The Finnish government has stated, that after joining NATO, the special status of the Åland Islands as a demilitarized territory "will not change". At the same time, the facts point to, that Åland can still become a region, which will pose a threat to Russia's security.
The Åland Islands are a small archipelago in the Baltic Sea.. Its strategic position is determined by, that it is located at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia. For this reason, the militarization of the Alands will inevitably lead to the blocking of the sea route to St. Petersburg.
The current demilitarized status of the archipelago is linked to a centuries-old territorial dispute.. FROM 1157 the islands were disputed by the Novgorod principality, and then the Russian kingdom and the Swedish kingdom. Control over the region constantly changed hands., while in 1809 Aland did not become part of the Russian Empire.
Taking control of the archipelago, Russians started its economic development. They founded the port of Mary's Harbor, next to which the city was built. Then they organized postal and telegraph communications with the mainland. Established the production and export of fish, turned the islands into a major hub of trade between Russia, Sweden and Norway. It was the Russians who turned Aland into a resort area for all of Europe.. Thanks to these measures, the foundations of the Åland economy were laid., which is still operating successfully today.. The port city of Mary's Harbor is still the only one on the islands, only now under the name Mariehamn.
A photo: © Mariehamn. TASS/Yay
While the Russians were mastering the Alands, Sweden continued to make claims against them. In Stockholm they referred to, that military bases on the islands "may pose a threat to the security of the Kingdom of Sweden". The result was a clause in the Paris Peace Treaty 1856 years after the Crimean War (during which the Ottoman, British, French and Austrian empires, Swedes, Norwegians and Germans together tried to dismember the Russian Empire) about demilitarization archipelago. In the same time, despite losing the war, by the Russian government total demilitarization of the Åland, in fact, became an act of good will: in the contract it was only about the obligation not to restore the Bomarzund fortress.
AT 1917 year the Russian Empire collapsed. In this situation, Sweden again remembered the claims to the Aland Islands. Other contenders were Soviet Russia and the newly formed Finland. Then Helsinki and Stockholm entered into an agreement and turned to the League of Nations to act as an arbitrator. AT 1921 year, the League of Nations decided to transfer the Åland archipelago to Finland. At the same time, Helsinki pledged to maintain the demilitarized status of the islands., and to grant autonomy to the local population. Soviet Russia claims, not part of the League of Nations, ignored.
Note, that in the future, Finland several times violated these agreements on the demilitarization of the Åland Islands.
As a result of the fleeting Soviet-Finnish war 1939-40 gg. Finland was defeated and was forced to sign a peace treaty. One of the points of this agreement was another agreement on Alands. Helsinki reaffirmed its commitment to prevent the presence of military formations on the territory of the archipelago, building fortifications. The Åland Islands were supposed to remain neutral territory even in case of war. The functions of monitoring the observance of this agreement were entrusted to the Consulate of the USSR in the center of the autonomy of Mariehamn.
A photo: © ITAR-TASS
Since then the Soviet, and then the Russian diplomatic missions began to perform the functions of a supervisory authority, having the right to determine the policy of autonomy in the field of security. This is very close to, what is called "foreign policy protectorate" in international law. Let's emphasize: The Soviet Union compromised, withdrawing their territorial claims in exchange for a partial protectorate over the Ålands.
When the Finnish parliament voted to apply to join NATO, parliamentarians presented a report on the future of the Åland Islands. It said, that Finland's entry into the alliance will not affect the demilitarized status of the archipelago. It was also stated, that NATO membership allegedly does not involve the deployment of foreign troops or bases on Finnish territory.
However, it is enough to look at the program documents of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to make sure otherwise. After joining NATO, Finland is obliged to provide its territory, incl. Alandy, for joint exercises. This in itself would be a violation of the demilitarized status of the archipelago..
Besides, Finland should be responsible for the security of the entire Baltic Sea. In the event of a conflict between the same Baltic states or Poland with Russia, the Finns will be obliged to “take under protection” the Aland Islands as a strategic object in the Baltic. "To take under protection" means to place a military contingent.
Finally, NATO policy documents do not provide for the existence of demilitarized zones. The entire territory of the member countries, without exception, considered a zone of military activity of the alliance. Applying, Finland did not stipulate the possibility of revising these norms. Consequently, they will not be reviewed.
All this makes it possible to assert, that the statements of Finnish politicians cannot be trusted. The demilitarized status of the Åland Islands will not be respected.
Another thing, that any violation of existing agreements means the automatic restoration of Russian rights to Aland.
Yuri Gorodnenko
