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Finland, Russian power and the threat of retaliation
Summary
A look back at the pressure Moscow applied to Helsinki as Finland weighed NATO membership, and at a separate sporting decision on Russian players.
What did Russia do to Finland in the days before 14 May 2022? Reports from 12 and 13 May show a warning followed quickly by an economic step.
On 12 May, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs threatened retaliatory steps against Finland, including measures of a "military-technical" nature, if the country joined NATO. The following day, on 13 May, RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of the Russian energy company Inter RAO, announced it would suspend electricity deliveries to Finland. The company said it had not been paid for earlier deliveries.
The two announcements came one after the other. The reports describe the suspension as coming while Russia was threatening retaliation over a possible Finnish NATO bid. The stated reason for the suspension, however, was non-payment, and the company gave no other explanation.
A separate decision in sport
Also on 12 May, it was announced that tennis players from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to compete at the upcoming French Open as neutral athletes. Players who spoke in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin would face sanctions.
Taken together, the reports from those days show two different responses to Russia's position in Europe: Moscow's warning to a neighbour considering NATO membership, and a conditional arrangement that let individual athletes from Russia and Belarus keep competing, without national representation, under a ban on public support for Putin.
