Finland starts construction of Russia border fence

[jgo]

Source: BBC News

Finland has begun constructing a 200km (124 mile) fence on its border with Russia to boost security.

The Border Guard said it will be 3m (10ft) tall with barbed wire on top.

Finland shares the longest European Union border with Russia, at 1,340km (832 miles). At present, Finland's borders are secured primarily by light wooden fences.

Finland decided to build the fence due to a rise in Russians seeking to escape conscription to fight in Ukraine.



Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64802457?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

[maxsolomon]

1. I'd imagine that's bad for Reindeer

and other wildlife, at a minimum.

IDK why Finland would want to stop Russians fleeing conscription.

[Earthrise]

3. The Finns and Russians have history: Russia "annexed" Karelia, a big chunk of Finland in 39-40

Russia initially offered to take over the entire country, but when Finland refused, the Soviets labeled Finland a fascist state and invaded the country. Military conflict broke out, and after a 105-day war Finland "partly ceded" Karelia to the Soviet Union, and Russians flowed in. Hundreds of thousands of Russians now live in Karelia, which is Russian territory.

Currently, 70,000 Russians live in Finland proper. The Finns are intolerant of those Russians and vice versa. They probably figure that the current intolerance will only worsen if more Russians come.

Why Finnland has 54,000 Nuclear Bunkers

Karelia is a historical province of Finland which Finland partly ceded to the Soviet Union after the Winter War of 1939–40. The Finnish Karelians include the present-day inhabitants of North and South Karelia and the still-surviving evacuees from the ceded territories. Present-day Finnish Karelia has 315,000 inhabitants. The more than 400,000 evacuees from the ceded territories re-settled in various parts of Finland.

Wiki on Karelia
Wiki

[maxsolomon]

5. Yes, "Finlandization".

And the Kaliningrad exclave that used to be Konigsberg that was taken as a prize after WW2.

Russia's Imperialism has sucked for quite a long time.

[Earthrise]

12. I hate to admit it, but the saying that "Most people in the world learn geography in school,"

(or words to that effect), but Americans learn when they go to war in a particular part of the world seems to be true for me.

I've got to read more broadly.

[BigmanPigman]

2. I wonder how many have fled Russia in the past year.

There must be an awfully large amount for Finland to take this step.

[Tetrachloride]

4. I know one conscription refugee somewhat more than 394 cubits from me

westward escape route is not recommended, he implied

[BlueManiac]

6. The Finns

have dealt with the Russians before and sent them packing. They will do it again if needed.

[Warpy]

7. Poland has been puting anti tank "hedgehogs" along its borders with Russia

and Kaliningrad. The Russians have made their plans known and the rest of western Europe is starting to prepare. Even if Russia has to take a couple of decades to regroup, everybody knows what's coming. The Ukraine war has given them a stark reminder: even when cities aren't razed, the Russians move in with informants, secret police, and all the abuses that go with them.

I hope it never happens. I understand the need for preparations.

[BlueSky3]

8. I had a friend from Finland who

told me that the Finnish school children had been made to learn Russian at various times in Finnish history. There’s definitely some sadness and resentment there.

[FakeNoose]

9. Let the fleeing Russians follow the correct procedure

I can totally understand why the Finns are doing this. The fleeing Russians need to be counted on the record. If they really want to ask for asylum, let it be done legally.

Finland needs to do this, otherwise they won't be allowed into NATO.

[republianmushroom]

10. This will PO, Putin.

[ancianita]

11. I wanted to know what it might look like, and it's something taller than this pilot section.

Here's a report on the plan from, I think, the Finland border guard.
https://raja.fi/en/the-eastern-border-barrier-fence

This was on Twitter. Not sure how much of that border is under new construction, but they plan to have their new border up by summer of 2023. At least it looks as if they'll have a screening system in place along with it. You never can trust that FSB infiltrators wouldn't be among so-called Russian refugees.