A quite different Putin than almost 25 years ago will be elected president of Russia this weekend.
In 2005, Putin still managed to arrive with a flower delivery to meet the then president of Finland, Tarja Halo. The same would not be seen today. DMITRY ASTAKHOV/IZVESTIA
Elections will be held in Russia this weekend, the result of which has been considered clear: Vladimir Putin is elected for his fifth term.
Today, however, Russia is led by a quite different president than almost 25 years ago, when he first took up his post.
Researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Kristiina Silvan previously assessed to Iltalehti that in the early 2000s Russia was a “rising star” on the world stage, seen as a good and reliable partner both in the Soviet republics and in the West. The country’s economy was growing, and the state was integrating into international and European organizations. Great developments were also noticeable in the country’s democracy at that time.
Around this time, the relations with the president of Finland who had just started in his position as well Tarja Halonen were good. At first, Putin and Halonen met annually, sometimes more often.
Halonen even described Putin as his friend.
The story continues after the pictures.
During Halonen’s tenure, relations between the presidents of Finland and Russia were described as familiar. YURI KOCHETKOV
Putin and Halonen frolicked at the Finnish president’s summer residence in Kultaranta in September 2001. ANATOLY MALTSEV
Halonen also visited Russia at Putin’s request. The two sipped Mordovia’s national drink in the Russian republic in 2007. RIA NOVOSTI / KREMLIN / POOL
The annexation of Crimea electrified the spaces
The good relations between the presidents of Finland and Russia always continued Sauli Niinistön until the beginning of the first presidential term. In the years 2008–2012, Putin’s place at the head of the country was filled by Dmitri Medvedev, who was also known for his warm relations with Halo.
In 2012, Putin returned to the presidency, and Niinistö started his first term in Finland. At the first meeting of the presidents, the two were immortalized in brotherly relations in the hockey rink located on the Karelian Isthmus.
The story continues after the pictures.
Niinistö’s first meeting with Putin in 2012 ended with a hockey match where Niinistö and Putin played on the same side. Office of the President of the Republic
The good relationship between Niinistö and Putin was also told in 2013 by the meeting between Niinistö’s mother, Hilkka Niinistö, and the President of Russia. ALEXEI NIKOLSKY / RIA NOVOSTI /
The first real change in the relations between Finland and Russia was only seen in 2014, with the annexation of the Crimean peninsula belonging to Ukraine.
of Finland’s former ambassador to Moscow Hannu Himanen however, even at that time, the events did not essentially ruin the relations between Finland and Russia. However, the situation led to a clear electrification of the communication between the presidents.
Officially good relations remained, however, for years. In 2018, the decision to host Putin and the President of the United States spoke of the trust shown in Finland Donald Trump’s top meeting in Helsinki.
The story continues after the pictures.
Friendly relations cooled after the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 at the latest. Relations were still officially good for a long time. Photo from 2019. Antti Mannermaa
The visit of Putin and Donald Trump was organized in the summer of 2018 in Helsinki. It is estimated that Finland’s good relations with both the east and the west influenced the decision on the meeting place. Kremlin Pool / Alamy Stock Photo
In 2021, the situation at the Ukrainian border had significantly tightened, and the Finnish president also expressed his concern about the matter to Putin. MIKHAEL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK/KREML
Enemy from Finland
In autumn 2021, the situation had turned upside down with the tightening of the situation in Ukraine.
The last telephone conversation between the presidents of Finland and Russia took place in May 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine in February. During the call, Niinistö announced that Finland will soon apply for NATO membership.
Since then, Finland has been painted as an enemy in Russia as part of the “West” and NATO. The situation on Finland’s eastern border has tightened, and the Russian leadership’s threats of nuclear weapons are almost commonplace after the war.
With the war in Ukraine, Putin has declared that he believes there will be problems with Finland as well. Stella Pictures, AOP
In December 2023, Putin took a stance on Russian-Finnish relations on the Russian television channel Rossiya-1, and said that he believed “there will be problems with Finland” due to the recent NATO membership.
Recently, Putin has also threatened that Russia will strengthen its armed forces on its western border. In a televised interview in March 2024, Putin said he would move troops to the Finnish border.
– We haven’t had troops (at the Finnish border), but now there will be. There have been no weapon systems there, there will be in the future, he stated in an interview on the Rossija-1 channel.
In March 2024, Putin warned that Russia would respond to Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership by strengthening its armed forces on its western border. Stella Pictures
However, several experts have pointed out that currently Russia’s resources are tied up in Ukraine. Concrete actions in the areas beyond the Finnish border are therefore hardly to be expected in the near future.
Despite the improvement, Finland’s relations with Russia are still not in Putin’s fifth term. After Sunday’s election, the dictator is expected to remain in power at least until 2030.
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