A Letter From Finland

They understand that if Russia is victorious in crushing Ukraine, the next war is inevitable.

by Stuart Stevens

A couple of days ago, I was in a tiny town above the Arctic Circle in Finland in search of a place to work out. The town's website said there was a gym in the municipal building. The price was 40 Euro, which struck me as high, until I realized it was 40 Euro for a year.

I rode my bike to the building, not far from where I was staying on the Tornio River that divides Sweden and Finland. The office was closed, and as I was about to leave, a group of sweaty women in workout clothes emerged from a side door under a sign that read "Pommisuoja." I asked if they were coming from the gym and if I could buy a day pass. This being Finland, I assumed correctly that they spoke English. They laughed and said I didn't need to buy a pass and motioned down the stairs leading into the basement.

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It was the town's bomb shelter, he explained. With a shrug and a fatalistic smile, he said, "We're 30 minutes from Murmansk." I didn't get it. We were on the Swedish border, as far East as possible from Russia and still in Finland. It was hundreds of miles from Murmansk, Russia. "By Tupelov," he explained, naming the Russian bomber that is bringing hell to Ukraine every day.

https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/a-letter-from-finland