STRIKE THE TRUTH

Finland is the country of lakes, happiness and ice hockey. However, under the calm exterior, it is a country that hides many dark and terrible unsolved mysteries. One of the most famous of such cases is the Oven Murder, in which Hilkka Saarinen met her tragic death.  THE FAMILY Hilkka Hillevi Pylkkänen, born on 1st November 1927, has lived all her life in Kokemäki, Finland. She married Pentti Frans Olavi Saarinen, and they moved into the home inherited from Hilkka's grandparents. It was a big, wooden house that was roomy enough for the couple and their five children. Unfortunately, all the kids were taken away by child services due to the father's behaviour. They were placed in different foster homes.  Seppo and Seija Saarinen setting flowers on their mother's grave Pentti had a problem with alcohol. He had violent and aggressive tendencies. In particular, his aggression and jealous inclinations were targeted to his wife, Hilkka.  The kids reported that at some point in tim

The debate to join NATO in Finland has been ongoing for many years. However, the recent invasion of Ukraine has prompted renewed interest in joining the Alliance. While the government is taking the time to debate the pros and cons of becoming part of NATO, Russia has started an active information campaign to confuse and delay this decision.  Like we explored in the previous post, a video was posted recently showing Russian military equipment coming to the Finnish border.  In this post I will attempt to break down: what are some advantages and disadvantages of Finland joining NATO  the timetable this decision will be made on  what are some guidelines of NATO that Finland must fit and how they are doing now how it will impact Russia  what are some of that Russia has done and said so far to delay this decision  ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF FINLAND JOINING NATO  Finland has largely tried to stay neutral in the past 80 years since the Second World War. However, changing dynamics

While Russian soldiers are dying on the battlefields of Ukraine in droves, the Kremlin is busy spreading their disinformation towards the West. One big target for the Russian Federation now is Finland. We have been pushed to consider NATO membership very strongly. More than half of the Finnish population now supports being part of the North Atlantic Treaty. However, this is something that puts fear in Putin's heart because it would mean that NATO is coming even closer to Russia's borders.  As a former KGB agent, Vladimir Putin knows the power of lies and manipulation quite well. This is one reason why Russia instigates a lot of disinformation campaigns as part of its propaganda warfare. By deliberately spreading false information, Russians try to cause mistrust, conflict and disorder amongst citizens. This is to make people easier to influence and to create friction and panic in the population.   President Vladimir Putin, Russian Federation  MISINFORMATION VS DISINFORMATION Bef

The Russians have committed war crimes since the beginning of the invasion in Ukraine. Murders, mass executions, torture, looting and sexual assault of women and children are just some of the heinous activities that the invaders have inflicted upon the Ukrainian civilians.  In this post, we look at how war crimes can be defined according to the international law of armed conflict and look at some evidence of these in Ukraine. WHAT IS A WAR CRIME? A '' code of conduct' ' for defining behaviour in a war zone can be traced back for centuries. However, the current laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law were created around the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Over the years, it has evolved to the Hague Conventions adopted in 1899 and 1907. These focus on the methods of warfare that can be used and what warring parties are allowed and prohibited to do. A few other treaties have been developed since then. A woman and child evacua

Chechens, and their flashy leader Ramzan Kadyrov, are currently in Ukraine fighting for the Russian side. They have a fierce reputation as ruthless fighters. However, experts say that the Chechens are not actively participating in combat, they are there just for numbers and an enhanced PR campaign.  WHO IS RAMZAN KADYROV? Chechnya has a very long and complicated history with Russia. After fighting in two wars against the mother land, now it is supporting them in the war with Ukraine for the second time in eight years.  Ramzan Kadyrov is the leader of the Chechen Republic. He came to power in 2007, soon after turning 30 years old. That was the minimum age to be able to rule Chechnya. His father, Akhmad Kadyrov, switched sides in the Second Chechen War, to ally with Russia. He became president in 2003, and one year later he was assassinated with a car bomb while attending the Soviet Day Victory Parade in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. Ramzan Kadyrov and his family (source: Ramzan Kadyr