Call for Russian scrutiny

Finland should establish a research programme on Russia’s security policy to allow it to reach faster to political developments, a report has recommended.

The report, called Russian security policy: Research in Finland and development trends in Russia was commissioned by the Finnish government and published on 27 October. It evaluated peer-reviewed research on Russian security policy conducted in Finland between 2011 and 2015.—covering Russia’s aims and available resources, and the effects that its security policy has on Finland.

It found that research on Russia’s security policy in Finland is patchy, and that Finland should devise a national strategy to gain a better understanding of the topic and to be more prepared. This should include a security policy research cluster focused on Russia, that has secure long-term funding, the report said.