Finland has a 1,340 kilometer long land border with Vladimir Putin's Russia, and is one of the neighboring countries most affected by the increased tensions following the full-scale invasion war in Ukraine in 2022.
At the global political level, it has resulted in NATO membership for both Finland and Sweden. And at the everyday level, many Finns draw the conclusion that they want to be able to handle firearms. Antti Kettunen compares it to learning to swim – you want to do it in good time.
When you finally need to be able to shoot or swim, and don't know how, then it's too late, he says.
300 new ranges
His organization Vantaan Reservilaiset (Vanda-reservists) has taken over an industrial facility where sex toys were previously manufactured in Kervo, north of the Finnish capital. In two years, the number of members has more than doubled to 2,100.
The same trend is seen at the national level and has support from the highest level. The government has presented plans to open over 300 shooting ranges, where people can learn and practice, across Finland. It is a significant increase from the 670 that exist today.
The interest in defense is traditionally very strong in Finland, and in these days with Russia's attack on Ukraine, it has increased even more, says Jukka Kopra, chairman of the Finnish parliament's defense committee.
"Thinking of the neighbor"
In contrast to Sweden, Finland has no home guard, but a civil defense managed by the Defense Training Association (MPK). The number of training and exercise days that Finns have completed there amounts to 120,000 this year, more than double the number three years ago.
Some do it just because it's fun, says the 38-year-old firefighter Miikka Kallio at the shooting range in Kervo.
But some probably think about the neighbor in the east. I've heard comments that people have become reservists due to the Russian aggression.
