As Russian threat looms, weapons and defense training expand in Finland

KERAVA, Finland — Destabilized by Russian expansionism and emboldened by its recent NATO membership, Finland is mobilizing to strengthen its national self-defense beyond its traditional military capabilities.

The popularity of weapons training in the Nordic country has soared in recent months. Few places tell the story of Finns’ growing affinity for self-defense better than shooting ranges that are experiencing a resurgence of interest.

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 and partly explains the ballistic frenzy.

The Vantaa Reservists’ Association, which operates a shooting range in a warehouse formerly 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 of 2,100 members.

“They have something in their head that tells them this is the skill I need to learn now,” said association president Antti Kettunen, standing among 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 shooting ranges, a huge jump from the 670 in operation today.

Authorities are encouraging citizens to take an interest in national defense in this country that borders 1,340 kilometers with Russia, where shooting ice hockey is more of a pastime than shooting balls.

“Interest in national defense is traditionally very high in Finland and, especially these days, with Russian aggression against Ukraine, interest has increased even more,” he told the AP earlier in December MP Jukka Kopra, who chairs the Finnish defense committee.

Inspired largely by concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland last year became the 31st member of the NATO military alliance. Sweden, its western neighbor, followed suit in March. Both countries announced plans to strengthen their civil defense strategies last month, without mentioning Russia by name.

The rise of 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 from three years ago.

The National Reservists Association, made up of about 90 percent military reservists but also some amateurs, has grown by more than two-thirds to more than 50,000 members since the invasion of Ukraine.

And unlike some other European countries, Finland has retained around 50,000 Cold War-era civil defense shelters, which could accommodate around 85% of the population of around 5.5 million.

“This is the new era of civil defense shelters, countering the latest developments in war,” said Tomi Rask of the Helsinki rescue service during a recent visit to a civilian shelter. capital. “We know that all of our neighbors have the capacity to harm us, to harm our citizens, and we believe we must prepare.

Wearing camouflage clothing at the Kerava Shooting Range, military reservists and gun enthusiasts fight their way through an obstacle course, sometimes opening fire with Glock stun handguns against targets in human form.

“Some people do this just for fun,” said Miikka Kallio, a 38-year-old firefighter. “Some may be doing it because of our eastern neighbor: I’ve 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 while fighting its eastern neighbor – gaining independence from the Russian Empire in 1917 and then repelling a significant Soviet force with its small, poorly equipped army in what became known as the Winter War at the start of World War II.

Kettunen said learning to shoot guns is a lot like learning to swim: Both require training and preparation.

“When you need to know how to shoot or swim and you don’t know it, it’s too late,” he said.