What is Finland scarred of?

I read the heading this morning, which literally translates "What Russian scares", as I left a hotel in Senajoki. What should Finland be scarred of? is what it means; along side a picture of Putin I can think of a few things. Finnish history with Russia, although it was not a Soviet state was still a very sensitive one. Finland to this day is still not a member of NATO because of Russia influence and power hold over Finland. Specifically the city where I live, Helsinki, has burned to the ground twice because of Russian invasion. You may not know a lot about Finnish history but Finland is a relatively new country, gaining independence only in 1917 and was previously under Russian rule. Finland has been the battle ground for Sweden and Russia and after WWII Finland owed war reparations to Russia for aiding Germany.

What is significant about this is that many of the people surrounding Putin are in favor of a return to Cold War times and also a rebuilding of the Soviet Union. This may sound ridiculous at first but it is actually very real. I spent the weekend with my family and their friends, and their feelings towards Russia are strong. Today is the referendum of Crimea and the results will have significant impact on the world. Finland is also a territory that has historically been important to Russia and Finns are well aware of the danger of the situation now that Russia has invaded Ukraine. US troops have been training in Lapland previously but now papers say UN troops are on there way to train in the freezing temperatures of northern Finland.

I can only hope that we do enter another war, but living in the country that borders Russia, people are not so hopeful. I will definitely being following news on Russia's actions.

<3 Danie