Well....they are in some dispute between Russia and Finland....for a fairly long period. So lets talk about them.
Aland Islands. If you gaze at a map of the islands...they sit between Turku, Finland (western coast of Finland) and Stockholm, Sweden. From Sweden, you have to go 30 km before you come to the first island, and 5 km from Finland to the first island.
Total number of islands? Experts say around 6,000 islands. Yeah, some are fairly small (100 meters across).
Population? 30,000.....more or less.
In the early 1800s.....a treaty by Russia and Sweden...ended up ceding the islands over to Russia. In the 1830s....the Russians tried to build up a 'fort' to signal regions of intent. That act ended in 1856....with the French and British taking control but 'handing' the region to Finland.
The Civil War of Finland (1917) changed things, with the Swedes establishing control temporary, and later the Germans controlling the region but acknowledging some ownership by Finland.
In 1919, a vote was held....with the vast majority of islanders wanting status with Sweden. Finland said no to the vote but agreed to demilitarize the whole region. Other than police....no military assets.
Currently? Since the Fin discussion started up on NATO status....the Russians have hyped up the Aland Islands. The general chatter? The islands can't be militarized.
Geographically? Does any of this matter? Well....gaze at the map and note that if you leave the harbor of St Petersburg....you will pass about 100 km from the islands. For some reason, Russians feel hyped up about this.
Do the islands have any economic value? Mostly for tourism, fishing, and agriculture.
One might suspect the biggest Russian discussion is that they want to have a say in how the islands fit into the Fin NATO scheme.
So, onto the Saimaa Canal, built in the 1850s. It's a system of 8 locks....which connects Vyborg, Russia to the Gulf of Finland. On paper, it's rented by Finland....so you pay them to travel through it, and they pay Russia for the lease.
Total length? 43 km.
The lease deal? Well....in the early 1960s...the canal needed restoration and Finland wrote up a deal....lease it to 'us' and we'll restore it. A 50-year deal was done.
In 2010, a second lease was accomplished.
How much is paid to Russia for running the canal? Currently, in the range of 1.2-million Euro a year.
Who uses the canal primarily? Well...mostly tourists. It's not exactly a trade-canal.
Various 'comments' have been made in recent weeks....that the canal is Russian property and should be only leased to Russians. How did the Fins work this deal? No one says much....but you get the impression that the Russians didn't have the technology or business nature to operate the canal....at a profit (without corruption and higher fees required).
If you were looking for petty or extremely marginal reasons to get hyped up in Russia over anything.....these two (the islands and the canal) are a joke. But a year ago....suggesting the Ukraine would be invaded over Nazis....would have been considered a joke as well.
In the next couple of months, you might see both regions mentioned and at least understand the value (or lack of value) over the islands and the canal.
No comments:
Post a Comment