KERAVA, Finland (AP) — Unsettled by Russian expansionism and emboldened by its recent accession to NATO, Finland is pushing to strengthen its national self-defense beyond its traditional military capabilities.
The popularity of weapons training in the Scandinavian country has soared in recent months. Few places tell the story of Finland’s increasing affinity for self-defense more than shooting ranges that are in the spotlight.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine – another major Russian neighbor – in February 2022 continues to resonate in many Finnish minds, partly explaining the ballistics binge.
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The Vantaa Reservist Association, which operates a shooting range in a warehouse once used to make sex toys, in Kerava, north of Helsinki, has more than doubled its membership in the past two years and now has more than 2,100 members.
“They have something in the back of their minds that says this is the skill I need to learn now,” said association president Antti Kettunen, standing among the bullet-riddled targets. “I think the wind has changed, now it’s blowing from the east.”
Earlier this year, the coalition government announced plans to open more than 300 new sites – a big jump from the 670 in operation today.
Authorities are encouraging citizens to take an interest in national defense in the country with a 1,340 kilometer border with Russia, where firing shots in ice hockey is more of a pastime than shooting bullets.
“Interest in national defense has traditionally been very high in Finland and especially nowadays, with Russian aggression against Ukraine, interest has increased even more,” lawmaker Jukka Kopra, chairman of the Finnish Defense Commission, told AP earlier in December.
Largely inspired by concerns about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland became the 31st member of the NATO military alliance last year. Western neighbor Sweden followed suit in March. The two countries announced plans last month to strengthen their civil defense strategies, without mentioning Russia by name.
The increase in self-defense strategies doesn’t stop at shooting ranges.
The National Defense Training Association says it has conducted a total of 120,000 training days this year, more than double the number three years ago.
The national reservist association, which consists of about 90% military reservists but also some hobbyists, has grown by more than two-thirds since the invasion of Ukraine to more than 50,000 members.
And unlike some other European countries, Finland has retained about 50,000 Cold War civil protection shelters, which could accommodate roughly 85% of its population of about 5.5 million people.
“This is the new era of civil protection shelters, which is at odds with the latest war developments,” said Tomi Rask of the Helsinki Rescue Services, during a recent tour of a shelter in the capital. “We know that all of our neighbors have the capacity to harm us, to harm our citizens, and we think we need to prepare.”
Camouflaged at the Kerava shooting range, military reservists and firearms hobbyists bob and weave their way through an obstacle course, sometimes opening fire with deafening Glock pistols at human-shaped targets.
“Some people just do this for fun,” said member Miikka Kallio, a 38-year-old firefighter. “Some may (do) because of our eastern neighbor: I have heard comments that they joined the reserves because of the Russian attack (on Ukraine).”
Finland is no stranger to tensions with Russia and much of the country’s national identity was forged in the struggle against its eastern neighbor – it gained independence from the Russian empire in 1917 and subsequently defended a large Soviet power with its small, poorly equipped army. became known as the Winter War at the start of World War II.
Kettunen said learning to shoot guns is a bit like learning to swim: Both require training and preparation.
“If you need to know how to shoot or swim and you can’t, it’s too late,” he said.
