Russia, Ukraine, and Finland’s NATO Membership

On the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a report in the Economist detailed a frenetic effort underway in Western capitals to avert disaster. In one of his many pre-war meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin reportedly proposed a solution to the crisis he had inaugurated: the “Finlandization” of Ukraine.

Given Putin’s obsession with reconstituting the former Soviet Union by every available means, it’s unsurprising that his mind would be drawn to this defunct Cold War–era concept. “Finlandization” describes the status assumed by Finland following the 1939–40 Winter War, in which the Finns managed to briefly fend off the Soviet advance before their defensive lines were overrun. In the end, Helsinki was compelled to surrender 11 percent of its territory to the USSR, legalize its local Communist Party, and, eventually, consent to neutrality in the contest between the superpowers.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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On the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a report in the Economist detailed a frenetic effort underway in Western capitals to avert disaster. In one of his many pre-war meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin reportedly proposed a solution to the crisis he had inaugurated: the “Finlandization” of Ukraine.

Given Putin’s obsession with reconstituting the former Soviet Union by every available means, it’s unsurprising that his mind would be drawn to this defunct Cold War–era concept. “Finlandization” describes the status assumed by Finland following the 1939–40 Winter War, in which the Finns managed to briefly fend off the Soviet advance before their defensive lines were overrun. In the end, Helsinki was compelled to surrender 11 percent of its territory to the USSR, legalize its local Communist Party, and, eventually, consent to neutrality in the contest between the superpowers.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.