Two years ago:
This is a photo taken in my hotel room after Sweden asked to join NATO. This comes just months after Russia expanded its invasion of Ukraine (reminder – the invasion began in 2014).
Now. from Politico:
Russian Ministry of Defense A plan to expand the country's territorial waters in the Baltic Sea was announced on Tuesday It is close to the maritime borders with Lithuania and Finland and has attracted international attention.
“I am sure that Putin has even set his sights on Gotland. Putin's goal is to control the Baltic Sea,” Biden, the top commander of Sweden's armed forces, told the newspaper of the German editorial network RND.
Two hundred years ago. Now, the Ministry of Defense has withdrawn its announcement of the unilateral border changes without providing any explanation. Is it possible that Russia could try to seize the island? Well, look back a few hundred years:
source: Encyclopedia Britannica, viewed on May 22, 2024. Editor: Gotland (orange circle).
In this map of Russia, Gotland (circled) is not included. That's because it only extends to 1801.
Now, the Russian military is fully committed to the war in Ukraine. Time goes back to 2021, CSIS assesses maritime invasion unlikely to succeed. This was pre-NATO Sweden, so that seems even less likely. However, if Russia is able to win in Ukraine, thanks to Western irresponsibility (or MAGA's laziness), Sweden may not fare well in the face of an emboldened Russia. Those who remember history will remember that the surrender of the Sudetenland did not go well.
I might note that while modern Sweden was never part of Russia, the eastern part of Sweden (then the Grand Duchy of Finland) was ceded to Russia and granted autonomy (1809-1917).
