent aspirations of joining modern society are crashed on the rocks. Now they are doomed to another century of isolation, inflation, depression, and poverty.
This is really helpful, great graphics, fast clarity. Leads me to wish all countries shared the ethics of Finland. All countries.
@thatneo Yes, as cynical as it was efficient. Just worth mentioning since sometimes you might hear odd things from Finns. Myths about unbreakable defensive and tactical skills. That wasn't what tipped the scale.
@P When your countries independence is at risk AGAIN because of Russia plus Germany and FInland having a common enemy it's a no brainer. Mannerheim never agreed with nazi ideologies.
@allcatall Thanks!
@-Aku persons means individuals of/in a group; people means a group.
@allcatall What's the difference between saying "persons" and "people"? I never understood - are you able to clarify?
The greatest sniper in history was a Finnish soldier during World War 2. It is said he killed 500 or more Soviet Officers and soldiers.
Imagine being so paranoid and greedy that you were willing to shoot your neighbour and steal his home, just in case someone else did it to you, then wondering in disbelief why the rest of your neighbour arm themselves and call the police...
@Michael Wilson "In the process of surrendering"... I think you mean they were in the process of negotiating terms and conditions that were favorable to them.
But we required an unconditional surrender... and we had every right to insist on that after the shit they pulled.
I will agree that there was a deterrent effect aimed at Russia... and Russia did a great job of proving that they needed deterring.
@Paul Gilbert The USA dropped 2 nuclear warheads on Japan as 'A warning' to Russia at the end of WW2, hows that for a history of aggression? And plse dont give me the lame cover story about Jap surrender, everybody knows they were already in the process of surrendering b4 the bombs were dropped
@Michael Wilson Seems fair if the biggest house over in the next block had a history of aggression and occupation of its neighbors the way Russia ate up Eastern Europe post WW2.
@Paul Gilbert the same here. Ukraine prevent some regions to do something.
@rchromatic Doesnt apply. We did not force Texas to become US state... we fought Mexico who was trying to prevent Texas from doing something Texans wanted to do.
It's NOT "the Artic Ocean" and "the Artic Circle".
It's pronounced "ARK-tick" "ARK-tick"
Voiceovers blow that all the time, and it blows their cred.
If they can't get THAT right, how can we be sure they know the least bit about what they're trying to talk about?
No, really!
Not only is Finland joining NATO but NATO is also radically changing into something with a lot more teeth!
@Donnie Adams NATO is the reason why we don't have Soviet Union 2.0. I'm always gonna thank NATO for standing up to commies.
@Donnie Adams hahahahaga. No it hasn't. No nato member has been attacked except america on 9/11 and that was by terrorists.
Claims are NATO pushing on Russia’s borders is what created all the present lunacy. I find it believable being an American who has watched my nation be overtaken by global capitalists including of NATO member nations and cease to exist in the process.
NATO has done more harm than good
I heard a saying once; *"While countries have their own armed forces, Finnish Defense Forces have a country of their own."*
As a Finn, i like this proverb.
@Jeffery Ashmore, I like $2 steak idea. Man, that`s gonna be tough!
Respect to Finish Defense Forces....Ready💪✔️
@Bruno Ripamonti Funny thing is just the other day Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that all of Europe honestly has not been capable of defending itself without the US. She's much more realistic than I am about the situation. I tend to be an idealist about certain things.
@bigman23DOTS the important thing is to be convinced of it
@Noodle Fringe the important thing is to be convinced of it
*Wars launched by the U.S and NATO: Guatamala, Cuba, Vietnam, The Congo, Nicaragua, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and the list goes on! Shouldn't countries that claim to oppose war avoid starting wars in the first place? Shouldn't countries who claim to advocate peace refrain from undermining peace?
Ah yes, the infamous "Cuban war" that definitely happened.
Sweden has’nt been neutral since 1951 when we agreed to cancel our nuclear program and be under the US umbrella. We also joined the EU 1995..
The Sovjet was as carless about their soldiers as Putin is now in Ukraine when Stalin tried to invade Finland.
The issue you miss with the original Soviet demands to Finland is that it would've ceded the defensive fortifications they'd built and the major strategic choke points of the isthmus
@Soufriere Hitler's goal for Central and Eastern Europe was to kill 90% of the Slavs and enslave the remaining 10% ("Generalplan Ost"). Hitler damn near wiped an entire ethnic group off the Earth, and caused untold misery and suffering to many more.
The Morgenthau Plan, had it been put into place, would've crippled Germany permanently. A lot of European politicians were all for it, seeing it as justified and necessary to prevent Germany plunging Europe into total war again. Yes, the loss of Prussia and Silesia was symbolically important - but frankly, it could've been a lot worse. Considering what Hitler did, Germany got off lightly.
Edit: If Russia collapses under the strain of war, I would want Kaliningrad transferred to Poland or Lithuania. I don't think it's a good idea for it to be given to Germany at this point.
Dude putin doesn't want the USSR back because then he would be charged with capitalist and imperialist debauchery and sent to a gulag. If anything putin's trying to rebuild the russian empire.
@Baliverna Putin said somewhere in 2005 "The breakup of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century."
@Vuk Todic Not really, unlike you I don't buy into state media of dictatorial state with authoritarian leader. I did read what you wrote and refuted it throughly.
There is no case where soviets didn't claim region as part of soviets when their armies walked past those regions.
@Tespri seems like I found "whatever I say is only truth" type of person, you did not even read what I wrote just spat out whatever you want to be truth while knowing nothing about why annextions happen in some cases and why they don't in some, instead of eating whatever bs you hear you should think with your brain instead...
When I lived in Finland, there was a bunker in my building. Quite impressive, the Finns.
To sum up my trip to North Finland
Deer meat.
Santa or goat man/boy.
Massive Bunkers.
-40c.
Always night time.
Chinese love Northern lights.
Thank you Finland/Suomi !
It would be sad to flatten them and turn the soil to glass.
There is a law here that there must be a bunker in every house that is built, we actually have enough bunkers to protect the whole population. Helsinki center is pretty much one big bunker
Why is this impressive, Americans like to idealize countries, seemingly for no reason, like fashion trends. Irish, Finish, NZ... so on.
@Baby-LOVES-Boiled-BROCCOLI I know bro, I actually live at the place that is below sea level.
Russia has met its match in Ukraine. Defending your homeland against those in search of land and treasure will rarely fail, especially when your family, lands and culture are at stake. Europe need not worry. Keep the weapons coming. And thank you for your tremendous support till now!
SLAVA UKRAINYI!
HEROYAM SLAVA!!!
🇺🇸🇺🇦🇨🇦
As an American tax payer. I am glad to see us helping Ukraine. Even most of us don't like our government. Americans are not our government. Most of us want freedom and peace. May you find yours.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤡🤡🤡🤡
Reward to help the group leading the US is ALWAYS, always a knife hit in the back. Always. Whatever your position or fortune.
Sure, that's a pleasant future.
Point of contention. Sweden does not "produce" the NLAW. They co-designed it with the UK (majority to Sweden), but it is produced in the UK. Saying it is "second only" to the javelin is also incorrect, since A) The Javelin and NLAW are not competitors, they fulfill completely different roles in the anti-tank spectrum, and B) The NLAW accounted for far more, 30-40% of all Russian AFV kills in the first few months, the most lost period, according to Ukrainian sources due to the Russians just running entire units right into NLAW killing lanes for a solid month, losses that have not yet been equalled in intensity.
Finland and Sweden joining Nato doesn't make any difference at all, symbolically speaking it represents a artificial sense of security.
It's an interesting myth that persists as if Viipuri would have been 2nd biggest city in Finland - it wasn't. It was 4th by population. Yep, it's harbor was 2nd largest after Helsinki and it was a very important city in many regards but - I can't remember correctly - Tampere and Turku were 2nd and 3rd largest (although it may also been the other way around - Turku and Tampere) by population in 1939.
Bullshit, I have the Finnsish factbook from 1938, and Viborg is the second largest city in population.
@Timo Terävä For any well-bred person with the right moral guidelines, the value of historical research lies in how well the specified data is tested by various verification methods. If the measure of the acceptability of research is the nationality of the researcher, this is called Nazism.
There is a trend that all politically biased historicians manipulate and forge the figures of strength and losses in the direction of exaggeration of enemy's strength and losses and, accordingly, understatement of own strength and losses. When someone is, in addition, ideology-laden, like you, the forged figures are skyrocketing.
Judging by yor numbers, brave Finns killed more stupid Orcs than there actually were on Finnish Front.
In 1941, you advanced hiding behind backs of major Hitler's army, reached Leningrad and closed the blockade. In the siege of Leningrad, 1 million of civilians died.
Finnish military activity in 1941 - 1944 consisted mostly of holding the siege, sitting in defence and killing Russians in concentration camps.
In January 1944, the siege was lifted. In June 1944, Russia effortlessly kicked Finland out, back to where it belongs. In September 1944, Finns betrayed Germans, crawled on their knees to Moscow and signed all they were told to sign. To great disappointment of Russian soldiers, because if Finland by some miracle did not change sides, your soldiers would have to apologize to Russian soldiers in person, and I'm not sure how many would survive, after Leningrad and concentration camps.
Pyrrhus risked to lose all his army in another battle with Romans. Then, this would become a Pyrrhic victory. Russian army on the Finnish front was 4-5% of the whole Red Army. Everything was decided in completely different places, no matter what the Finns thought about it.
In May 1945, Red Army was the biggest and most capable force in the world, rising the red flag over Reichstag. Later, Russia decides the fate of the half of Eurasia, co-founds UN as a permanent Security Council member with veto power. You call it a Pyrrhic victory.
Finland lost ALL wars, lost 11.5% of its territory, forever branded as a Nazi collaborator and extremely unreliable ally, followed orders from USSR all the way to this empire's collapse. Of course, all this is a great Victory, what else.
Well, Mr. O'Brien from the Ministry of Truth would be proud of you.
@LoneBoye
Some clarifications and comments:
1. The Winter War losses (dead, missing)
Finland - 27,000 (all possible war related causes) + 1,000 civilians
The ussr - at least 168,000
The Continuation War losses (dead, missing)
Finland - 63,000-65,000 (all possible war related causes, until 1982) + 1,100 civilians
Germany - 14,000
The ussr - c. 305,000
2. During the Winter War alone the soviets had c. 60 divisions and c. 1,000,000 men against Finland - though not all at the same time.
3. Russian "historians" or numbers can not be trusted - unless they are confirmed by some credible Western sources/historians.
4. "A victory" depends on the definition. Ever heard of a Pyrrhic victory?
The soviets tried to conquer and annex whole Finland - as well as sovietise the Finns. They got 11.5% of the land. The rest of Finland (89.5%) remained independent and unsovietised.
Finland wanted to remain independent, unconquered and unsovietised. Finland succeeded in everything - except for that 11.5% of the land.
Who won?
It depends on what you include as the population of a city - only the population within the strict borders of a city or a greater urban area, including also some population outside of the city borders.
AFAIK any of those 3 cities (Viipuri, Turku, Tampere) could have been called as "the 2nd biggest city of Finland" in 1939, depending on the method of calculation.
@Limassol 3 Even in English wiki, the number of dead on Finnish side in the Continuation War is 63200 plus 158000 wounded.
You also "forgot" to mention that Finns fighted together with German Nazis who contributed to Russian losses and suffered their own.
In the same article, the Finnish author gives a number of Russians troops of 900-1500K which is extremely inaccurate for a XX century researcher. Apparently, Finnish historicians attribute way more Russian troops to the Finnish Front than there actually were.
In Russian historiography, total number of Russian fighters on this arena was 358K + 92K in the Baltic Fleet.
Figures might be debatable. But in any case, your numbers tell a lot about the amateurish level of the sourses you use to "enlighten" yourself on WW2 history, and absolutely nothing about the real action that took place.
Let me also remind you that Finland and 3rd. Reich have LOST the war and, consequently, lands, to Russia. Which, after seeing your historical parallel, makes me wonder whether you are able to put two and two together. Not to mention making conclusions and forecasts.
the thing about the fins and sweds is they are a logical and reasonable people. finland themselves has prisons that actually are more humanistic in nature compared to prisons elsewhere, in a finland prison, you won't be treated like a second class citizen, you'd be treated the same as if you didn't commit the crime to begin with, and its worked for them, they don't have a high reoffence rate like the us and other countries do, and they are one of a few countries with a justice system where the punishment fits the crime.
so its not unreasonable to assume that, whatever the fins end up doing, will most likely go down in history as a huge move.
I'm sorry but...no. I have to call an official History Foul here. You said Finland was subservient to Russia from Swedish Empire loss to 2022. Uh WAY OFF. Finland successfully fought off Soviet invasion in 1939. That's a HUGE miss for a History Channel
Finland was part of Russia for centuries- and Finland was disconnected from Russia at WW I time...
"finland has more main battle tanks than germany, a country with 80 million people" you really cant compare Finland, a country, who puts tons of ressources into defense with germany, a country that doesnt care about its military at all (before the invasion of ukraine)
Why not?
Usa have, i think 3, bases in Norway, and their own law in those areas.
What Russia fears is their Navy being boxed in in the north. The northern fleet is mostly Subs and ASW cruisers, nato will put up ASW sites blocking them. Ukraine has access to the black sea and they need that access!. The only spot left is Siberia, which is iced up most of the year!
Mapa z błędem Krym terytorium Ukrainy jest zaznaczony w tym samym kolorze co ruskie ziemię, rażące niedopatrzenie
Finland & Sweden are joining NATO and Millions of professional soldiers from 37 NATO/Friends countries They wanted to join because of Putin aggression to small democratic countries….Peace Mr Putin
All of Finlands main roadways, tunnels, bridges, etc. have detonation points so that they can be strategically blown up. Also, almost every roadway system also has walkways or paths for troops/small arms. I have lived in Finland for a year and know they don’t fuck around.
Good luck Russia
@zarni000 what? I only know Russia is dictatorship and they don't have free media , lying starts at low grade at schools and continues whole life. Russians even don't know when ww2 started or who started it. And where Russia attacked with Nazis.
@Coltr yeah...that's what they tell u right?
@noobsaibot1890 so if there is 1 thousand azav battalion people it gives right to attack whole ukraine and destroy Mariupol. , Bakhmut,Mariupol, Volnovakha, Rubizhne, Popasna, Lyman and Sievierodonetsk. Only Nazis are in Russian army, they are raping kids, stealing washing machines, killing civilians and bombinbg civilian targets, There was no fucking reason to attack Ukraine at all. This is just sanity of Putin, who accused Ukraine with lies of nazis etc. I already said don't believe Russian propaganda, Russia has no free media. Russian lawas are made so that nobody dares to say anything. Putin just want to steal Ukraine resources and make them slave neighbour country. All these nazi , nato etc shit talking are just excuses to go that war.
@Coltr oppressed chinese workers are not oppressed by local people. Chinese workers are building railroads in my country, and our controls are not pushing them to work extra hours, they even feel sorry for the workers. Its chinese supervisors that are coming along with workers. Its chinese way to work, not ours. Russian citizens in Ukraine were literally killed if they dont obey. Im talking about Azov battalion, not about regular Ukr army. Since 2014. Ukrainian authorities were asked to do something about it or Russia will intervene. But they didnt do shit for 8 years. You have videos of killing on Telegram, the worst one was in Odessa 2014,when Russian protesters were shot like animals and ukrainian crowd was cheering. Whatever they protested about, you cant kill civilians because you dont agree with them! They were all killed by national policemen, shot in the head as they fell out from a burning building where they hid, from a raging crowd of Ukrainians. Only from that case Putin would have enough reason to level down Ukraine, but he waited until 2022. Its not propaganda its facts backed with video evidences. You have videos of Azov killing fellow Ukrainians that dont obey new Nazi orders. Everything covered with video evidence. You have video of ukrainians that fled from Azov, barely survived their shooting....do your own research and stop believing western propaganda
@noobsaibot1890 there has been no oprression, every countryhandles its own problems, Russia has no right to attack independent countries and try to say what to do, otherwise Russia should attack every fuckign country where some Russian is having bad treatment. SHould China or North Korea attack to Russia when their workers are getting oppression in Russia? Stop watching that Russian propaganda tv and newspapers, they are full of lies. You don't have free press which could say correct news.
Russia: *declares war on Finland*
Finland: *resurrects Simo Häyhä*
Russia: “Let’s instead do some diplomatic talks, shall we?”
Russia: fires missiles towards Finland
Finland: PERKELE!
*missiles go back to Russia*
Lol you are so funny! We have 2022, do not live in past.
you flatter yourself a lot
Hell yes XD if only we had him now…
Checkmate Russia? Really? I guess you think they suck at chess? Spassky, Kasparov, Karpov, Alekhine, just to name a few, would likely disagree.
All of those preparations. and Russia struggles to give soldiers Helmets an Jackets.
1 🇫🇮 sniper vs 500+ soviet soldiers
Well scripted and practical information. Videos like this have the power to inform average people to interpret news reports, think globally and act locally. Eternal vigilance ...
Finland has been a de facto NATO member for ages, completely militarily integrated and part of the EU, so this won't be a big change for Russia. That's why Putin is quite chill about it, and you should, too.
We all know how it went for Russia during the Cold war (:
13:39 - speaks about sweden antitank weapon, picture meanwhile shows some russian weaponry. (Or did I miss something and Sweden started to use Cyrillic symbols :) ?
Finland probably know they are going to be invaded next so they want protection from nato if and when it happens.
A technicality, however, the Finnish country was never an ally of Nazi Germany but instead a co-belligerent. It is an important distinction and allowed the Finns to set their own terms of victory and peace. A similar arrangement existed between the Soviets and the Third Reich in their invasion of Poland.
@sdfswords Given the swings of U.S.. politics, I'm nervous for Finland.
Exactly, the Finns have always been about survival while being squeezed between super-powers, they were not Nazis, just anti-Soviets to secure independence. My mother, a Swedish-Finn, carefully explained this to me, as did all of my cousins. Small countries do what they can to preserve their language, culture and identity. Finland is making a very bold move in the direction of liberty, which means they're fully committed to Western ideals. I hope my country, America, understands what a dangerous choice the Finns have now staked out, and will support their front line position. SISU SUOMI!!
Nato didnt "expand" east. That is a kremlin talking point. Countries in the east REQUESTED TO JOIN, BECAUSE RUSSIA IS A BLOODTHIRSTY NEIGHBOUR. it's a huge difference.
What would it take to kick Turkey out of NATO?
And again, again and again I see WRONG borders of Poland at the moment of Soviet invasion. Poland was MUCH bigger. What is this? Mass incompetence of youtubers or something else?
Edging closer to midnight and videos like these seem to present the idea that we should be happy about this. Madness
@Paul Gilbert , this is the way of the World , throughout history, everywhere.
@Nils Helppi Russia has a long history of invading neighboors
@theguy9208 , Hi there, The US is only 300 yrs old. Europe is 2000 yrs old +.
In other centuries Sweden was a power house. And the Prussian States. Poland ruled Russian Kiev. German States and then France , then England, and don’t forget Spain, or the Astro Hungarian Empire , or Nazi Germany. At this time the vassal states of the US in Europe are being pushed to spill blood in Ukraine.
As a 73 yr old Amerikanisher , this is a terrible thing the country is doing. The Ukes would have run out of bullets in the Summer, and quit, and another 60,000 Uke soldiers would be alive and another 100,000 not maimed.
@Nils Helppi NATO is a defensive treaty of willing states, it has no offensive clauses.
these areas of so-called historical russia are independent nations that do not wish to be trampled on by russia any longer, the empire is over and they do not want to re-join.
Both canada and mexico have independent militaries, the reason there is no animosity is that the united states has not made a habit of brutally oppressing and genociding its neighbors and people for generations, as the russian state has since the time of the czars.
@theguy9208 Talk is cheap. Maybe you could consider turning it around and looking at NATO invading Russia ( historic Russia ) by putting NATO trained forces right up against the borders ????? This would be the same as Russia putting Russian trained troops and weapons on the US/ Mexico and US / Canada border .
The way things are going with the US and NATO, it may be more realistic to change the name of Finland to North Ukraine.
No one ever talks about Finland's special railroad gauge... specifically designed to be incompatible with Russian gauge.
Russian railways have always been incompatible with all European railroads for over 150 years
Calm down, there is no any juicy conspiracy around this topic.
The first railroads of Finland was initiated during the era of Russian Empire......
Do I need to continue..?
if you think taking capital of russia will make any positive value for you then you are the same as Napolian,
Which you know, lost to everything after that.
Don't treat russia like france
this really shows how much russia got skewered over by just being russia
@Donnie Adams And what about the people living there? They are showing very clearly that they don't want to be a part of Russia. But I guess if "Putin wants that land back" they should just lay down their arms and surrender?
@Donnie Adams Ukraine was it's own country before it was part of Russia. Now it's ots own soverng country. It's not right to invade and take over other foreign countries. They have their own wills. Mayne if Russia hadn't invaded its neighbors and gone back on their word, they'd not be in this position. Russia can go fuck itself.
exactly, his own map and graphics show that the entire Ukraine was part of Russia for hundreds of years and was only given up at the fall of the USSR and brokered by NATO. I don't blame Putin wanting that land back just as much as I don't blame Finland for wanting their land back.
Russia invading Ukraine will prove to be one of the greatest military blunders in history.
@Mattia von Sigmund oh yes, they have advanced 2 kilometereters in 6 months. So much winning 🤣🤣🥰
@Mattia von Sigmund you haven’t been keeping up have you lol
Mabe Putin is testing the Waters, looking for a weakness
Russia finally confronting NATO after years of provocation. There you go.
Caused by the US and nato
I'm a finn, and I was arroused how greatly you managed to brief up the main sets of our history, especially explaining the 'long-border issue', which we always have had to keep in mind balancing with Russia. 🤌🏼
At the end of the video, there was some good new strategic info for me also! 😯👌🏼
I found you're channel today, via tiktok fan-channel, and omg you have so good content, thankyou!
Norway has plenty of US bases. I used to serve at one. There's also a giant radar installation up north run primarily by the US..
@Daniel V for now... But time is a bitch, and it's just a matter of time when Norway economy will be crashed by american ambitions and Norway goverment will be ready even for buttplug from USA, not talking about American Bases... They not changing schemes that working perfectly.
@Daniel V Exactly.
Letting Americans serve temporarily on explicitly Norwegian-owned bases in Norway is not the same thing as having American bases in Norway.
@Jasper Zanovich just on paper and for people, in reality there will be everything :|
@WarfarenotWarfair No, it is not.
Don't forget about an importante military base in the middle of the atlantic ocean
Wow the western countries are really working for peace and democracy in the world. We have examples every day
@Julfikar aldi if you notice, i used sarcasm and paradox
Peace for the world or peace for Western counties? Using democracy? Invasion of someone else's country? Russia and Western county is true hunger war..
I’m very grateful that you’re raising awareness on the topic. It’s important to remember - Russia has always been an aggressive, imperialistic country.
Finland just became a passageway for every other army in the world to pass into the weak boarders on the north side of Russia. Goodbye Russia!!!
I have ADHD and usually paying attention to this kinda stuff has always been a struggle for me. That said, your history/geopolitics videos consistently manage to capture and maintain my attention throughout their entirety. I don't know exactly what it is about them that's different, probably a culmination of a lot of things. The visual aides, the pacing, your clear communication and obvious passion for the subject matter, etc. All I'm saying is I'd probably have done a lot better in school growing up if more of my classes had resources like your videos at their disposal. Pease keep doing what you're doing!
This world has no love for neurodivergent people. We must create our own love.
@Stuart Fury I had a friend for five 7 before he told me he has ADHD
How do you know when someone has ADHD? They'll tell you.
Because propaganda has to be entertaining to spread
Ay another fellow ADHD here and yes, I do have to agree with you.
16:00 shouldn't the calculus be changed by Russia's inability to occupy Kiev?
@Kateřina Červenková ok
@Giga sure, though does it mean Russians intended to storm Kiev? Learn more about military tactics... I suggest that you focus on pinning down your enemy at some territory to avoid it moving units elsewhere... Btw. at that time Russians acted with gloves on...
@Kateřina Červenková there's literally a wikipedia article about 64km long Ruzzian convoy going (at least trying to) towards Kyiv
@Manzell Blakeley Russia has not intended to capture Kiev so far... Its enough I have to say to you
@Kateřina Červenková you're not talking about Jack shit. If you have something to say, say it.
In short: Russia has basically always been shit in modernwarfare, eventhough they got the numbers.
I wonder why everyone overreacts to this. Finland has been a de facto NATO member for long. Their law forbids hosting nukes (not that they are ever places closed to the enemy anyway) and Finland doesn't need to station foreign troops. Not much changes for Russia.
Only if Turkey agrees so far they donot . So how did Finland get it independence back after being invaded by Russia???
its so weird to hear current events talked about like its history set in stone and there is no ggrey within the black and white of these explanations, just goes to show that everything is never black and white and can be explained as simply as it is in videos like these, use this as an addition to other research but never just rely on these videos of massly complicated topics condensed into 30 minutes
The information in the video is propaganda. Putin was very clear that if those countries join NATO the response will be measurable to the threat . Nobody in those countries will ever be able to sleep well if they join NATO. Nobody.
@alan forster Sure, but demonizing one side whilst lauding and supplying weapons to the historically corrupt and racist other side is just a deceit too many have fallen for. I don't suppose that anyone here has heard that Russia are welcoming, feeding and housing MILLIONS of Ukrainian refugees. Far more than anywhere else.
At some point you have to take a position. Not to do so makes you an easy mark. Finland made the right choice !
The first minute of the video alone is stupidly based on assumptions. You draw lines from finland to st. petersburg and finland instantly becomes a militarily strong country? You just draw those lines as if the Russian Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command and the Western Military District are not present along those borders. The Northern Fleet JSC alone outnumbers Finland's Military! And I'm sure not everyone in Finland is happy about being dragged by NATO's stupidities.
This post is ridiculous...history has show that Finland has always resisted foreign meddling this is why Stalin left Finland alone.
Finland had always refrained from provoking war with Russia. Even after invading Russia in 1941 Finland stopped short of attacking Leningrad after getting back the territories they lost in the Finnish war.
You are ignorant ( historically ) because as long as Finland doesn't allow NATO to build an army to threaten Russia Russia will not be concerend.
The 1939 Finish invasion wasn't a " quagmire " it only delayed the Invasion by a week at the most.
The Soviets took the land to create a cushion to Leningrad and the Soviets gave land in compensation .
As events have confirmed it wasnt the Soviets that was " expansionist " it was the US and its former Colonial powers that expanded their control throughout the world in a unipolar hegemonic organization.
Finland isn't a real threat otherwise the Russians would have annexed them.
Finlands military is not technologically superior to the Russians.
The US does not even have Hypersonic missiles.
I "like" how you talk of the " Crimean Invasion" without mentioning the coup in Kiev and the well know US goal of trying to weaken Russia in a futile bid to preserve its hegemony..
And why do we act as if Russia doesn't have a legitimate right to its security?
How would the US react to a threat on its border?
So you are a propagandic idiot
Now, what would happen if Finland declared a war against Russia like tomorrow? How would it go.
Great video! Thank you for clarifying all the facts & explaining the reality of Finland and Swedens situation.
Finlands cause is Swedens cause, as true as Swedens cause is Finlands cause.🇸🇪❤🇫🇮
Probably the most detailed explanation of the Finnish and Russian conflict and how Finland has adapted. Well done!
@Nickrmt ok but my comment still stands. Imperial russia and the soviets were completely different politically.
@jepjep yes, I do. And not on a basic level but advanced. There is no such thing as ‘basic history’, dude.
@Nickrmt imperial russia from where he graduated was very different from the soviets. Do u know basic history?😂
spiderman no way home< Business as usual, the big corporations have got what they wanted, bigger military budget and more money for themselves...$$$$
@Kryzzan It's more likely that the channel didn't do much research other than a wikipedia article or three.
"Don't attribute incompetence to malice"
I loved Finland, Worked& Lived in a place called Loviisa/Lovisa/Lovisan (Fin or swede) Could never do the language but it seems everyone speaks English. Such amazing place and people x
@Moto 346 I hope we'll not check this and the war in ukraine will end without further escalation)
Why do you talk like something happened to Finland lmao
Yep and I guarantee they would Obliterate the Russians in combat..don’t mess with the Fins!
Did you really highlight Crimea as russian territory 😂😂😂
It is, at least now, there are russian laws, people etc
Keep an eye on China, their reaction could determine the escalation
China is OK with Sweden and Finland joining NATO, they haven't commented it in any way.
there is no checkmating russia. they've always been the greatest in chess. except maybe fischer :)
This analysis sounds reasonable at first sight. I'm still wondering how important is the size of the army a country has. There are other important factors such us (1) the nuclear army (eventually mentioned in the video), (2) drone army, (3) economical threatening, (4) cyberwarfare, (5) disinformation, propaganda and fake news. I think all of these should be analised separately and probably there are even more important factors to consider, too. At the end: Finland joining the NATO is bad news for Russia for sure, but I'm not sure that it's a "checkmate".
@Nils Helppi haha nonsense
It will be the end of Finland
This video is just NATO propaganda
It's just clickbait wording. I think everyone consuming social media needs to continuously remind themselves that no one is making videos out of the goodness of their hearts. There is always a reason, monetization being one, influencing public opinion being another. I see virtually no critical analysis on the motives of posters, people tend to simply jump to "agree" or "disagree", then argue like spoiled children. And every post positions something as dire end of the world drama, to trigger that dopamine rush that is critical for maximum engagement.
"Finland joining the NATO is bad news for Russia for sure"
and for everyone too... Cause Russia will use nuclear if it's feels threatened :/
And Finland joining NATO is what Putin said multiple times that NATO not a defence block, but passive aggressive block... Just think about it as someone "eating" all squares in chess game and trying to make PAT for you to forfeit... And for you defeat or PAT is synonyms (cause world of politics not working on chess rules)
Great informative video, Thanks so much for educating the masses in the history and present day relationship between Finland and Russia.
I'm sorry but if Ukraines could hold their own against russia, the Finlanders would mop the floor up with their army, no question about that.
To clear up some things: NATO cannot force a member country to host nukes, if the country doesn't want it. Finland cannot take them even in theory, because the Finnish law prevents nuclear weapons.
@dabbbles But Finland has zero reasons to host nukes. They are also never placed close to the enemy, they can reach their target from further away.
All of which can be changed in five seconds with the stroke of a pen.
Nukes are crude, dirty and obsolete anyway
Great video. I'm a kind of history buff myself and you can for sure see the bigg lines of history here. The thing is though and I made this mistake myself thinking geopolitics was a 19th century thing. It is still alive and kicking, unfortunately. Now we need to stop the Russian expansion and with it the attrocities as tortures, rapes and killing of civilians. Simply put it is a civilized world or a barbarian. Not that hard to chose.
its called helsingfors in swedish just to correct you at 2:54
Great video. Well dramatised 15Dec2022Finland
Fun fact; at the start of Covid lockdown, it turns out that Sweden (where I live) only had food supplies for approx a week (the government has an agreement with the private sector retail chains to maintain extra stocks of essentials), whereas Finland has massive storage facilities hidden away in the woods holding like three months worth of stock. All of it meticulously managed with proper FIFO procedures to ensure the products were not aged. That was pretty badass! You can shut Finland down for three months and keep everyone well fed and cared for and in Sweden, on day three we've run out of toilet paper and soap! This is of course being re-aligned now and with the added Putin factor, I'm sure prioritized.
btw my mother in law is from Karelen (Karjalen) and lived something like 3 km from the Russian border. When the Soviets invaded they of course left everything behind and took only what they could hurriedly load up on a horse cart. She and a whole lot of small kids were then shipped off as refugees to safety in Sweden.
I love how his videos are 30 minutes long but he essentially says everything important in the video (and essentially throughly summarizes all of his talking points) in the first 3 minutes.
What you miss in this video, is that you should clarify some things. Mainly the fact that even when Finland was a part of Russian empire 1809-1917, the Russian laws were not valid in Finland because Finland´s legal system from Swedish rule was still kept in use. Also during the time Finland was officially known as Grand Duchy of Finland which legally an autonomous area and was ruled by Finnish nobility but it had a governor-general appointed by the Russian Czar.
In short:
Finland was part of Russian empire but not part of Russia.
Edit: Added a word "area" which was missing
@TheNewGreenIsBlue I am not going to start a long talk about the original population of the USA.But most were destroyed on the USA developing in to one big Country
@Rotton Cotton Your God reallt cant judgment me..
So you can tell one proof?
@I R Kiev Rus was founded by Sweden? Did Sweden also dig up the Black See per chance?
@Satu Toivonen yeah, Finland hated Russia so much in 20th and 21st century, that many of them joined the Nazi in ww2 and participated in genocidal siege of Stalingrad. Freedom built on blood and suffering, congratulations, i guess.
@Rotton Cotton if its required for object to have creator, who created god then?
So Finland 🇫🇮 was a third world country until now.
Kinda wish ruzzia would try to invade Finland just so the russkis can get curb stomped... again.
The Poseidon torpedo would not generate a mega tsunami, or even a regular one. It is just Russia propaganda, much like their theory of nuking Yellowstone. Underwater detonations have been tested and they have very little effect. Even a 100mt device wouldn't cut it. The best use for the poseidon would be to be detonated very close to a port or naval facility.