On a recent afternoon, an attack from Russian military bases a few miles away seemed a distant prospect.
Not only that, but as a new member of NATO, Finland now enjoys the guaranteed protection of 30 nations, including the United States — a development that President Biden will celebrate during his visit to Helsinki this week.
That’s because most of the Russians who once settled in the region went to fight in Ukraine, and many of them have died, Finnish officials say. It may be years before Russia poses a conventional military threat from its green forest of pine, spruce and birch.
But few Russians appeared on a sunny June day at the Valima border crossing, midway between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. A trickle came and went, among many expensive cars: an Audi Q7, a black BMW and two sleek bikes mounted on a rack. These Russians, who hold dual passports, may have gone to other European countries they could only reach by land because of flight restrictions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
For anyone who tries to cross the border illegally, border guards roam the jungle. But their trail-sniffing dogs encounter some Russians trying to sneak into Finland. Perhaps the biggest concern this afternoon was a black bear spotted roaming the area.
Despite Russia’s fragile state, the peaceful scene belied the fear among many Finns that this transit point and their country might one day become a Russian target. That concern prompted Finland to seek membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last year, which was completed in April when Finland became its 31st member, in which Mr. Biden Russian President Vladimir V. Called a strategic blow to Putin.
That move filled the long, calm relationship between Moscow and Helsinki with sharp new tensions.
