The geopolitical project of Greater Finland

Gennady Nuryshev; Viktor Kogut

doi:10.37468/2307-1400-2026-1-5-16

UDC

327

THE GEOPOLITICAL PROJECT OF GREATER FINLAND The geopolitical project of Greater Finland

АА Аа

Published in National Security and Strategic Planning · Pages 5–16 · Rubric: Strategic planning and security in the geopolitics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37468/2307-1400-2026-1-5-16

Received: 23.02.2026 Accepted: 28.03.2026 Published: 30.04.2026

Authors

Gennady Nuryshev

ORCID SPIN

Viktor Kogut

ORCID SPIN

Gennady Nuryshev

Academic degree: doctor of political sciences

Science rang: professor

Saint Petersburg State University of Economics

ORCID SPIN

Viktor Kogut

Academic degree: candidate of political sciences

Science rang: docent

Council of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly deputy General secretary, plenipotentiary representative · National assembly of the Republic of Belarus at the IPA CIS and PA CSTO · Russian Federation · Saint-Petersburg

Saint Petersburg university of State fire service of EMERCOM of Russia associate professor · department of theory and history of state and law · Russian Federation · Saint-Petersburg

Saint-Petersburg state economic university head of the basic department · basic department of Eurasian integration · Russian Federation · Saint-Petersburg

ORCID SPIN

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to highlight the geopolitical challenges and threats in Northwest Russia. Methodology: A systems approach was used, along with qualitative analysis and theoretical generalization. The article notes that Finnish nationalists viewed the start of Russia's Special Military Operation in Ukraine as an opportunity to begin implementing their geopolitical project "Suur-Suomi," which envisions the annexation of all Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia to Finland.The paper charts the development of this project from the 20th century to the present. It notes that, taking advantage of Soviet Russia's weakness, Finnish nationalists took steps to implement their project during the First (1918-1920) and Second (1921-1922) Soviet-Finnish Wars.During World War II, Finland, participating in Hitler's aggression against the USSR, declared its intention to implement a geopolitical project similar to Mein Kampf – Finnlands Lebensraum (“Finnish Living Space”).The collapse of the USSR became a new pretext for taking concrete steps to implement this project. The work emphasizes that Finland, having become a NATO member, will pursue an aggressive policy toward Russia, as Finnish public opinion is strongly anti-Russian. As early as this year, the country could become a staging ground for the deployment of a Western nuclear arsenal in close proximity to the Russian border, which would represent a qualitative leap in the level of geopolitical challenges and threats to Russia, comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

KEYWORDS

geopolitics, Greater Finland, Finno-Ugric peoples, Finnish nationalism, Russophobia, militarization, aggression, nuclear blackmail

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Nuryshev G. N., Kogut V. G. The geopolitical project of Greater Finland // National Security and Strategic Planning. 2026. no. 1. pp. 5-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37468/2307-1400-2026-1-5-16. (Date of access 16.09.2026).

MLA

Gennady Nuryshev, Kogut V. G.. "The geopolitical project of Greater Finland." National Security and Strategic Planning 2026.1 (2026): 5-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37468/2307-1400-2026-1-5-16.

APA

Nuryshev G. N., Kogut V. G. (2026). The geopolitical project of Greater Finland. National Security and Strategic Planning, 2026(1), 5-16. https://doi.org/10.37468/2307-1400-2026-1-5-16

Chicago

Gennady Nuryshev, Kogut V. G.. "The geopolitical project of Greater Finland." National Security and Strategic Planning 2026, no. 1 (2026): 5-16. https://doi.org/10.37468/2307-1400-2026-1-5-16.

WIKI

{{cite journal | author = Nuryshev G. N., Kogut V. G. | title = The geopolitical project of Greater Finland | journal = National Security and Strategic Planning | year = 2026 | volume = 2026 | issue = 1 | pages = 5-16 | doi = 10.37468/2307-1400-2026-1-5-16 }}

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