It has been ranked, for the eighth year in a row, the world’s happiest country, according to the ‘World Happiness Report 2025’. It is the country of Saunas, Nokia, Kone, Finlandia, Angry Birds, Moomins, Sibelius, Formula 1 Champions (Raikkonen, Hakkinen, Rosberg), Eric Tigerstedt (inventor of sound in films), Linus Torvalds (Linux), and arguably, the ancestral home of “The Aryans” around the Tankavaara/Saariselka area of Lapland!
This country, Finland, that shares a 1,300km border with Russia, with a population of only around 5.6 million, approximately a third that of Delhi, yet has a very major, ‘outsized’, influence on western and indeed global responses to the issues relating to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine!
The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, according to the UK daily The Guardian has “emerged as a key player in recent months, forging a close relationship with President Trump, through rounds (including a marathon one of seven hours) of golf”.
Significantly, President Stubb has gone on to state that there is very little chance of bringing President Putin to the negotiating table. The Guardian quotes him as saying, “This war is too big for him (Putin) to lose. He has made probably the biggest strategic mistake in recent history, certainly since the end of the Cold War, and he has failed in all his strategic aims.”
Not surprisingly, President Stubb of Finland was invited to the recent G20 summit in Johannesburg as a ‘special guest’. At this meeting, Stubb called the initial 28-point US peace proposal for Ukraine (in which Finland was mentioned in a special annexure, clearly reflecting Finland’s strong standing, especially within NATO) ‘incomplete and contradictory’.
In the President of Finland’s own words, “That is why, together with our allies, we have spent the past 48 hours reworking the proposal.” The current ‘revised proposal’, it is believed, is largely a result of Finland’s intervention.
Late in August 2025, the Finnish President also held extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and amongst other subjects, the Ukraine conflict was discussed at length.
Both countries agreed that “a just and lasting solution was required to Russia’s war in Ukraine”! The Finnish leader, according to The Mint, “underscored India’s influence in global diplomacy, stressing that it is heard and respected in the South, West and East.”
Most importantly, President Stubb reportedly warned the West, especially the United States, that “it risks ‘losing the game’ to the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation if it does not adopt a more respectful and co-operative approach when it comes to foreign policy in the Global South, particularly towards countries like India.”
To understand this ‘outsized’ clout of little Finland, perhaps we need to go back into the Military History of 1939. To quote from a recent article in The Economist, “The Tyrant in the Kremlin claimed it (Finland) as within his sphere of influence, and demanded an unequal land swap. When it was rejected, he staged a false-flag operation and then invaded, expecting to take the capital (Helsinki) in two weeks.” How mistaken Joseph Stalin was!
Little Finland, with a population of only about 4 million, in one of the most extraordinary and dramatic annals of modern-day military warfare, over the course of about 100 days starting November 30, 1939, inflicted a massive routing of the overwhelming Soviet forces in what is now termed as Finland’s ‘Winter War’.
An estimated Soviet assault force strength of about 600,000, along with massive tank armour and well-trained artillery and air force support, was routed by Finland’s heavily outnumbered ‘citizen army’ of 250,000 with only a handful of tanks, little artillery and virtually no Air Force.
The Finnish forces, under the extraordinary command of General Carl Mannerheim, inflicted over 200,000 casualties on the invading Soviet Army against a loss of 25,000 Finnish soldiers. Just one Finnish army sniper, from their extraordinary ski-mounted troops (‘The White Lightning’), Simo Hayha, nicknamed ‘The White Death’, accounted for over 500 Soviet Army ‘kills’! The Finnish Army is the last to defeat a Russian/Soviet Army in war!
It was an extraordinary demonstration of ‘Sisu’, the difficult to describe, Finnish concept of bravery, tenacity, determination and most of all resilience while facing absolute adversity! In 2022, the movie SISU, and in 2025, SISU: Road to Revenge, have tried to capture this Finnish concept.
It is coming from this background that President Stubb could emphatically tell President Trump, “We might come from a small country, but we have a long border with Russia. We found a solution then, and I’m sure we will be able to find a solution now!”
The author is a writer of military history and technology.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.