The Kremlin is intensifying disinformation efforts, reviving imperial narratives about Finland that mirror those used to justify Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, warns the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). According to the think tank, Moscow is crafting a propaganda framework that could be used to support future aggression against NATO members, including Finland and the Baltic states.
In a March 13 interview with the Russian national security magazine National Defense, Nikolai Patrushev—a top adviser to President Vladimir Putin and former secretary of Russia’s Security Council—claimed that “Finland was part of the Russian Empire” and asserted that the empire “respected and protected” the Finnish people and their language.
Patrushev accused the West of turning Finland into a “springboard for aggression against Russia,” and alleged that while Finnish authorities are hostile to Moscow, the Finnish people themselves are more sympathetic to Russia.
He further claimed that the UK is pressuring Finland to surrender its sovereignty, portraying Western alliances as exploitative and destabilizing. These comments, according to ISW, are part of a broader effort by the Kremlin to reshape historical narratives and undermine trust in NATO and Western institutions.
Analysts warn that this rhetoric, if left unchecked, could lay the groundwork for hybrid warfare tactics or escalated hostilities in the region.
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