Thread by @Virkki5

1/ #Ukraine, #Finlandization, and @EmmanuelMacron:

Unlike any other Finns, I do not take the word as an offense per se. Dirty & immoral phenomena were part of our Cold War history & political life, but it was also a story of survival. The two main narratives on Finlandization.

2/ Before the WWII, there was virtually no Russian presence in Finland. Economic ties were almost non-existent and our counterespionage acted efficiently (in most cases). After the war, gradual appeasement under direct, continuous military threat was selected as the FP line.

3/ Despite the starting point, in 1980s the whole society was corrupted by assets of USSR intelligence and the Soviet trade dominated political solutions. I am waiting for @RusiAlpo 's new book on the issue (we should definitely get an English translation).

4/ In Ukraine (2014) it was exactly the Russian-backed oligarchy & corruption the people resisted.

During the market economy v. communism dichotomy Finland was able to distinguish geopolitics from systemic/ideological factors, doing little favors for Moscow otherwise.

5/ In Ukraine, this distinction is impossible because the systemic and geopolitical elements are too intertwined and essential for the people.

In addition, in terms of Russia presence & corruption, Ukrainians started from a far worse position in 2014 than Finns in 1944/-47.

6/ As I recently commented to @cjcmichel, the Revolution of Dignity (2014) actually created a new global pardigm, hitting simultaneously to post-Soviet autocracy, oligarchic kleptocacy, and Western crony capitalism, all very much interdependent and resisted in Kyiv.

7/ Finally, as noted by @FHeisbourg, Macron did not suggest Finlandization for Ukraine, but seems to have explained different points of discussion more of less present in the public discourse.

However, @alexstubb is also right: in 2022, the concept is very anachronistic.