Helsinki--After 25 years of tranquil post Cold War relations, Finns are once again worried about the threat posed by their resurgent eastern neighbour Russia, though they remain firmly opposed to joining NATO.
The issue has been on everybody's lips since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine last year, but despite the tangible concern, the question of NATO membership has been broadly avoided in political debates ahead of Sunday's legislative elections.
"Security is surprisingly absent in the election debates. Finns have discussed security issues quite intensively in the media, especially the conflict in Ukraine and Russia's behaviour, but (the issue has been) avoided in the debates," Helsinki University political history professor Juhana Aunesluoma told AFP.
"People are clearly concerned about it but they seem to stand behind the government consensus right now, which is to stick with EU policy to strengthen collaboration with NATO within existing agreements," he added.
"It's more like people think about it long-term. Maybe one day Finnish security policy will have to change but they don't see that a change would be imminent," Aunesluoma said.
The Nordic country of 5.5 million inhabitants shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia.
Finland's military non-alignment is seen as an important tool for maintaining good relations with its powerful neighbour.
The two countries waged a horrific war in 1939-1940, still fresh in the minds of Finland's oldest generation.
For decades during the Cold War, when it was strategically positioned between East and West, Finland's uncritical stance towards the Soviet Union allowed it to access a vast market while trading extensively with the West.
Helsinki has however aligned itself with the West after the fall of the Soviet Union, joining the EU in 1995 and inching closer to NATO.
It is part of NATO's Partnership for Peace programme, and has for example participated in the Alliance's ISAF operation in Afghanistan.
AFP
