Russia’s Northern Fleet Commander Says Stalin’s War against Finland in 1939-1940 has Important Lessons for the Present

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 14 – Admiral Konstantin Kabantsov, head of the Northern Fleet, told his officers at a meeting that included Russian propagandists that Stalin’s war against Finland in 1939-1940 has important lessons for Russian forces today given the current military-political situation in the region.

            Kabantsov told the August 13 session that the Winter War was “the first serious test for the young Soviet Northern Fleet during which its sailors gained combat experience. We are holding a military history conference” to learn that conflict’s lessons for today (thebarentsobserver.com/security/in-obscure-seminar-northern-fleet-commanders-discuss-lessons-learnt-from-war-against-finland/435155).

            The Severomorsk conference attracted four Russian academics who have distinguished themselves less for their academic work than for the ideologically correct statements in support of Putin’s war in Ukraine and his aggressive stances toward NATO members generally and especially toward Finland and Sweden.

            What they discussed at this meeting has not been reported in detail, but one can be sure that their treatment of that war was anything but even-handed and likely repeated Soviet and increasingly Russian claims that Finland rather than the Soviet Union was responsible for provoking that conflict.