In Finland and across the world, the economic, political, geopolitical and military situations are in a state of extreme turbulence. Such periods were observed in the past prior to revolutions, counter-revolutions and major wars. The rise of the far-right, militarism - including the overbearing presence of NATO in our everyday life-, rampant racism, and the continuous erosion of the rights of the working population and dismissal of its interests are just a few expressions of this. Certain trade unions in Finland now consider general strike to be an old-fashioned measure, perfect expression of how much of a neutered and toothless institution they have become. There is practically no opposition to the reactionary government, especially after the entire left supported joining NATO. The Defense Cooperation Agreement binds bourgeois Finland’s army to the US military forces as its auxiliary force. Last but not the least, the fact that Finnish soldiers and equipment (airplanes) are involved in NATO's nuclear weapons exercises must be mentioned.
The unemployed, students, families with children, the sick, pensioners and other low-income people will suffer the most from the implementation of the upcoming budget in Finland. After budgetary cuts to the tune of 9 billion euros, the 88.1 billion euro budget still has a deficit of 12.2 billion euros. The deficit is covered by debt. The cuts were justified in order to balance the budget and in order to reduce the debt. The creation of tens of thousands of new jobs is yet another unfulfilled promise. In reality, the debt is growíng to twenty billion euros and unemployment skyrockets. NATO membership alone increases costs from 33 million to 100 million. The war in Ukraine has cost three billion with more to come. Finland's credit rating may soon drop. In addition to indebtedness, the country also suffers from a lack of political stability. The joint debt proposed by Draghi is rejected in Finland, which strengthens the centrifugal forces in the EU.
The miserable state of the Finnish economy is cotemporal the recession in Germany, its most important trading partner. Economist Harry S. Dent doesn't mince his words: there are "multigenerational" bubbles in the US economy. And it has been inflated for the last 17 years. Its purpose has been to prevent the total collapse of the economy after the collapse of 2007-08. Since 2008, 27 trillion dollars have been pumped into the economy of the United States, of which 11 trillion have been pumped during covid. This is the largest stimulus injection in US history. It should have stimulated the economy much more than the meager growth of 2.3%. Currently, the US debt is approaching 40 trillion dollars and inflation is at 10%. According to the same economist, a collapse the likes of which has not been seen in history is coming soon.
War
Today, militarism and economy walk side by side and hand in hand. After the latest economic collapse, Draghi had coined the phrase "Whatever it takes", i.e. we will do whatever it takes. At that time, the interest rate had at times been expressed with a minus sign and money had been pumped into member states' banks. It still did not revive the economy. Inflation began to increase rapidly, which reduced purchasing power and created a recession. Now we are investing people's income in the war. Draghi’s recovery plans were reduced to debt collection through “joint debt” and “whatever it takes” turned into “Victory for Ukraine, as long as it takes”. And in Blinken's words, "This is the bottom line: We want Ukraine to win". This message clearly describes what the goal of the US is in this war.
The plans devised by Brzezinski and Nuland to crush Russia already started and will continue despite the fact that the military readiness of the imperialist NATO is not at the level of Russia. The counter-revolution that began in 1991 cannot be left unfinished. Its "completion" includes the dismemberment of Russia (and also China) and the absorption of its parts. More of the same Blinken-like rhetoric has been on display. Salonius - Pasternak of the Finnish Foreign Policy Institute says that "Reservists should commit to being in good shape, mentally and physically, by the beginning of 2025. Household goods, food, medicines and water should be put in order today. This is not a dystopia, but a reasonable preparation". Richard Shirreff, former deputy commander of NATO's forces in Europe, is convinced that a direct Russian attack on Finland is possible. The General asserts plainly NATO's plans for Finland. Other NATO countries also have to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Everyone must return to standby, according to the warhawk general. And Richard Shirreff adds: "The only way to achieve security in the North Atlantic region is to DEFEAT Russia, create deterrence, get Ukraine into NATO and then have a proper defense".
This is a proxy war in which Ukraine suffered on behalf of the US and the war-torn country continues to follow the interests of the Yankees. Even a lost war cannot end until the last Ukrainian soldier has fallen. First came Angela Merkel to admit that the two Minsk agreements have been deliberately violated during the 2014-2022 civil war in Ukraine. The agreements were signed merely because the Ukrainian military needed time to prepare for the upcoming war. Among the countless lies, sometimes the bourgeois are struck by the honest need to confess their "sins". Another war-hawk, the former US Deputy Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, was "guilty" of a similar confession. She planned the Maidan coup in 2014 and possibly the Odessa massacre on May 2, 2015. So Nuland (1) confessed at the beginning of the war, at a time when Russia's victory was already visible, that the Biden government forbade the Kiev government from signing a cease-fire agreement with Russia. The destiny of Ukraine was then in Nuland's hands. The ban was brought to Zelensky by then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. When the reporter asked, what about Europe? Shouldn't the opinion of the EU countries be asked? Nuland replied: "Fuck the EU". After that, the shameless politician is called "Fuck the EU" - Nuland.
Provocations
Russia has new "red lines" and doctrines. Russian daily newspaper Kommersant wrote that the use of long-range weapons would mean a total war between Russia and NATO countries. So it would be the third world war between Russia and the US/EU. Otherwise, Ukraine carries out daily attacks with unmanned aerial vehicles or other means. It takes place with the support of 54 countries and guided and assisted by American space intelligence. According to unconfirmed information, the paramilitary Rusitš group is patrolling near the Finnish border in cooperation with the Russian border guard.
In October, Finland will participate in a NATO exercise involving (unconfirmed) tactical nuclear weapons for the first time. Finland participates with Hornet fighters, as stated in the KeyAero publication. The exercises are held in the airspace of Great Britain, Holland, Belgium and Denmark. German airports are also used in the exercise called Steadfast Noon.
Provocations of this magnitude used to be few and far inbetween but are now commonplace, the alarm bells ring frequently. When the Russian fighter flew without a flight plan and a transponder, Eurofighter planes immediately took off from Lielvarde base in Latvia. A TU-142 Flanker-H submarine (submarine hunter) was also located similarly. According to NATO, in 2023, 300 Russian destroyers were deployed, most of them in the Baltic Sea region.
And the confessions continue. Helsingin Sanomat "knows" that the September 11 attacks in 2001 were mistakenly considered a focus point of the foreign and security policy in the fight against terrorism. The effects of this mistake reportedly did not help to prepare for the real major security risks of this decade. Does Hesari mean that then, just ten years after the collapse of the USSR, the West would have been justified in directing all its energies to the war against Russia? Many bourgeois researchers have argued that when Russia was still economically weak and politically unstable, it should have been finished "at home". On the one hand, it makes sense, but on the other hand, it tells about the real intentions of imperialism. We (the Trotskyists) wrote in the 1990s that Belgrade was the target of the bombing of Yugoslavia, but the real coordinates were set to Moscow. Now this fact is plain to see.
Finland's security of supply lines has to be thought about every time one thinks about NATO’s possible attack against Russia from the North. Merenkurku's (the shortest point between Finland and Sweden) fixed connection has been outlined well in advance, that it is in the government program. Umeå and Vaasa merge. Engineering firm WSP received permission to investigate the task.
On Wednesday (September 11), the Russian media was buzzing about the drone strike in the Murmansk (2) region. The media got Finland involved in this coverage as well. The defense forces denied Finland's participation in the attacks. It is approximately 1500 kilometers from Ukraine to Murmansk. Fixed-wing drones equipped with a combustion engine are capable of such a long range. The Russian army participates in joint naval and air force exercises with China. The exercises extend to the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. Two Russian warships arrived in Zhanjiang to take part in a naval military exercise. Russian and Chinese ships are now patrolling the Pacific. If Russia patrols the Pacific, then China also patrols near the Baltic Sea. In July, China and Belarus organized joint military exercises on Belarusian soil, very close to the NATO country's border. The military exercises between Russia, Belarus and China therefore extend from the Baltic Sea to the Sea of Japan.