This is one of the safest playgrounds on the planet, located 80 feet below the Finnish capital,
Helsinki. It can withstand a nuclear, biological or chemical attack and sustain up to 6000 people
for a few months at a time. Of course, this bunker is not likely to survive a direct hit, but that's
beside the point, because in Helsinki alone, there are 5,500 bunkers which can accommodate a total of
900,000 people. That’s more shelter space than the entire 631,000 population of the capital.
But Finland has over 54,000 nuclear bomb shelters across the country which can
protect 4.4 million people. Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in
the world for the fifth year in a row by the United Nations. Who would've thought that the
secret to happiness is having a bouncing castle inside a nuclear proof bunker!
But why would the happiest country in the world be preparing for such a doomsday scenario?
Well, it has nothing to do with “happiness”, quite the opposite.
In fact, the happiest bunkers on the planet
come with a really sad rule, … but it’s Not What You Think!
The Merihaka shelter is one of the largest defense shelters in Finland.
It is protected by two layers of 1-foot thick blast doors. One door to stop the blast,
while the other one seals the inside air from any contaminants outside.
During peacetime, shelters like Merihaka, serve a recreational purpose as they often have a gym,
soccer field, kids playground and even a swimming pool.
Yes, a swimming pool inside a nuclear proof bunker. Oh, there’s also lots and lots of
parking! Although some parts of the bunker are closed off to the public, which house the water
and air filtration systems, multiple tunnels, storage bays, decontamination equipment and so on.
All the installations inside the public spaces are semi-permanent, meaning that in the event of
an emergency, everything could be stripped away within 72 hours and the bunker would assume its
true function. During an emergency, the population would be informed via radio, TV, sirens and even
a special app. People would be asked to bring food and warm clothing. No alcohol is allowed
according to the government officials. Sheltering is not supposed to be fun, it’s to keep you alive!
There’s no cell phone signal or it will be limited at best. But the “really sad” part is that no pets
are allowed inside the bunker, so they would have to be left on the other side of the blast door.
Ok, I get it, it’s sad … but you are welcome to stay on the other side of the door with your pet!
In total, Finland operates 44 large public shelters like Merihaka, which were built and
are maintained by the government. The rest of the bunkers are private since the law
mandates that any building with a footprint larger than 13,000 square feet must have a
defense shelter that would be marked by orange and blue triangles on the wall.
Most of these private shelters are also dual purpose. They act as storage units, gyms or
saunas during peacetime, but can be quickly turned into fully functional nuclear shelters.
But why does the law mandate large private dwellings to have nuclear
shelters, which has resulted in over 54,000 bunkers across the country?
You see, it’s not really a nuclear World War III that Finland is worried about. It's Mother Russia.
Finland shares an 830 mile border with its less than friendly neighbor.
While it’s not explicitly mentioned in official statements,
Finland's greatest fear is invasion by Russia … For a second time!
In 1939, the Soviets demanded Finland to cede parts of the province of Karelia,
which was Finland's southern territory near the Russian border.
In exchange, the Soviets would give Finland some land somewhere else up north.
Stalin believed that Finland was too close to Leningrad,
which is now called Saint Petersburg, and this was a great threat to the Soviet Union.
Stalin wanted a 20 mile rotective distance for Leningrad from the Finnish border. But when
Finland refused, the Soviets labeled Finland as a fascist state and invaded the country.
By all accounts, Finland was expected to
lose to the superior military strength of the Soviet Union.
Finland had 32 tanks and 100 aircraft at the time, versus 4000 Soviet tanks and their 5000 aircraft.
The Soviets expected to face very little resistance and envisioned
they would simply walk in and take over the entire country with ease.
The League of Nations, which was more or less the predecessor to the United Nations,
called the invasion illegal and kicked the Soviet Union out of the organization.
But to the Soviets surprise, Finland’s resistance ended up being catastrophic for the Soviet Union,
who suffered 380,000 casualties. Meanwhile Finland had only suffered 70,000 casualties. But three
months into the war, the situation began to get incredibly dire for Finland. Their troops were
exhausted. The Soviets weren’t in much better shape either, but still had the upper hand.
So the 105-day conflict ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty, where Finland was
forced to sign a “monstrous treaty” - as called by the Finnish president at the time.
And that comment is understandable, since Finland ended up ceding 9% of their territory
to the Soviet Union, which resulted in the relocation of 450,000 Finns who lost their homes.
The official position is that Finland does not have territorial demands on Russia,
but they are open to taking back the lost territories, if Russia offers.
Of course the Russian position is that they will never do such a thing!
It will be interesting to see – if Ukraine retakes its occupied
territories including Crimea, would Finland attempt to do the same?
This is known as the “Karelian question” – a public debate on whether Finland should try
to regain control of the territories that they lost to Russia during the Winter War.
As many as 62% of Finns oppose regaining control of Karelia.
Currently the annexed regions are mostly inhabited by people who moved there from Russia,
Belarus and Ukraine, and their descendants who were born there.
One of the biggest reasons for not wanting Karelia back, is that it would potentially mean that
the 370,000 Russians who currently live there, would be joining the Finnish society. Currently,
about 70,000 Russians reside in Finland, which makes up about 1.3% of the population. Even prior
to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there were manifestations of intolerance toward the
Russian population living in Finland, 12% of whom reported experiencing harassment by the Finns.
The bunker system is only one part of the strategy.
The Finnish military doctrine is based on the concept of “Total Defence”,
which means that all sectors of government and economy are involved in the defense planning.
During a war, all resources would be diverted to ensure the survival of the nation.
It’s the law that every tunnel, overpass or bridge must be built with charge pits, where explosives
could be placed to blow up the infrastructure in order to slow down the invasion of hostile forces.
Highways are also strategically built so that they go through solid rock corridors every so often.
This is so that these corridors could be blown up to block the highways and further delay the
movements of the enemy. Furthermore, a network of small roads throughout
the country are designed to be turned into runways, in case airports are compromised.
Finland is prepared for any “just in case” scenario.
After all, they have been a battleground between Swedes and Russians for centuries.
Finland’s version of the Total Defence strategy also involves defending their capital, Helsinki,
at all costs. Given Finland's large size, using all other areas of the country as a
buffer zone to delay and wear down the invading forces is part of the strategy.
Once the enemy forces have culminated, the Finnish forces would counter attack
and defeat the opponent in the area of their choosing.
If this strategy sounds familiar, it’s because that’s exactly what Ukraine has
been doing – protecting Kyiv at all costs during the initial days of the invasion, by wearing down
the Russian forces for several months before counter attacking and forcing them to retreat.
Finns are carefully observing how the Ukraine war is unfolding.
One of the lessons learned is that modern war is still far away from only being “precision-guided”.
Look at all the civilian buildings getting hit and destroyed. This greatly reinforced
Finland’s strategy of having thousands of bomb shelters throughout the country.
Currently Finland has one of the most capable armies in Europe.
It has a wartime military strength of 280,000. By law, all men must complete national military
service, which translates to one seventh of the country's population making up the reserve
force of about 700,000 people. Moreover, Finland has the largest artillery capability in western
Europe with an arsenal of 700 howitzers, 700 heavy mortars and 100 Multiple rocket launchers.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, while many European countries were
decreasing their military spending, Finland kept it high. Just recently,
Finland ordered sixty four F-35 fighter jets for a total cost of 10 billion dollars. In 2022 Finland
spent about 2% of its GDP on their military, something that most NATO members struggle to do.
Speaking of NATO, Finland was a neutral country for decades.
In fact, its official policy was to stay away from any European-Russian affairs.
Finland has been preparing to fight Russia alone, if needed. On the other side of the border,
one of Russia's justifications for invading Ukraine was to prevent the expansion of NATO …
but it looks like that one may have backfired. Because with the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
Finland quickly pivoted, and is currently in the process of joining the NATO alliance.